This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be - Page 7

maida7 · 10-27-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViciousDachshund

Strangely enough I was looking for the answer for this exact question, as I was debating this cooler or the 36qt version.

Anyone have any input?

Are we talking 5 gallon or 10 gallon batches? I use the 70 quart for 10 gallon batches. It's huge. If you did 5 gallon batches the grain bed would be very thin. Especially with lower gravity recipes. No way could you fly sparge in this cooler. Possibly a batch sparge but the thin grain bed may still give you issues.

I think a 30-50 quart cooler is plenty big for most all 5 gallon beers.

r8rphan · 12-07-2010, 03:50 AM

I'm a little confused.. Are the 'batch sizes' for a single mash, or for a sparged mash?...

I have a 28qt cooler that I was hoping to use for 10G IPA's in the 1.060 range... If I am batch sparging, will this be big enough (at least for a while)?

Or do I need to sell my prized belly button lint collection on ebay to raise money for a bigger cooler...

maida7 · 12-07-2010, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r8rphan

I'm a little confused.. Are the 'batch sizes' for a single mash, or for a sparged mash?...

I have a 28qt cooler that I was hoping to use for 10G IPA's in the 1.060 range... If I am batch sparging, will this be big enough (at least for a while)?

Or do I need to sell my prized belly button lint collection on ebay to raise money for a bigger cooler...

Say goodbye to that lint, I think you need a bigger cooler. There is a way to make it work with what you've got but it's really not worth the effort. You could do 2 mashes one after another. Getting a bigger cooler would save you lotsa time and energy. I'd suggest a 60+ qt for 10 gallon batches.

r8rphan · 12-07-2010, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maida7

Say goodbye to that lint, I think you need a bigger cooler. There is a way to make it work with what you've got but it's really not worth the effort. You could do 2 mashes one after another. Getting a bigger cooler would save you lotsa time and energy. I'd suggest a 60+ qt for 10 gallon batches.

Just bit the bullet and ordered that 58qt cooler coleman has on sale... Can afford it like a hole in the head... but at least that's one headache that hole in the head won't have to deal with now...

fc36 · 12-07-2010, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r8rphan

I'm a little confused.. Are the 'batch sizes' for a single mash, or for a sparged mash?...

I have a 28qt cooler that I was hoping to use for 10G IPA's in the 1.060 range... If I am batch sparging, will this be big enough (at least for a while)?

Or do I need to sell my prized belly button lint collection on ebay to raise money for a bigger cooler...

Sell you must. A 10 gal batch at 10.60 is going to require about 23 pounds of 2-row and 29 qts of water just for the initial infusion mash and that's at 70% efficiency! Unless you do the two-part mash mentioned before my post, but trust me that's a big headache and you won't have much fun doing that. It'll be a very long brewday with a mash tun that size. Just invest the $50-100 or so it'll cost you to make either a picnic cooler mash tun or a rubbermaid cooler mash tun. That'll allow you to do a 10 gal batch in one shot. You don't want to put $50 into that 28 qt to convert it and then end up converting a 60+ qt picnic cooler or a 10 gal rubbermaid later. Just do it now and start off on the right foot.

maida7 · 12-07-2010, 01:41 PM

If your batch sparging 10 gallon batch size. This is what I recommend. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332

r8rphan · 12-07-2010, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maida7

If your batch sparging 10 gallon batch size. This is what I recommend. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332

Too late.. I ordered the 58 qt coleman extreme marine cooler an hour ago... But that's a better deal you posted... OTOH, I doubt that thing will fit on the wooden brew stand I've been building.. Up sizing to the 58qt is gonna push it to the limit as it is...

According to the chart, the 58 qt should handle 10G batches to 1.077 no problem... If I need anything stronger than that, I'll do a 5G batch.. because it won't be often if I do....

These coleman extreme 'marine' coolers offer seat cushions as available accessories... I'm hoping to get dual use out of this thing as a cooler for the boat as well.. And my little boat is already cramped as it is... I've ripped the seats out of it, installing a pedestal seat for the drivers side, and I've been looking for an affordable seat/cooler so that I can save space by combining the passenger seat with the cooler..

This may be the best of all solutions for me...

For $50 (including shipping) I think I just solved a problem for both the boat and brewing...

r8rphan · 12-14-2010, 11:11 PM

Just received the coleman extreme marine 58qt cooler....

First of all, for some reason, when I was posting in this thread before, I was thinking that my other cooler was a 28 qt cooler, when right on the dang side it says 48qt...

So I filled both coolers with measured amounts of water to see what they actually held..

Now the 48 qt cooler I already had, holds exactly 48 qts with lid closed...

The new cooler, advertised and sold as a 58qt cooler, holds 52qts with lid closed..

It's 'much larger on the outside (better insulated), but has very little actual capacity gain...

So, I don't see reason to ruin a new cooler for only 1G gain in capacity, and a huge loss of space on little wooden brew stand...

Basically, I just spent $50 on a mash tun that's not gonna cut it... The saving grace is that I still need a cooler/seat for the boat.. So it's not a total waste..

But now I have to decide if I want to use the 48qt cooler I have, building a manifold for that, and then later either buying a bigger cooler and using the manifold built for the smaller one, or converting an additional keg into a mash tun.. which will fit on my brew stand, but I won't be able to gravity feed it (I'll need a pump)..

So, I'm gonna throw out this question to help me decide..

Can I use my 48qt cooler (actual 48qt capacity) to mash for 10lb brews 'up to' 1.060 FG (600GU)? According to the chart at the beginning of this thread, I should be able to mash for a 708GU brew.. but I don't know if that's filled so full that you can't stir it or what...

If that's acceptable, then I'll just have to plan to either do a two part brew day, or go for less beer if I want to go higher than that...

I'm at a point where I want to quit futzing around with trying to get all this crap together, and start brewing already! This is getting frustrating...

or spend yet 'more' money on a bigger cooler yet, which will probably not fit on my brew stand at all, killing my attempt at saving space...

maida7 · 12-14-2010, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maida7

If your batch sparging 10 gallon batch size. This is what I recommend. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332

I still feel the same way as I did 7 days ago.

r8rphan · 12-14-2010, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maida7

I still feel the same way as I did 7 days ago.

And seven days ago, I wished you would have posted that a few minutes earlier...

And while I understand, and even agree, fitting such a cooler into my plans right now is problematic...

And all that doesn't answer my question.. Will I be able to 'make due' for a while with the 48qt cooler I have now, to brew 10G batches of 1.060 FG beer?

That's all I'm after 'right now'.. I can revisit this issue come spring, when I've got to revisit the whole operation anyways before the summer temps hit....

Will it work 'for now?'