24 replies to this topic

[Brim2theDregs]

Yeah, that's the cooler I'm using. I didn't do anything as elaborate as that guy. I cut away a good size area of the blue plastic, scraped out the insulation and just stuck the element with its standard gasket through a hole I cut and screwed into a stainless fitting on the inside. The element can really only fit in one direction/location. For the valve I used the pre-existing drain location where there is no insullation - just solid plastic. This location also ensures that you'll ever run the HLT dry. I screwed in a plastic ceiling fan mount and a male receptacle to make the conections to the element.

Thanks Man. I'm really leaning this way cause every other vessel I have found is about a hundred bucks. I really want to put the element in the magic spot since you don't get stratification. I think you went in on the wheel side, and not the front. If you will be so good as to answer one more question for me, how far away from the bottom of the slope is the centerline of the element if you are looking down on the cooler?

[dondewey]

It's pretty much centered on the bottom portion. I'll see if I can take some pictures today. I'm using a long T/C probe sticking in through the lid for temp control.

[djinkc]

Hey DJ ... It concerns me that you had problems with your cooler leaking cause you strike me as a pretty dang sharp guy who likes to do things right. Did you try something like this DJ? I think this guy may be on to something with his cooler bulkhead seal design. I think I might be able to do some variation on that with the element as well. I think the key is to cut away the insulation and outside skin to isolate the seal against the inside skin.I'm still checking on some local AL and SS stock pots, but man, less than 30$ for a new, clean, already insulated, easy to drill and cut, vessel is mighty attractive!

It's been a while since I trashed that cooler. IIRC I cut out an area of the outer shell and insulation for a plastic electrical box to fit in. The element went through a hole in the inner shell and was secured with an Al nut. It flexed around enough that there was sometimes a little drip - I just didn't trust it.....I picked up a cheap junkyard keg, put a weldless valve, weldless fitting for a sight tube and reused the Al nut to secure the element. I don't think I put much more than $50 into it. But that was quite a deal on the kegs I bought - three of them at less than $10 each.

[xd_haze]

The rubbermaid coolers are some kind of 'co-polymer' which just means a mix of different plastics. The ones from rubbermaid are are impact co-polymer. Though they wouldn't tell me, my research strongly suggested that impact co-polymer is a mostly Polypropylene blend which is shatter resistant at low temperatures. That research also suggested that such a blend could handle the heat and is food-safe at mash temperatures. Most polypropylene can be autoclaved and has a good range of chemical resistance. This is why a lot of laboratory plasticware are made from PP. I imagine that the plastics used for other major brands, like igloo, are similar. Mike

[Brim2theDregs]

Kegs for under ten bucks... WOW DJ Nice find!Thanks for your passing on your research Mike. That is comforting. I was hoping the coolers were PP.I got tired of waiting for an affordable metal vessel and grabbed a 60Q Ice Cube at lunch... one with the magic heat dissipating, de-stratifying slope built right in!