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aekdbbop · 01-13-2008, 08:33 PM

Im sure there are alot of you out there that use them.. but what are the advantages v. a cooler..

My 10 gallon "speedo" cooler isn't cutting it. and trying to decide it i should go for a keggle mlt or spend 25 bucks for a 60qt ice cube or this http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4994241

thanks!

AGBrewer · 01-13-2008, 08:36 PM

With direct fired mlt I never miss a mash temp, mash outs and step mashing are a breeze.

mattm3 · 01-13-2008, 10:48 PM

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Why not direct fire? It seems to me it would be easier to maintain the temperature. Why do people use coolers instead?

I'm getting ready to do my first AG batch. I did a partial mash on my last batch. I used my boil kettle on the electric stove and held the temperature that way. Then I ladled the the grains and water into a bucket with holes in the bottom placed inside another bucket with a spigot. I was careful to keep the grains floating. Then I sparged and collected everything back in the brew pot.

I'm getting a larger pot and an outdoor propane cooker. I plan on using the same technique, i.e. direct fire mash into my double bucket sparging system.

Does this make sense and does it work? What advantages are there to the cooler method?

(sorry to hijack the thread but it's the same question more or less.)

SuperiorBrew · 01-13-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGBrewer

With direct fired mlt I never miss a mash temp, mash outs and step mashing are a breeze.

+1
I love it, I have not had a single issue with it. (AKA no scorching)

**Sea** · 01-13-2008, 10:53 PM

Direct firing works great, but I think a lot of us don't mess with it because you have to be very careful not to scorch the bottom of the mash. That being said, I plan on doing it soon.

beeraggie · 01-13-2008, 11:25 PM

I currently use a "cooler" but I am moving to a direct fire. I want to have more control for protein rest ect...

FlyGuy · 01-13-2008, 11:50 PM

I think coolers are popular because they are cheap, they don't require a second burner/stand/etc., they hold temps REALLY well, and they are light and easy to move around and store.

I made up a really simple steam injection system for my cooler MLT that gives you all the advantages of direct firing, but you retain all the advantages of the cooler. For me, it is almost necessary because I can't brew outdoors in the winter (feels like 8 months of the year up here in Canada!) and I needed something that I could use in my kitchen. In some ways, it is the best of both worlds, and cost me all of $35 to make. Details are in my signature.

Kaiser · 01-14-2008, 01:28 AM

Unless, I have a thermostat and automated mixer on a direct fired mash tun, I'm planning to stick with the cooler. I feel that the cooler requires much less attention to keep the rest temperatures and I don't have to worry about stirring.

I can precisely hit my sacc temps if I dough in below that rest and increase the temp with boiling water additions.

But I never mashed direct fired, so you may prove me wrong.

Kai

menschmaschine · 01-14-2008, 01:35 AM

I have a direct-heat MLT (keggle). Overall I like it, but I've overshot my temps a couple times when correcting mash temp or stepping up. I think it's relatively easy to overshoot. It has resulted in high FGs (stuck fermentations) on 2 batches of mine. But I'll still use it. I'll just get better at not overshooting temps.

**the_bird** · 01-14-2008, 01:39 AM

I've thought about "upgrading" to direct-fired, and if I ever build a sculpture this will be incorporated into the design - but for now, I can usually hit mash temps for single infusion mashed balls-on. I haven't tried step-mashing with the cooler (other than decoctions), but generally step-mashing's unneccesary.