Got this today (no comments on what I paid!) http://morebeer.com/products/cooler-mash-tun-10-gallon.html
and I’m curious how I should initially clean it and clean it after each brew. There is a note in there about initially washing with a “light detergent”.
I rinse my mash tun after each use with hot water, give it a little scrub with a nylon grain/hops bag, make sure it’s really dry and call it good. it’s hot side so cleanliness is not all that important beyond making sure you don’t have grain rotting in the nooks and crannies.
What he said.
What about initial cleaning? Just some light dish soap? PBW?
I clean all hot side equipment with pbw immediately after pitching my yeast. Exception: HLT, it only sees water. Plastic gets cleaned with a sponge or cloth. Stainless gets a scrubby.
A little pbw or oxyclean and a sponge is all you need. Fill it up about half way and allow all the metal parts to soak for a bit, 10 minutes or so. Rinse well.
All I do Is rinse with the hose and put away on its side WITHOUT the lid. I only put the lid back on after a few days.
I also store with the valve open. Not sure if that does anything.
I generally rinse with hot water. I clean more thoroughly (oxyclean soak) occasionally.
Are those graduated measuring lines inside? Kinda cool if so.
Initial cleaning? Mmmm dish soap and a rag? Ought to be fine.
Yup, half gallon lines included!
I don’t think many have had issues with this but you may want to think about preheating with warm water before adding your strike water. I am about to purchase a replacement cooler because mine has warped on the inside to the point that it is cracking. I have gotten by for a few batches by patching with some food grade, high temp silicon sealant but that isn’t stopping it from cracking further.
Walmart has them priced at $38.77 online but they have been out of stock for a while 
From what I’ve read they hold heat perfectly. We will see!
If you are cleaning it for the first time, a PBW soak, light scrub and rinse with Star San should remove any light oils from manufacturing. If you still can rub a clean paper towel over the surfaces and get some crud off, then do it again.
good idea. my first warp just showed up on my last batch :-\
Yep I just purchased a new one online. The old one has been bulged in for quite some time but finally started to crack. I hoped the sealant would hold but ended up only being a temporary fix. It’s kind of a bummer to buy new equipment that is not an upgrade but at least I have the false bottom and valve hardware already.
What brand of cooler? I’ve nerv had any trouble with my Rubbermaid or Coleman, even after hundreds of batches.
It’s either Rubbermaid or Igloo.
Denny, I hope I’m right there with you after that many batches. I’ve put about 12 batches through my Rubbermaid 50 qt and also have a Coleman 70 (newer model though) that I am saving for bigger or higher gravity batches. The 50 has done everything I needed it to hold. The split open and melt RIS for big brew day was full, full, full though. If I rebrew that, I will definitely break in the 70.
Sounds like my issue is an anomaly. I normally use 180-185F at hottest for sparge water.
I just remembered that I did purchase it from someone on Craigslist years ago. Who knows how they were using it for their brewing purposes but I don’t remember it having any warping issues on the inside when I bought it.
I still use my 48 qt. Rubbermaid 90% of the time.
Good to know. I envisioned going to 10 gallon batches when my 15 gallon kettle came is so I bought the 70. I now realize that 10 gallon batches in that kettle are way too heavy for a solo brewer to move around without pumps or other aids, makes the 50 a good fit