Mash Tun is cracked, now what?

[Fid]

So I had big plans to brew to batches of beer in celebration of the 3 day weekend but after buying all of my ingredients I found that my mash tun was leaking. After buying a bunch of random washers, o-rings, and gaskets and trying to assemble them in a fashion that would keep the leaks away I found that I actually had a hairline crack on the inside of my cooler that was causing all of the leaks.

I went out and bought some silicone sealant and put it over the crack to try to fix it but the stuff takes at least 48 hours to cure... I was suppose to brew today but instead spent the entire day screwing around with this thing. At this point, I'm frustrated and just want to brew! I've got 25 lbs of grains waiting to be mashed and now my mash tun is out of commission until at least Monday night.

I want to wake up tomorrow morning and just start brewing... any brilliant ideas how I can make that happen?

 

[Pratzie]

I suggest making a run to walmart/lowes/home depot and getting another cooler. I wouldn't mess with the silicone within that 48 window while it sets. And honestly im not sure i'd mess with it at all in a mashtun with high temps and something u wanna consume.

Again just my two cents.

 

[kh54s10]

Yeah, get a new cooler. Even if you get the silicon sealant done I would bet it won't stay sealed for long. I would hate to be in the middle of a brew when it started leaking again or more. I would bet it would take a lot less time to switch the hardware that it did to try to seal it up.

 

[Fid]

Yeah, that's basically what I've been thinking to myself too. The silicone is food safe and temp resistant up to 300 degrees (yada, yada, ect) but after dumping this much time into this I'm pretty much spent and I'm assuming that sealing it up is going to end up just being a temporary band aid and I'm gonna encounter the same trouble again.

I actually had another old cooler sitting around the house and I tried to convert that thing into a MLT today too... It didn't have a drain valve on it so I had to drill a hole into it to get the ball valve in annnnnnndddd that one leaked too. So today I've killed 2 coolers!

 

[Hoppity]

You could mash in the boil pot and use other vessles to temporarily hold runnings until sparge is done.

 

[Fid]

I considered this as well. Any experience mashing in a boil kettle? I was a little concerned about temp loss.

 

[Pratzie]

So today I've killed 2 coolers!

MURDERER!

Just kiddin. I just think ur better off going brand new and swapping out all the hardware for it. Either way, happy brewing tomorrow!

 

[Hoppity]

That is what the burner is for

 

[Fid]

That is what the burner is for

Ha! I have visions of me scraping burnt grains out of the bottom of my kettle.

 

[241]

Large grain bag from LHBS and do BIAB

 

[gointomexico]

I used to mash in my BK. I used a grain bag as a LT, many many years ago. I would put my BK in the oven on low, or off to keep the temp up. I didn't direct fire my mt.

 

[RM-MN]

Read a little about BIAB. Mill your grains fine and with the large amount of water and the shorter mash time that the finely milled grains allow you won't have to worry about temperature loss. I regularly do a 30 minute mash and I have heard from a brewer who only mashes for 20 and we both get full conversion. You mash in the same kettle you boil in so you don't have to worry about the cooler leaking again ever.

 

[Yesfan]

I saw where someone else on here cracked his cooler. That person removed the inner liner, shaved off some of the insulation and was able to slide his kettle into the cooler making for an insulated stainless mash tun. The only down side was the handles on the kettle had to be removed.

I'm not suggesting you go that route, but thought I would throw that out there if you were wanting to try to find another use for your damaged coolers.

 

[Apendecto]

Large grain bag from LHBS and do BIAB

This.

I mill my grains with the default settings on my Barley Crusher and mash for an hour, checking it every 20 mins or so. You'll get a bit more crap in your fermenter but it works like a dream. Less clean up, less equipment, quicker brew day, etc. Unless I brew a huge beer, I won't go back.

You might even like it better, who knows?

 

[Fid]

Thanks for the input everybody. I ended up going out and picking up a new cooler.

Here's the result... no regrets.