building a 10 gallon cooler mash tun

I have been doing a lot of research on building one of these, and i can't decide if i should go with a false bottom or the hose braid. just bought a cooler last night. can someone tell me what the difference is on the too, and if the efficiency changes between the two types. looking to use all stainless hardware. thanks

I have a 5 and 10 gal cooler, I did a lot of research and finally went with a copper manifold. I sweated the pipes, a lot of people don't for the ease of cleaning but I haven't ran into any issues. Very flag I went this route I batch sparge and get 76-80% eff. Good enough for the girls I date

Thanks !!

I use the braid in mine, so I can't compare false bottoms. However with the braid and batch sparging I consistently get 80% efficiency. I've had 1 stuck sparge, and that was from a pumpkin mash. The braid is also pretty dam cheap, no idea what false bottoms cost.

I have a ten-gallon beverage cooler for my MLT. I first used a 12" diameter false bottom but always got grain under the false bottom. It was really hard to clear the wort and set the grain bed during vourlof. I then switched to a braid.
Then last year I fitted my cooler with an 11 gallon kettle in the cooler. I tried the false bottom again (I thought that the floor of the cooler warped allowing grain under the false bottom. I also thought that the SS kettle bottom would work better with the false bottom). I tried the new configuration a couple of times, but discovered that I had grain under the false bottom just like before. I went back to using the braid.

Others have had great experiences with false bottoms, but my experiences were not so good. Mark

+1 for the braid.

I used the false bottom for a year and it worked ok for the most part. You will get grain under the false bottom. Last June I had a mash get stuck from all the grain trapped underneath. I had to transfer (dump) the mash into another vessel to clear the grain under the false bottom. That was it for me. I decided to go with the braid and I'm not looking back. If you go with the braid, one suggestion I would make is to add a SS spring inside the braid so it doesn't collapse.

My. .02

FWIW, I prefer my copper manifold. I strategically sweated certain spots so that it was solid when put together, but could easily be taken apart for cleaning. I have never had a stuck sparge, and have done several wheat beers without issue so far (rice hulls added always for good measure, however).

I also remember researching this topic, and came across an argument saying that with a braid (or improperly built manifolds), you can have uneven draining/rinsing of grains during sparging, which can decrease your efficiency. I don't know if this is a substantial factor in the home brewing setting, but something to consider with the braid. I remember that the argument swayed me enough to measure my manifold so that it was square, sat in the center of my tun, and has cuts placed for (relatively) even draining throughout the tun. I have had great success with my manifold, and routinely hit 86% +/- 1% efficiency.

I cannot say one way is better than another, but so far I have been very impressed with my copper manifold.

I think I may still have the drawn plans for what I did if you are interested.

^^^ Nearly all of the arguments against simple braids and maybe-not-so-well-designed manifolds only bear any weight when fly sparging. When batch sparging there's no similar "rinsing" as with fly sparging, there's just "draining", and if you can accomplish that with a simple braid or manifold, there's no disadvantage...

Cheers!

thanks for all the great info, here is what i am thinking about ordering.http://weldlessfittings.com/coolerfittings.html
the first cooler fitting, and the 14" stainless braid. or should i only go with the 9"?

I have a false bottom and no experience to compare to anything else. The false bottom was 25 bucks but I still have to strain my grains before they go in the keggle. I basically just use a little hand strainer from the tube out of my tun and it works well. I like the idea of not really having to worry about the stuck sparge but i guess it's a possibility. I might get a braid to compare.

I use braid. Works great and never had problems, and it's cheap too.

I have a 10g Igloo with a braid. I used a conversion kit with the longer braided option. I think it was 12". I had to roll the end slightly to make it fit. No collapses yet, a few drips during the last brew.

I feel a bit stupid. I don't know what most of you are talking about - and I've tried looking it up in a number of wiki's. For 10 years we have been using:
- A Coleman Extreme 36 qt cooler for our mash tun. It is not modified in any manner.
- A physically separate lauter tun with false bottom, drain spigot, and a short (18") hose to fill the boil pot. It looks like it holds 5 to 6 gallons at a time.
- We use a beat up Revere Ware pot (1.5 qt) to scoop the mash from one tun to the other. Then we use a large (15") rubber (hi-temp) spatula to shift the last bits. It is a bit messy, but works every time. Easy to clean - except for the occasional grain bit stuck in the false bottom grating.

The practice reads:
Fill the lauter-tun to within 3” from the top – at the ring.
Empty the remaining boil pot water into the sparge pot.
There should be 3+ gallons remaining (includes a gallon+ for hop sparge later on).
Drain some malt extract (first runnings – a couple of quarts) into the Revere Ware pot.
Recycle back into the lauter-tun until the runoff extract becomes clear.
Don't let this splash and make more mess.
Setup the boil pot on the floor and drain the malt extract into it.
Keep water level at the ring until the extract reaches 5” below the bottom rivet (3 gallons in boil pot).
Let the water level fall to where the grain can be seen – extract at 3” below the bottom rivet (4 gallons in boil pot).
Gingerly, add more sparge water until water reaches 3/4” below the bottom rivet (5½ gallons in boil pot).
No more sparge water is needed. Continue draining until the drain hose fills with air (7½ gallons in boil pot).

The practice is reliable and repeatable.

I only use one tun, add I think you'll find most here do as well. Granted I'm relatively new to the game, but in my research I haven't read about transferring mash from one tun to another. I add grain, add hot water, mash for an hour or so, and drain that. I then add sparge water to the same tun, and add that to the boil pot. Easy peasy.

From everything I have read, it really doesn't matter weather you use a false bottom, manifold or braid. Although, from that research, it seems that using a false bottom, if you are batch sparging, really is a waste of money. If you are batch sparging you don't have to worry about channeling at all as your sugar extraction happens in the cooler, not while draining. I use hose braid, it was cheap, easy to install and has worked perfectly in every batch I've done so far.

just placed a order with weldlessfittings.com couldn't find better prices. went all stainless with the 14" braid, stainless ball valve and barb plus bulk head. $48 to my door

looking forward to building my first mash tun, thanks to all your help. hope to go all grain this summer. was planing on batch sparging, going to build a keggle and thats it.

Ready to go !

ThreeGnomes said:

I think the SS spring is a great idea.. but.. I've not seen any. Are they relatively common to find at something like Big HD Orange? If so, where? Seems like, as with WalMart, no one knows where things are if they aren't in their personal department.

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I didn't have any luck with HD. I ordered what I needed through McMaster-Carr.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#stainless-steel-compression-springs/=kx7uz0

Check out home brew finds. They just had two ten gallon coolers listed. $40 range delivered. No tax!

govner1 said:

Check out home brew finds. They just had two ten gallon coolers listed. $40 range delivered. No tax!

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I got mine from Amazon delivered to my door for $47.86. That is cheaper than I could buy one around here plus tax, including Walmart.

Got mine @ HD for $48 with tax

I have a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler fitted with a SS bulkhead fitting and ball valve. I have tried it fly sparging with a SS perforated false bottom, SS braid and Bazooka Screen.

The false bottom is only needed if you are fly sparging. As I have used both several times on the same recipe and gotton the same efficiency, I don't fly sparge anymore.

The bazooka screen is nice in that it is a lot stiffer than the braid so that it tends to stay in place. The tradeoff is that the holes in the screen are bigger so you tend to get more fines requiring a little more recycle.

The SS braid works great but can move around when stiring. It does give a clearer wort.

I tried a PVC manafold once with slits. Worked OK but got a lot of fines and grain husk in the first runoff and was more dificult to clean. I also had to take care not to hit it while stiring since it was not welded together. I would not recommend a manifold in a round cooler.

Hose braid did not work out, went flat and would not drain . Had to run a dip tube cleaning tool threw the ball valve. Braid came flat from weldless fittings. I think that was the problem. It went back to its shape. Just ordered a kettle screen to try out next time

I've seen some people take wire such as from a coat hanger (not sure if that specific metal would be suitable though) and form it into a spring shape. When this is threaded into the mesh, it prevents it from collapsing.

Ordered one of these to try

I've used the bazooka screen that you posted the picture if. It works great. Good luck with you set up.

Interestingly, I just had a different problem with the mesh it mash tun. My stirring during the mash actually lifted the screen up (without me knowing it until after unfortunately). Because of that and the risk of that happening again, I think I'm going to a false bottom. It tanked my efficiency terribly.



Pat

my main complaint from my false bottom is that it leaves a half gallon at the bottom. I can't tilt it to get the wort out because that just puts the drain point in the center.

BTW.. nice jeep man! Got a JKU myself.. starting to plan for a trip to Rausch Creek, PA. Wheeling, camping and of course.. homebrew!

Copper manifold for the win... Just saying. No issues, 2 cups H20 left in bottom after draining.

Called my homebrew shop to see if they had a false bottom in stock for my cooler. And the guy told me they don't even sell them. They don't like them bc of the space it leaves under it . He told me to put a kettle screen in over anything. I was really surprised. Also said it will hold over 45 pounds

ilikeguns said:

my main complaint from my false bottom is that it leaves a half gallon at the bottom. I can't tilt it to get the wort out because that just puts the drain point in the center.

BTW.. nice jeep man! Got a JKU myself.. starting to plan for a trip to Rausch Creek, PA. Wheeling, camping and of course.. homebrew!

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Thanks.. Love going wheeling and camping. Did that in Vermont before. I need to come up with a good micro brewery name with jeepin and brewing in it

Jeepinctbrewer said:

Thanks.. Love going wheeling and camping. Did that in Vermont before. I need to come up with a good micro brewery name with jeepin and brewing in it

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Definitely check out Rausch.. Worth the drive.

Re: micro brew name
That's a tough one for the same reason that I had coming up with one that included my other passion (see my screen name) .. You have to be very clear that the beer is for AFTER... Still haven't come up with one

Tyru007 said:

I have a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler fitted with a SS bulkhead fitting and ball valve. I have tried it fly sparging with a SS perforated false bottom, SS braid and Bazooka Screen.

The false bottom is only needed if you are fly sparging. As I have used both several times on the same recipe and gotton the same efficiency, I don't fly sparge anymore.

The bazooka screen is nice in that it is a lot stiffer than the braid so that it tends to stay in place. The tradeoff is that the holes in the screen are bigger so you tend to get more fines requiring a little more recycle.

The SS braid works great but can move around when stiring. It does give a clearer wort.

I tried a PVC manafold once with slits. Worked OK but got a lot of fines and grain husk in the first runoff and was more dificult to clean. I also had to take care not to hit it while stiring since it was not welded together. I would not recommend a manifold in a round cooler.

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11" domes false bottom for 10 gallon round cooler:



Bazooka Screen: (you will need to fold the end since it will not quite fit in a 10 gallon round cooler.



SS Screen:



As an update, I got a chugger pump which i use to recirculate the wort for about 2-3 minutes prior to sending to the boil kettle. Bazooka screen worked great.

You use pliers to fold the kettle screen ?

Yes. I didn't bother with cutting

One nice thing about the bazooka aka kettle screen and the SS braid is that I just lightly screw them into the nipple hand tight (no tape or wrench). Just unscrew when your done and rinse off or stick in the dishwasher. The false bottom requires you loosen some clamp and tubing to remove and the manifold was a real pain.

Ah ok thanks, looking forward to trying it out

Ready to rock and roll

Here's mine. I haven't used it yet next brewday next Saturday but in my trial run there was only about .25 gallon left and I could probably tilt it to get more out.

Very nice.. Do you have anything inside the hose braid?

histo320 said:

Here's mine. I haven't used it yet next brewday next Saturday but in my trial run there was only about .25 gallon left and I could probably tilt it to get more out.

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I usually tilt mine after the last sparge. I let it incline and drain for ~20 minutes while I'm getting the boil going. Works well.