chilibin

[Ian]

Hi guys, I wondered whether you might have a good reccomendation for a make of chilibin easily available in NZ that would be good for a mash tun - maybe 55 litres or thereabouts?
I also wondered whether anyone knew where one could purchase used ss kegs of about the same volume assuming you don't want to go the route of 'hiring and retaining?'
Cheers,
Ian

[Chris Banks]

Hi Ian
Not sure about chillibins. But used ss kegs I have always gotten from local scrap metal dealers
even if they dont have one at the time they are normally happy to keep an eye out for one
I have used several mostly to make keg hangi cookers and never had a problem getting them!
Cheers Chris

[Rusty Chch]

I've seen the McCoy RubberMaid chilly bins in Payless Plastics. They're expensive but they feel really solid

[James P]

I am sure those chilly bins are the same as MoreBeer uses for their tuns. (Like an Igloo)

[Ian]

Many thanks for those snippets - exactly what I'm looking for.
Cheers,
Ian

[denimglen]

I've bought a few sankes from a scrap metal dealer.

I went with the rectangular Rubbermaid from payless plastics, better deal IMO than the cylindrical coolers.

[MrC]

I saw a decent range of chilli bins at The Warehouse yesterday. I haven't noticed them before, not sure whether they have just started stocking them. I was eyeing up a 38L rectangular one with a spigot for about $85. Can't remember the brand sorry. It was blue with a hinged white lid and there were lots of other sizes (bigger and smaller).

I'm currently mashing in a 38L rectangular chilli-bin. Mine doesn't have a spigot so I currently syphon over the side from my lautering manifold (a-la HowToBrew). I've been struggling with the syphon flow stopping before enough wort has drained and so I've been thinking of moving to a same size chilli-bin but with a spigot.

[Ian]

Hi again,
I just wondered whether you find that you can use the spigot that the chilly bins are equipped with or whether you find you need to take it out and insert a ball valve.
Cheers,
Ian

[vdog]

I think mine's a Rubbermaid one (55L rectangular) and have had good results with that. Do replace the spigot with a ball valve though, specially since you can then mate your manifold directly to the back of the tap to make lautering easy.

[Ian]

Thanks for the tip. I actually have been given a very nice sheet of stainless steel mesh with fine holes by someone who has used the same thing to make a false bottom for lautering, rather than use a manufold system for straining. But still it would probably give more control having a proper ball valve than the standard plastic spigot? I intend to get the Rubbermaid chilly bin and wondered about size. You have obviously not found the 55L one too large, so would you say that's about the right size to go for? I intend starting out with 25L batches but would like to be able to get up to 40L eventually.
Cheers,
Ian

[vdog]

55L is good - as you say, it gives you some room to increase the batch sizes later. The real limiting factor is the size of your pot - mine is 40L so the biggest boil I can do is not much more than 30L anyway, allowing for boil room. The 55L isn't too big for smaller batches, we're doing about 25L batches as well and the mash temp drops by less than 1 degree over an hour. I suspect it'd just get slightly better with bigger volumes.