I have a 48 qt ice cube ice chest that I’d like to convert into my first MLT. I was wondering if a 9 or 12 inch tube screen, similar to this (found on morebeer.com, but available also at my LHBS):
will be enough to drain the cooler, or if it wouldn’t cover enough of the bottom of the cooler to be effective. I’ve seen SS braid pulled off of water hoses used similarly, but does it use the same length? I know the braid has a tendency to collapse, but the tube screen I’m looking into is stiff, not flexible.
Awesome. Yes, I’ll be batch sparging. I forgot to mention that. I’m aware of the problem of channeling I’d end up with if I tried to fly sparge.
This means I may go AG much sooner than I had originally thought. I’ll just need a bigger brew kettle for a full volume boil now before I can really get started.
I have a 72qt Coleman Extreme as well. I use a SS braid from a water supply line. I started with the braid running about 2/3 the length of the cooler. I’ve trimmed it shorter (due to damage from stirring, etc.) a couple times, and I’m down to about 8 inches now. There’s been no change in lautering performance with the different lengths. I don’t think the length matters much when batch sparging with this kind of set-up.
The Ice Cube drain holes aren’t at the bottom, they are 1-2" up due to the wheels, and tilt up into the cooler. You might be able to get a waterhose cover down on the bottom more easily, or just tip the Ice Cube up on the wheels at the end.
For the sort of cooler you’ve got, a braid screen would work fine, although you might have clogging problems if you’ve got a very fine grain crush or a gummy mash. Also, a really deep mash might squash the braid closed.
John Palmer’s book goes into great detail about optimum design for ice chest mash tuns. I’ve got a circular cooler with a “braid” (actually, several layers of stainless steel screen) wrapped around a length of slotted copper tubing which works fine.