Silicone for my Mash Tun???

[MichaelsBrewing]

Hi everyone,

I just constructed my first mash tun from a Coleman X-treme cooler and a braid. I kept the inside washer from the plastic spigot that I took off. I am worried that I need more things to keep that washer in place, as I do not have a tight fit or type of bolt against it. Is there a type of silicone that is food grade that I can use? My current silicone says that it is harmful to ingestion.

Here are some pics:

Here is the spigot:

Here is the seal on the inside I am talking about...

Cheers all!

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

Oh yeah... As of now I have no leaks but I am worried that eventually if things get jostled with grains it will without a silicone hold

 

[samc]

You are fixing a leak that you don't have. But if you must why not look into bargainfittings.com as he sells various seals, etc. that might help you. Many silicone sealants are 100% silicone, like Aquarium sealants and would most likely be ok, but you are better off if you can avoid them.

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

Basically... yes, I am fixing a leak that I do not have. I do not have a leak as of now but I know it will so I want to prevent it... The last thing I need is to start my first batch of all grain and have a leak! lol

I think I will dig deeper into the aquarium sealants. There are many threads on here regarding aquarium sealants :rockin:

 

[Apoxbrew]

I used 100% silicone on my tun. I wouldn't have but the inside curve was such that just a silicone washer wouldn't have closed the gap. anyway, I posted at the time and was told that the 100% silicone would be fine.

 

[Golddiggie]

Here's what mine looks like inside...

I used the original wide gasket/washer that came with the fitting inside the cooler. Plus the rest of the hardware to add the 1/2" ball valve and bazooka screen... Used it for the first time on 3/10 and had zero leaks...

 

[malkore]

I've been told many times that silicone caulking does not really adhere to plastic, so I've never tried to make a seal with it.

I'd try to find a silicone washer first, and in a pinch use the aquarium silicone sealer which, once it cures in 48 hours, won't kill ya if it touches a liquid.

I can only assume it'll hold up to 180F. Silicone is pretty tough stuff that generally handles temps way above boiling.

 

[Apoxbrew]

oh ya... guess i should have mentioned that. my tun is stainless, so the silicone worked great. malkore is right though... it's not going to work so great on plastic i don't think.

regardless... if you try it make certain it's the 100% silicone without any antimold additions or any other adjuncts.

 

[emjay]

I used silicone on my 5gal plastic cooler just fine. I used some 100% silicone from GE, but granted, I had to use a lot. I have a 50gal Coleman Ultimate Xtreme that I'm waiting to get proper fittings for - extra difficult in Canada!