Suggestions for Mash Tuns

Hello All,

Thanks, in advance, for any assistance.

I am looking at getting into AG brewing and was looking for suggestions for a decent mash tun. I am thinking about purchasing one, but did not want to spend too much.

Any suggestions are welcome- Any types that you would shy away from? What size would you start with?

I will do mainly 5 gal. brews, but do brew mainly big heavy beers.

Does anyone have any expierence with- http://www.brewd00d.com/?

Many thanks,
Jsta

10Gal rubbermaid coolers are a fairly low cost choice, and here are some plans for converting them.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=23008.

For any big beer, you are going to want the 10G size.

You can also use rectangular coolers. Different ways to modify those are described in How to Brew.

I am starting to think the 10 gal round may be overrated.

I am looking to purchase a bigger one soon, and right now the Igloo Ice Cube 48 qt looks to be a good choice. From the prices I've personally compared, the Ice Cube is a little more than 1/3rd the price of the 10 gal and will work just as well.

The argument is that the 10 gal round is better insulated, but it seems that people use the rectangular coolers without problems. Another argument may be deeper grainbed, but like you, I do 5 gal heavier beers. When you have that much grist, your grain bed is going to be fine with the rectangular.

I'd save the money and get a rectangular cooler.

I doubt anyone's got much experience with the site you posted - it's new to me, and I keep up with the equipment discussions pretty closely. However, the prices seem pretty decent, and the guy seems genuine. I own a 60 qt Ice Cube, much like the 60 qt version sold at your linked site. I brew 15 gallon batches with it (or 10 gallon high gravity batches), and I haven't been disappointed.

If you are going to brew more than 5 gallons, go rectangular. The cylindrical coolers are great for 5 gallon ag batches, but if you need to go bigger get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G36KIM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I'll go with what Yuri says.
I'd buy one at those prices. (probably)

All,

Many, many thanks for the responses. This is a great community and I do appreciate it. Looks like I will be in the AG ranks shortly.

All the Best!

I didn't have any problems at all with Chuck. He was very responsive and it willing to acommadate requests. (like keeping the manifold pieces loose rather than glueing them together).

I have used my cooler once so far and it worked great. If you have a choice of valve go with the ball valve over the "regular" one. I need to swap mine out for a ball valve. the guy even said i should but I was pressed for time and didn't want ot delay my order. He uses USPS and it took longer than I thought it should have but that wasn't his fault since I got the tracking number the same night he dropped off the package.

Looks like more people are actually using the rectangular coolers than I thought. Might have to go that route instead as it looks like the prices are a bit cheaper then the 10Gal round ones. Any brand recommendations or experience with which ones hold heat best, etc.... I'd probably go with a 40-50qt model since most of my beers will be 5G batches.

I picked up a brewd00d 48 quart with the sparge manifold and sparge tank. It works great, I've done two AG's so far with no problems. The 48 quart holds a steady temperature for an hour with no problem.

All the bits and parts are press fit and come apart for easy cleaning. He's great with emails and shipped it promptly.

There's probably a thread somewhere out there on this but....

Whats the easiest way to convert a rectangular cooler into a mash tun. Drill holes in copper tubing? Bazooka screens?