Igloo Mash tun cracked.

[Brad4g63]

My 10 gal Igloo mash tun is cracked on the inside from the valve opening about an inch and a half. It does not leak to the outside but I can see a few bubbles on the inside above the valve. Is there any food safe fixes to correct this problem. Silicone, JB weld etc. any ideas or educated guesses will be helpful.
Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

Damn!

Use food safe (Aquarium grade) silicone quite liberally.

Would be best if you can get some silicone behind the shell too.

Remove the bulkhead before working on it.
Clean/degrease with acetone before applying silicone caulk. Maybe sand it a bit too with 220 grit to give it better grip. After applying, smooth it out with a wet finger or wet spatula.

 

[augiedoggy]

and maybe add a large flat washer to one side to help give the ball valve some stable mounting when opening and closing or it will just get worse.

 

[IslandLizard]

and maybe add a large flat washer to one side to help give the ball valve some stable mounting when opening and closing or it will just get worse.

After siliconing the crack, as I wrote above, I wonder if filling the void between the washer and the inner shell with JB Weld would provide extra body and stability. Then add extra silicone around the washer/JB Weld area for a watertight seal.

Or just rely on the silicone for sealing it all up. My rectangular cooler mash tun has the bulkhead/silicone washer/SS washer assembly siliconed in too. Been holding up well for over 3 years now.

 

[Brad4g63]

After siliconing the crack, as I wrote above, I wonder if filling the void between the washer and the inner shell with JB Weld would provide extra body and stability. Then add extra silicone around the washer/JB Weld area for a watertight seal.

Or just rely on the silicone for sealing it all up. My rectangular cooler mash tun has the bulkhead/silicone washer/SS washer assembly siliconed in too. Been holding up well for over 3 years now.

Thanks for the replies, waited for the silicone to arrive from amazon. I ended up drilling a small hole at the end of the crack hopefully to stop it from spreading any further and scuffed up the area with some fine grit sandpaper. bought two stainless 2in washers and bored the centers to fit and siliconed the washer in place on the inside of the cooler to and will have the same washer for the outside hopefully this works out.

I did this before reading the replies and I like the JB weld Idea to hold the washer in place. If this doesn't hold up then the JB weld is the next step for sure.

 

[woo_pig]

Just buy another one. It's only 40. I wouldn't risk it. You probably put more than 40 in grain and time into it at once. Hate to throw that away .It's getting to the season you can find them on sale.

 

[beernutz]

I'm with woo pig, buy another one.

 

[day_trippr]

I'm not a profligate spender of Other People's Money, so if it's not leaking now, why toss it?

Cheers!

 

[ChuckO]

Take a look at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=268370

I did this when my second cooler cracked. It gives the best of both SS and an insulated cooler. Since I had kept my first cooler, I made another as an HLT.