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Cooler to Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) 2 port Conversion Kit with Drain and Sight Glass
Cooler to Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) 2 port Conversion Kit with Drain and Sight Glass


 

Our Price: $59.00



Product Code: COOLERHLT2


The following items are included with this product:



Which Cooler?:


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Description
 
This kit will turn a 10 gallon round cooler into Hot Liquor Tank/Tun using all stainless high flow components. The reason you may elect to use a cooler as your hot liquor tank is if you are designing an all grain brewing system in which the "fly" sparging technique is used. This process takes 45-60 minutes so it helps to have an insulated tank to hold the hot sparge water in. Note that if you plan to batch sparge, you do not need a place to keep water hot as the batch sparge is done quickly and water or wort may be held in a more inexpensive bucket.

The parts included in this kit are:
  • One LPC sight glass kit for monitoring how much water you put in and how much you drain out.
  • One-piece machined bulkhead with interior diptube to suck all the water out.
  • 2pc Ball valve (upgradable to 3pc)
  • Note, this kit does NOT include a hose barb or camlock type F as shown in the pictures. Please select a hose connection fitting from the accessory list on the right.

Note: COOLER NOT INCLUDED!

What makes our kit different than the competition? Ugh, now we have to brag just a little. The bulkhead we include in this kit is custom machined out of hex bar stock to our exact specifications making it extremely simple to install and leak free from day one. It's not a bunch of off the shelf parts made with half a roll of teflon tape.


Install Requirements:

Bulkhead/Drain:

Remove the stock spigot from the cooler. Remove the locknut and metal washer from the TrueBulkheadBarb bulkhead leaving the red oring in place (for Igloo Coolers) or remove the oring and install the flat silicone gasket in its place (for Rubbermaid Coolers). Insert through the hole in the cooler from the inside. Install the metal washer and locknut on the outside. Holding the interior hex with one of the points facing upwards, tighten the exterior locknut nice and snug. Apply teflon tape on the exterior threads and thread ball valve on. Note: The oring that comes preinstalled on the bulkhead is excellent for drain holes closer to 13/16" which is a close fit on the male threads. If the hole in your cooler is 7/8" or even up to 1" in diameter such as in the Rubbermaid brand coolers, the use of a larger flat gasket is necessary. When you select the Rubbermaid cooler in the drop down, we will send the flat gasket.

The seal and locknut assembly is completely separate from the ball valve attachment. You will see a section of threads between the nut and ball valve and this is normal.


LPC Cooler Sight Glass:


  1. Drill a small pilot hole through the side of the cooler all the way into the interior making sure that the hole is at least 1/2" above the curved portion of the inner wall.
  2. At the pilot hole location, drill ONLY the outside wall to a minimum of 3/4" diameter but up to 1" would be OK also.
  3. Carefully dig out the insulation foam to the same diameter as the outside hole to reveal the inside wall.
  4. At the pilot hole location, drill the inside wall to exactly 1/2" diameter.
  5. Wrap the threaded bushing threads with teflon tape, and put the red gasket in place on the bushing. If your bushing had a stainless steel washer, remove it. The gasket must be directly against the hex on the bushing.
  6. Insert the threaded bushing into the hole from the inside.
  7. Insert the sight glass assembly into the hole and thread the bushing in by turning it from inside the cooler.
  8. Line the tubing up vertically and mark the location of the stabilizing clip on the cooler. The clip will be installed with a pair of included sheet metal screws. It will make its own hole if you apply pressure to the screwdriver or you may also drill a tiny pilot hole. Do not overtigten the screw or the plastic will easily strip.
  9. We highly recommend that you drill a small (1/8") weep hole in the bottom OUTSIDE shell of the cooler, directly under where any weldless fittings are installed. (After step 3 is a good time). This hole will allow liquid to leak out to indicate an issue with your seals. Without doing this, leaks will go undetected for far too long and potentially foul up the cooler over time. Of course, please be careful not to pierce the inner wall of the cooler when you do this.
CALIBRATION INSTRUCTIONS for all kit types:

1. Level the vessel, apply a vertical piece of masking tape to the side of the tube, and add a carefully measure gallon of water at a time noting each gallon on the tape. Empty the vessel and remove the sight glass. Cut the number strip into individual numbers, remove the rigid paper off the number, apply at the correct level on the tube. Remove the clear top masking leaving ONLY the black vinyl number behind. (It's probably better to view the video to get this). If you are adventurous, you can apply the decals directly to the sight glass while calibrating the level, but we find it's much easier to get a clean straight application with the tube laying down horizontally.

2. If you make a mistake applying the vinyl numbers, you should be able to scrape them off with your fingernail without damaging the tubing. However, do NOT use any solvents or adhesive removers except for rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and some elbow grease. Unfortunately if this happens, you'll have to buy another strip of numbers.



LENGTH TRIMMING INSTRUCTIONS for all kit types:

If after initial installation you find the tubing is sticking up past the top of the vessel, you may want to trim it flush to make it look better and avoid snagging.

1. Mark the cut line with a sharpie marker or piece of tape. WARNING, if you are using tape to mark the cut line, be sure to note which edge represents the cut line or you may cut the tubing short by whatever the thickness of the tape is.

2. Remove the kit from the vessel, laying the tubing down on a piece of cloth to avoid scratching, and cut the tubing with a hack saw or other fine-toothed trim saw. You can also use a tubing cutter designed for copper pipe to make a score cut around the tubing and then snapping it. In either case, you can clean up the cut edge with a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood.
Average Rating: Average Rating: 5 of 5 5 of 5 Total Reviews: 2 Click Here to Write a Review »

Accessories
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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Easy buy May 21, 2016
Reviewer: Jason Floor from Scottsdale, AZ United States  
This is a great kit for an easy HLT conversion. Comes with everything you need. I used the Home Depot Orange 10 Gallon Cooler

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Easy installation February 5, 2016
Reviewer: Kelly Logan from Fremont, CA United States  
easy installation and works great

Was this review helpful to you?