Cracked inside Rubbermaid cooler mash tun... How to prevent?

Hi all,
I have a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler converted to mash tun, have had for several years now, many batches, works great!

However, just noticed it’s cracking on inside lining.
At one point, it buckled and that’s where the crack is.

No big deal, I will buy a new one for $45,

But, here’s a few questions:

  1. Is this the expected life of this cooler used as mash tun?

  2. Is there a way to prevent this?

I really hate to toss this in garbage and replace every few years.

Any advise appreciated

I’m guessing you have just a regular beverage cooler. That’s orange. They work great for little while and are cheap. What you need is on of the industrial ones they are little more expensive. But they last much longer. The orange ones don’t take the heat like the industrial can. Also you might just make one like Denny’s with a regular cooler

Ok, thanks.
Where would I get an industrial one?

The commercial are pretty expensive. For that kind of money maybe buy a kettle tun. The idea of the cooler tun is they are cheap. A kettle tun will last forever and you can do decoction mashes much easier IMO

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Fermenter’s Favorites™ All-Grain Brewing Coolers 7 & 10 Gallon

How about this one that they sell at NB… Better?

Our host sells them and yeah are little more expensive. But in the long run is the cost really that much when you calculate it up buying new one ever few years . I believe in buying once and having good equipment and taking care of it… Also like I said check out Denny’s Conn’s web page on his cooler build

Get an Igloo next time, or get a square one. The Rubbermaid round ones are made chintzier so the big box stores can sell them at a low price.

rectangular ones crack too, after 5-10 years.

Hey Denny,
How long has your rectangular mash tun lasted?

I had the crack happen to one of my orange rubbermaid coolers after a number of years (although both showed signs of buckling), and I sealed it with pure silicone sealant. It was my HLT, so I wasn’t worried if a little water leaked out as opposed to wort getting into the insulation. If you have two coolers you could always do this to one of them.