I’ve been planning to dip my toe into the world of all grain brewing and have made an interesting discovery about using a water cooler (like what Rubbermaid makes) as a mash tun. It seems that the “company line” is that the water cooler shouldn’t be used for liquids over 120 degrees.
Clearly lots of people are mashing in such a cooler, and the coolers made under the Fermenters Favorites line look pretty similar with regard to construction.
Is there such a thing as a plastic mash tun that’s “officially” supported for hot liquids, or are we all just choosing to go with it because in reality it works?
I use the fermenter favorite. Seems to do well… I wish I had have went the way of igloo for money sake. The FF brand was pricey. But the set up did come with all the hardware and 2 false bottoms.
I don’t know of any food grade rated for hot liquids.
Sadly, I never thought of this question 15 years ago when I started using my cooler mash tun.
I figure that now, all the Chinese mercury has leached out into my beer/liver. My cooler tun is probably food grade by now. I just hope I don’t get cancer someday from all the unknown chemicals it has caused me to imbibe.
I’ve been using a Coleman Extreme cooler for my mash tun, seems to work just fine. I’ve noticed the lid warps a little by the end of the mash, but after it cools, it straightens back out. I use a Rubbermaid for my hot water tank and it’s fine for the whole like 15 minutes that the water is in it (which is all I need it for). I did find out the hard way that the drain plugs they put in them soften and deform easily. Once I removed those and replaced it with stainless, I’ve had no issues. Between both coolers and the fittings, I probably have a little over $100 into it all and I’m happy with it. The Coleman has an anti-microbial plastic and I’ve found it incredibly easy to clean.
In almost 40 years of legalized home brew, I would expect it would be common knowledge if coolers leached anything toxic at mash temps. Hell, @denny’s continued survival proves mashing in coolers can’t kill you.
They probably recommend against using the cooler for hot because it may leave a plastic-y flavor in tea or coffee that boils off in wort when you boil it after being in the cooler.
I’ve seen some coolers where the foam insulation expanded due to high temps. That was 20+ years ago. I think they discourage hot liquids to prevent any warranty replacement issues.
