Looking for 10 gallon Gott-style coolers

greg75 · 11-18-2006, 09:27 PM

Hi, everyone. I've decided to make the leap from extract to all grain brewing. I've been reading on the various all-grain systems that people have bought/built, and I've come to the conclusion that the round water cooler system would be the best option for me. Furthermore, I decided to start off the bat with ten gallon coolers, so I could incorporate bigger grain bills into my brews. I still plan on mainly doing 5 gallon batches, but the flexibility of doing some ten gallon batches is appealing as well.

Anyway, I've been looking all over the place for ten gallon Gott coolers. The closest I've come to finding one is a five gallon Rubbermaid Gott style cooler at Target. Other than that, I'm not finding much of anything. I have found some online, but I'd like to avoid paying shipping costs if at all possible, but it's becoming quite apparent to me this is the only option I'll have.

So, where did all you folks get your coolers? I'm also wondering what the typical price is for a ten gallon cooler of this type. I've seen them as expensive as $80 before shipping. I did find some Igloo coolers on ebay for $40 plus $15 shipping, but it seems that most sparge arms and false bottoms are designed with the Rubbermaid coolers in mind, so I'd like to stay with that brand (I don't know the dimensions of the Igloo coolers offhand, although I think they're quite similar).

Better yet, if anyone here knows of some national retailers, like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, or other well known storefront businesses that sell these coolers, that would be really helpful.

It's funny, but I have four homebrew shops within sixty miles that sell false bottoms. I'd think the false bottoms would be the hard items to locate, not the coolers! I see these damn things everywhere, but never thought about where they came from...

cha ngo · 11-18-2006, 11:31 PM

If there is a local supply house that caters to contractors then I would call them. I got my 10 gal cooler for around $40.00 by asking at such a place.

Desert_Sky · 11-18-2006, 11:40 PM

check home depot

**Hopfan** · 11-19-2006, 02:46 AM

I got an Igloo 10 Gal from a sporting goods place that caters to the local football teams. They ordered it and I paid ~ $45. The interior is 13 1/8" in diameter and it is 19" deep. The center of the spigot hole is 1 1/8" from the bottom of the cooler. I put in a ball valve and used a compression fitting to put a 3" piece of copper to reach to the bottom of the cooler, then put a stainless braid on it.

Haven't tried it yet, but my first AG should be in about a week when the grain shipment arrives.

**EdWort** · 11-19-2006, 04:28 AM

I got my 10 gallon coolers from Home Depot for $39. This was about a month ago.

I used it the first time batch sparging using a stainless braid. Worked Great!

**the_bird** · 11-19-2006, 12:31 PM

My Depot is completely out of 10 gallon coolers, so I bought a nine-gallon Coleman Xtreme at the Dicks Sporting Goods that just opened. $29. I'm batch sparging, so rectangular is fine. Nine gallons should be big enough for any of the beers I'm likely to make (until I can keg, which won't be for a couple years, I'm not even THINKING about 10-gallon batches).

What I like about this cooler is how the drain is set below the bottom of the cooler, there's a little trench cutaway for it. It would be SO EASY to make a false bottom, just a flat piece of perforated stainless from that shop Yuri likes, lying flat on the bottom of the cooler would work. I have the braid from the old mash tun that I'll re-use, but I'm temped to just buy a piece of stainless and call it a day.

greg75 · 11-19-2006, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bird

My Depot is completely out of 10 gallon coolers, so I bought a nine-gallon Coleman Xtreme at the Dicks Sporting Goods that just opened. $29. I'm batch sparging, so rectangular is fine. Nine gallons should be big enough for any of the beers I'm likely to make (until I can keg, which won't be for a couple years, I'm not even THINKING about 10-gallon batches).

What I like about this cooler is how the drain is set below the bottom of the cooler, there's a little trench cutaway for it. It would be SO EASY to make a false bottom, just a flat piece of perforated stainless from that shop Yuri likes, lying flat on the bottom of the cooler would work. I have the braid from the old mash tun that I'll re-use, but I'm temped to just buy a piece of stainless and call it a day.

My Home Depot didn't have any 10 gallon round coolers, either. I did go to Wal-Mart after Home Depot, and found a Coleman Xtreme 70 qt (17.5 gallon) for $34. I am becoming more and more tempted to go that route, because it would be so much easier all the way around. It's nearby, so that saves shipping charges, and batch sparging sounds much easier than fly sparging, so it would probably be in my best interest to start all grain brewing with that method.

My main concern about batch sparging is that it isn't as efficient as fly sparging...correct? How would I go about overcoming this? I assume the easy solution would be upping the grains used by a small percentage?

Also, when using a rectangular cooler like this, what do you use for a hot liquor tank, or do you not use one? I suppose all you really have to do is directly dump hot water onto the grains (or grist, is it?). I was thinking about buying the Coleman Xtreme and then a really cheap rectangular cooler for hot water.

P.S. You're a big Patriots fan, right? I'm as big a Packer fan as they come. To be quite honest, the thought of cathing New England after they've suffered two straight losses is kind of terrifying to me. The Packers are a team on the way up, but I don't think they're going to be ready for what they're running into today. Tom Brady scares the crap out of me...

**the_bird** · 11-19-2006, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg75

My main concern about batch sparging is that it isn't as efficient as fly sparging...correct? How would I go about overcoming this? I assume the easy solution would be upping the grains used by a small percentage?

Exactly. For your first sparge, plan your recipe assuming a low efficiency, maybe around 65% or so (I hit 64% on the first batch). Once you get a feel for how the process works, you should be able to get that up a bit - I'm shooting for 75%, I'm at 70% right now. Some people I know are north of 80%. The key is - know your gear, know your processes, and develop some consistency - it's better to always be right around 70% rather than sometimes 65% and sometimes 80%, so that you can plan accordingly. Frankly, grain is so cheap that having to toss an extra pound or two in there to make up the difference is not a big deal at all.

I don't have a hot liquor tank; I bring my water up to temp in my brew kettle and transfer directly from that. You would need one for fly sparging, where you need to tickle consistently hot water out over an extended period, but with batch sparging you really just need to fill the tank up.

As for the Patriots; Bill Simmon's mailbag had a great analogy, surrounding Brady with receivers like Caldwell and Gabriel is like ordering a filet mignon and a Bud Light. There's something off about Brady this year, though, which is more distrubing - I have seen more bad throws this year than in probably the last three years combined. I'm not PANICING, but today is definately must-win, even more so magnified with the Bears coming to town next week.

In other words, I am cautiously optimistic that the Patriots come out with a desperate, WE WILL WIN mentality. Remember, though, point for you guys - Rodney Harrison is out, and our defensive backfield is just not the same without him.

greg75 · 11-19-2006, 08:46 PM

Well, I decided to go with the rectangular mash tun for the overall simplicity of going that route. Bird's post kind of made me change things up a bit, and I went with a 36 qt Coleman Xtreme, like he did. I found it on sale at a local hardware store for $24. And, like the bird, I don't have the facilities to do ten gallon batches at a time, so the 70 qt. would be overkill, yet the 36 qts. will still allow me to do some big beers, as long as they're five gallon batches. One other consideration that made me decide to go with the smaller cooler is that I will have a deeper grain bed with the smaller dimensions of my cooler, although I'm not sure that's especially important with batch sparging. Either way, this thing looks like it's going to work real nice.

BTW, I see what you mean about this thing working well with a false bottom! The channeled drain on this thing was designed by a homebrewer, you'd think!

I bought a SS sink access line for now, but I have Yuri's Online Metals site bookmarked in case...who am I kidding...when I decide to go the false bottom route.

One question, I'm installing a brass ball valve where the drain is. Did you leave the rubber gasket on the inside of the cooler intact? It seems like the logical thing to do. Also, I think I'm going to need a big washer (or better yet, another gasket) on the exterior of the cooler where the valve meets the side to prevent any loss of insulation during mashing.

**Hopfan** · 11-19-2006, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bird

As for the Patriots; Bill Simmon's mailbag had a great analogy, surrounding Brady with receivers like Caldwell and Gabriel is like ordering a filet mignon and a Bud Light. There's something off about Brady this year, though, which is more distrubing - I have seen more bad throws this year than in probably the last three years combined. I'm not PANICING, but today is definately must-win, even more so magnified with the Bears coming to town next week.

In other words, I am cautiously optimistic that the Patriots come out with a desperate, WE WILL WIN mentality. Remember, though, point for you guys - Rodney Harrison is out, and our defensive backfield is just not the same without him.

Off topic, but my 10 year old is a HUGE Patriots fan. He sleeps in a Brady jersey with his Pats pillow and one of the "on-field" balls from their last Superbowl win. In fact, we're taking him up there the Sunday after Thanksgiving to see the Pats-Bears game. Should be a good one.