bugger the cheapo cool box mashtuns!...

[bigdave]

as the title says!

Ive turned my indian restaurant mango chutney barrel into a well insulated mash tun for next to nothing!

my costs so far:

30ltr barrel = £0 (ta local take away)
copper piping = £0 (ta freecycle)
ball valve = £3.50
tank connector = £1.40
plumbers tape = £1
roll of foil = 20p
wilko's own 'duck tape' = £1.50
Wicks' cylinder jacket = £7.99

Grand total = £15.59

Now for the pictures:





first layer on the bottom:


snuggly tight!




double insulated lid:


Temp test. 20 ltrs into the tun. amb temp 18.4Ëš


63 mins later, amb temp 17Ëš


not bad for a 1st try!

[bigdave]

I still have 2 rolls of the jacket left so think I will create a secondary cover to bring that 2Ëš loss down a bit!

[leedsbrew]

looking good matey. What type of manifold are you looking at?

[bigdave]

initially I was going to cut a rectangular grain filter BUT!... my new best friend the plumber is very keen on bending one to fit the base of the tun perfectly. hes popping over with his van (don't you just love it when a tradesman/friend says he's bringing the van!) friday eve so we shall see what happens!

[padley1985]

once you have the grain in there it will retian the heat better mine lost 5 degrees when testing but with the grain it only loses half a degree.

[boingy]

once you have the grain in there it will retian the heat better mine lost 5 degrees when testing but with the grain it only loses half a degree.

+1

With grain in that will be spot on. No further insulation needed unless you are planning on mashing outside in winter! Nice one.

[bigdave]

Well, in that case, I have 2 rolls of insulation going spare if anyone would like them?

[danbrew]

Looks good bigdave. Well done that man. Those cylinder jackets are cheaper than I thought they'd be!

[bigdave]

I was surprised at the cost too! I'd expected them to be £15-20 and had really gone to Wicks' looking for a cheap alternative.

[Dr. Dextrin]

Good insulation option there. I'd expected them to be filled with that horrid rockwool. Fibreglass is much nicer - and not too expensive either.

And the matching tape... well!

[bigdave]

The rolls are fibreglass (according to the label). I cut 1 in 1/2 to make the lid and base but I wouldnt know fibreglass insulation if it jumped up and hit me in the face. lol

I may get a 2nd roll of tape to seal up the gaps and make it look tidy.