Has anyone converted a coleman xtreme? I've just got a 33L one and am wondering how to attach a tap and manifold without drilling. It has a drainage hole with a rubber stopper.
AFAIK there is a threaded ring and rubber gasket on the inside.
Just unscrew it.
I just yanked it out with a needle nose pliers.
The remaining hole was a perfect tight fit for the SS weldless ball valve kit I had. I just pushed it in & stuck a rubber ring on the inside for good measure. Ive done 7 or 8 mashes now with no leak.
(http://i.imgur.com/n6xcr4el.jpg)
(I linked my manifold to it with a threaded nipple, some braided hose, copper pipe & SS jubilee clips)
Thanks, am I right in saying that you fitted threaded pipe through the hole and fitted what you needed onto each side? The walls are very thick though.
Incidentally Hophead, are the joints on your manifold soldered or just kinked? My current manifold has brass fittings which doesn't look quite as sexy as the copper ones. I've read somewhere that the solder is not food grade.
This is the weldless kit I have.
(http://i.imgur.com/8HQI8Q8l.jpg)
Its pretty long so should go all the way through your cooler wall. The stainless tube on the interior of the cooler is threaded so you can screw on a nipple to attach some hose. You could just plumb in a proper fitting but I had the tap kit already so used what I had.
Think I payed 25e for it in HBW. They dont have them on the site though afaik.
I didnt solder. I pushed a tapered piece of metal into the end of each pipe to make sure they were round & to expand them just a touch. They all push together tightly & come apart with a pull for cleaning.
Thanks for that, I unscrewed the plug very easily and fitted my existing tap, though the hole is larger than what I had on the old mash tun giving a bit of play around the threaded pipe. When both sides are tightened it seems ok. Is this how yours is?
No play on mine. The steel tube at the end of my tap was slightly bigger than the hole in the mash tun so its a good tight fit/seal.
@Colmc: I'm using converted coleman so can post some pictures if still interested. Got all the parts in B&Q, no drilling needed.
Yes please Jacob, that would a great help. I'll be hopefully heading to my local DPL tomorrow.
QuoteYes please Jacob, that would a great help. I'll be hopefully heading to my local DPL tomorrow.
sure we all have colemans right
Jacob have you been bathing in yours ;)
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/joctcl/image_zpsfbbccce5.jpg)
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/joctcl/image_zps78d1b6eb.jpg)
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/joctcl/image_zps9110c710.jpg)
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/joctcl/image_zps3501db79.jpg)
Thanks for all the pictures lads. My concern remains that the hole is 1 inch in diameter so when fitting my existing 1/2 inch tap there is a lot of hole still left. Does this matter if I am closing off both ends? I was thinking of sealing the insulation with some silicone sealant anyway.
I spent a tenner on 3/4 inch fittings on Saturday and they are slightly too big.
Here's a couple of pictures to show what I mean.
can you pull the sealing gasket off the pluc and fit it onto your threaded coupling and back through the hole? - that worked a treat for me
Nice job there, A wiki article would be nice ;)
Quotecan you pull the sealing gasket off the pluc and fit it onto your threaded coupling and back through the hole? - that worked a treat for me
Good man St Fursey that worked a treat by the looks of things.
Two final questions on this, then I'll stop.
I've attached a picture of the manifold I've built, but is it ok to cut slots in the outlet pipe? Would this affect flow? The dead space is about half a litre but cutting slots in the outlet pipe would almost eliminate waste.
Also, if your mash tun is 33L, what is the maximum ammount of grain it will take assuming 2.5L/kg of water?
edit: the picture I attached does not appear on the message >:(
Pour in some water in as-is.
Drain through tap.
How much water is left?
You've probably got about 10mm of water left all around the bottom plus in the drain channel - about 1.2l ?
I think if you slot the drain pipe, you will end up with about 100ml or less left.
i.e. you will reduce the deadspace in your tun.
In practice, the amount of liquid left is a lot less than above because the grist is sharing the same space, so I'm guessing 250ml extra runnings.
I did that with water, and was left with little or no water in the base, and half a litre in the drainage channel. I reckon if I put slots in the drainage pipe I'll be left with about 100ml in the drainage channel. I was just wondering if it might affect the draw from the rest of the manifold.
I have just built the same with the regular cooler.
I have more-or-less the same manifold as you.
I started with slots every inch/25mm on the 4 lengths.
To balance the flow, I doubled the slot count on the 2 outer lengths, so every 12mm or so.
I have not used it yet but will do soon.
Pic...