Instructions for the fabrication of our Hot Liquor Tank are as follows:
Bill of Materials:
1 - 5 Gal (18.9L) Igloo Water Jug, $33.99 at Costco
1 - 1/2" Brass Hose Barb Adapter, $2.59 at Home Depot
1 - 1/2" Threaded Ball Valve, $8.09 at Home Depot
1 - 1/2" Brass Pipe Nipple, $2.59 at Home Depot
1 - Brass Faucet Lock Nut, $3.49 at Home Depot
AR - Teflon Plumbing Tape, from the tool box
The most important part here is the selection of the Nipple, be sure to select the length that's right for the wall thickness of your cooler! With a total cost of CDN$50.75 + HST, this is a fairly inexpensive first piece of the Royal City Brewing all grain brew house.
Construction:
Step 1: Removal of the existing valve from the cooler.
Simply twist the valve counter-clockwise (left loosey). It will initially be fairly tight, but is should loosen with a half turn or so. The cooler we used had a plastic nut on the inside so if it's stubborn, use an adjustable wrench to stop it from spinning when twisting the valve. The parts will look like this:
Keep the black gasket and the white washer (the middle two pieces), the valve itself and the nut will no longer be required.
Step 2: Assembly of the Valve Assembly
First, we need to thread the 1/2" Brass Nipple into the Ball Valve. To do this, thread two of the Lock Nuts onto one end of the Nipple. Using two wrenches, tighten the lock nuts against each other - this will allow you to tighten the the Nipple into the Ball Valve.
Next, wrap the bare end of the nipple with Teflon plumbers tape. Be sure to wrap in the direction of the thread. Tips for using Teflon tape can be found here.
Next, use the appropriate wrenches to tighten the nipple in the input side of the Ball Valve. Just to be sure, open the valve and thread the nipple into the end opposite the handle.
Next wrap the Barb Adapter with Teflon tape as described above and tighten it in the output side of the Ball Valve.
The Valve Assembly is now complete!
Step 3: Installation of the Valve Assembly
Insert the Valve Assembly from Step 2 into the opening in the cooler. The valve has been rotated to all for the valve to fully close without hitting the cooler. This shouldn't be an issue when we put the liquor tank into operation.
Place the black gasket, followed by the white washer over the threads of the Valve Assembly (ensuring the gasket is properly seated in the washer).
Finally, thread the Lock Nut onto the Valve Assembly and tighten with a 1" Wrench. Well... that was pretty simple.
Step 4: Leak Test
The final step should be a leak test. This should be fairly straight forward, I'll leave it up to you.
If it holds water, which ours did, you're done. If not, try tightening things up a bit, but not to much you don't want to crack your washer.
Done & Done!
Next time we'll build a Mash/Lauter Tun.
