Price: $35.00
Pros: -Holds temp great -Lightweight
Cons: -Inside scratches easily
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Works great as a mash tun! Converted with a stainless spigot and mesh tube for wort pickup. Have never had a stuck mash or any issue with the tun (as of yet, knock on wood).

Price: $60.00
Pros: Works great
Cons: valve arm I purchased is a bit too large for the opening
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Its fantastic and easy to build based on my lack of handyman skills.

Price: $49.99
Pros: Holds heat very well Easy to modify
Cons: can't think of any
Recommended? Yes

Comments: It was very easy to convert this to a mash tun. I used a piece of 3/8 copper coil from the big orange store to fabricate a manifold and slotted it with a dremel tool. It hold the heat great, I usually see a 1-2 degree temp loss over 60 minutes

Price: $75.00
Pros: Simple to make, all parts came from Home Depot - one trip shopping.
Cons: Would prefer temperature control, circulation other than 1 gallon pitcher, repitch, etc.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This is my first all-grain setup. I made the converted 10-gallon cooler based on the instructions from the back of the Palmer book. Very inexpensive and easy to do. Most of my recipes call for 60-75 minute mashes at a fixed temperature. The cooler mash tun will hold a temperature of ~155 F with a degree or two loss per hour. Mashing out at a higher temp is accomplished by pouring hotter water in during the sparge step.

Price: $65.00
Pros: Cheap, holds temps great
Cons: Plastic...
Recommended? Yes

Comments: A cheap and easy way to go AG. Not many shortcomings for the price. They are: its plastic, and you will have to make a round shield to keep the dead space small when Mashing.

Price: $45.00
Pros: works well for hot liquor tank after conversion
Cons: none
Recommended? No

Comments: went to Lowes and picked up parts for conversion for about $25. found cooler on craigslist for $20. using for hot liquor tank and possibly for bigger beers as I am only brewing 5 gallon batches. Used homebrew wikipedia site for conversion instructions.

Price: $20.00
Pros: clean cheap garage sale
Cons: large and bulky
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Excellent product, happened along a garage sale and found a 10 gallon cooler in mint shape.

Price: $30.00
Pros: straightforeward
Cons: grain be can become stuck if you are not careful.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Cheap to make. Easy to use. Makes great home brew!

Price: $35.00
Pros: holds temp nicely, within 2 degrees over the course of the mash
Cons: its god awful Home Depot orange.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Picked this bad boy up to replace my 5 gallon masherator thingy. haha. i couldn't do big beers in a 5 gallon cooler so off to the depot i went.
a couple of fittings from bargainfittings.com and some stainless braid a whammo i gots me a mean mash tun.. get one if you dont have one.

Price: $50.00
Pros: I built it to meet my every need. Only lost 1.5 degrees over 1.5 hour mash.
Cons: Must have HLT on direct heat to increase mash tun temp. Cannot directly heat mash tun.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This is a great way to begin 5gal all grain batches. I have since started using this setup for 10gal as well. Overall cant go wrong with it.

Price: $50.00
Pros: lightweight and holds temp
Cons: can't apply direct heat
Recommended? Yes

Comments: holds temp great , can mash 10 gallon batches as well as high gravity mashes.

Price: $40.00
Pros: Works great! After installed a ball valve, works like a charm. Built a copper manifold for it, but think that I am going to try a stainless braid due to the fact that my efficiency is not where I want it to be. Purchased from the Home Depot.
Cons: Holds temps fairly well, but I have to add extra boiling H2O to keep the mash temp consistent throughout 60-90 minute mashes
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Cooler works great, holds temps fairly well, but additional hot water needs added to maintain mash temps consistently over 60-90 minute mashes. Installed a ball valve, works great for this cooler. Drains easily, easy to clean. I constructed a copper manifold, but am going to switch to a stainless braid due to consistently low efficiencies (low 60's, both batch sparging and fly sparging).

Price: $65.50
Pros: Maintains heat very well. Average loss over 1 hr. is 1-2 degrees F.
Cons: None yet.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: I made this myself with parts easily available from Home Depot. In total it cost me about $65.00. I would highly recommend it particularly for newer brewers like myself who are just starting to get into all-grain. It is so much easier than trying to use a bunch of different pots on the stove and a colander for sparging. If you need any help trying to rig this up let me know and I'll see if I can lend any advice!

Price: $50.00
Pros: Holds temp well. Easy to clean. Easy to modify.
Cons: Requires partial filling when performing multiple rests. Walls can warp if mash out is run down the side of the cooler.
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Overall, it's definitely worth the investment. Only major con, is the inconvenience of having to partially fill it when using multiple rests.

Price: $42.00
Pros: Keeps temps well
Cons: nothing
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Little bit bigger than the 5 gallon, but the 10 gallon offers lots more flexibility

Price: $0.01
Pros: Works well
Cons: None yet
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Used a stainless dishwasher install kit for the screen

Price: $50.00
Pros: Home Depot version, cheap and made by Rubbermaid, just $40 less
Cons: only holds about 35lbs of grain, not enough for a really big 10Gal AG or parti
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Great product, made by Rubbermaid, $40 cheaper than plain Rubbermaid

Price: $50.00
Pros: -Cheap easy way to get into all grain brewing with just a couple mods -lautering works well with addition of SS braid
Cons: -have to rely on software for accurate strike temps -sometimes loses a few degrees over length of mash -no easy way to adjust temps
Recommended? Yes

Comments: This can be and often is the only MLT a lot of brewers ever use. Works very well and there have been lots of exception beers made with this setup. There is some learning curve involved with calculating strike temps and adjusting for all of the heat losses involved. For this reason, brewing software is pretty much required. A direct fire MLT with thermostat will replace this for me eventually

Price: $65.00
Pros: Holds temp precisely and will not faulter. Easy transport if you need it. Screw on top is a must with AG brews.
Cons: Feeling the need to brew all the time?!
Recommended? Yes

Comments: While other typical coolers will suffice for any all grain brew, the Cooler will amply conserve the sufficient temperature control over the entire mashing schedule. I have done multiple brews with a stainless steel braided hose and all have been success. Getting this cooler will solidify your choice to brew/mash AG brews.

Price: $39.00
Pros: Unreal temp stability with the lid on. Less than 2 degree drop over 60 min.
Cons: None
Recommended? Yes

Comments: Actually got the Home Depot branded 10 gallon cooler - add Cooler bulkhead/valve, t-fitting, two 1/2" screen tubes 12" long, and quick dis-connect. Just a smudge over $100 for an awesome MLT (and HLT w/o the screens)!