I bought two used 5 gallon igloo coolers off Craigs, cleaned them with oxyclean, sprayed it with bleach cleaner, had it blessed by a Rabbi, and I'll be using starsan pretty soon. After spending two hours at Ace looking for the right parts I'm 90% done.
The set up goes like this:
Copper lines -> Brass Nut -> O-ring || cooler |Rubber Washer| Spacer -> Valve -> Nipple
Question 1
On the inside of the cooler, between the cooler wall and the o-ring. If their is any cracks or space water can get through and fluid will go into the cooler body thus introducing contaminants. Any ideas on a food safe rubber washer that would be better for this application? (the original washer from the igloo is not an option at this point)
Question 2
Are black rubber O-rings safe for brewing? This is the same kind used in sink applications.
Question 3
Has anyone tried NOT welding the copper pipes together? Now hear me out on this. The reason we weld is so it doesn't leak... We are also cutting dozens of slits in the copper so leaking is not only okay, it's encouraged. Unless a pipe came fully disconnected then in theory everything should be just dandy.
As of now Yes it holds water quite well.
http://imgur.com/a/AftsD#dSZmY