Building My Mash Tun

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Forrest

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
126
Reaction score
0
Location
Westminster, Uk. But only till the end of Decembe
Ok, I have found a cooler that I think will be very good for a mash tun but I did wanted to run questions by the forums before I bought it to make sure I am doing good. It is a Rubbermaid Gott cooler. It holds five Gallons. I typly make 5 gallon batches of beer so is this cooler big enough or do I need to go bigger?

Also do I need to by another one and make it into a Lauter Tun or can I create a Mash/ Lauter Tun in one?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
You can use the same cooler for a mash/lauter tun.

Most people add a tap and a strainer/manifold.
Add the gain and mash water.
Open the tap to drain then add the sparge water to lauter.
As for size, I'll let other answers that but I think the common thought is that 5 gallon is adequate for all but the BIG OG beers and anything over 5 gallon batches.
I think Yooper Chick has just gone through this dilemma.
 
I did a 13lb AG Porter in my 5 gallon Rubbermaid. No problems.

Like Orfy said...stick with batch sparging first and the single cooler will work fine.

Look in my gallery to the left or click on the link below...as it has some pics of my AG process using that exact cooler.

Hoppy Brewing.. :)
 
5 gallons you say? No way! You need at least 10, no 15 gallons!

Make that 20 gallons. C'mon, be a man! :rockin:







Seriously, orfy's spot on. 5 gals will be fine for 5 gal batches. But there's plenty who'll tell you to go with a bigger MLT, just in case. ;)
 
I went the 5 gallon route first, but then upgraded to a 10 gallon Igloo from Home Depot. I used Kewler kit, ball valve & stainless braid. All that will work for your 5 gallon unit.

I do all of the work in my kitchen till it comes time to boil. Here's some pics from my Haus Ale.

NewMLT.jpg


MLT_inside.jpg


Doughing-In1.jpg


BatchSparge.jpg
 
If you ARE looking for some 10 gallon coolers , I just found a place in AZ that sells them for $44.99! I have two on the way to the house already. OH man.........AG here I come!:rockin:
 
Brewnurse said:
If you ARE looking for some 10 gallon coolers , I just found a place in AZ that sells them for $44.99! I have two on the way to the house already. OH man.........AG here I come!:rockin:
More converts! Whoohoo! :ban:
 
:off: Nice bike Brewnurse. How long have you had your F4? I've had a ZX-11 for several years now, but I think I'm going to look at something a little more versatile soon - maybe a BMW GS1200.

Cheers. :mug:
 
Thanks guys, that is good to know. I live in a tiny studio apartment so the small equipment is what I am preferring right now which is why I make 5 gallon batches. Glad to here the five gallon will work. Any recommendations on a good / affordable grain mill. Not the Carona mill, as I have heard some bad things about it.
 
Why yes it is fast! I have only had it up to about 145 mph, one day may try to really get on it! I have had the bike for about a year and a half, it is my commuting bike for work. traffic out here in Cali SUCKS! But it is nice to go between teh other suckers in their cars.

And Orfy you are right 0 to off topic in under 10 posts is pretty quick, i wonder what the record is?:rockin:
 
orfy said:
You can use the same cooler for a mash/lauter tun.

Most people add a tap and a strainer/manifold.
Add the gain and mash water.
Open the tap to drain then add the sparge water to lauter.
As for size, I'll let other answers that but I think the common thought is that 5 gallon is adequate for all but the BIG OG beers and anything over 5 gallon batches.
I think Yooper Chick has just gone through this dilemma.

Yep, I did just go through this. The guys on the forum talked me into the larger one- not because the 5 gallon isn't large enough for most beers (it is!)- but because I'm not the least bit handy or mechanically inclined and the cost was really not much more for the bigger one. But, in your case, you can use the 5 gallon, and if you ever decide to upgrade to 10 gallons, you can use the 5 gallon one as your lauter tun. I went right to the 10 gallon one because I won't "outgrow" it.

I bought this one: http://morebeer.com/product_images/1/6136.jpg
But only the mashtun, not the lauter tun.
 
Ugh here I go again. Yes you can do 5 gallons with a 5 gallon cooler. However, you will outgrow it. Guaranteed. Get the larger cooler, you're going to get it eventually anyway (yes, you are) and in the long run you are saving money by getting the big one. Ok, speech over.
 
Bernie Brewer said:
Ugh here I go again. Yes you can do 5 gallons with a 5 gallon cooler. However, you will outgrow it. Guaranteed. Get the larger cooler, you're going to get it eventually anyway (yes, you are) and in the long run you are saving money by getting the big one. Ok, speech over.


From what I have read and seen, almost everybody says this. I know that when I started I said I would never outgrow the extract stuff I bought and I DID! And I found some 10 gallon coolers for about the same price soo? Why not. Now I have got to work on that manifold......where is my torch!
 
I bought the 5 gallon also, but when figuring for a 5 gallon recipe, it looked as if I needed 4.99 gallon capacity....the 5 gallons is the figure with the lid off, so there is not really 5 gallans available. Wallymart just had the 52 quart coleman 5 day coolers on sale for $15.oo. Got one of those and just did my first AG batch, mashing in the new cooler with a 20" braid. Very nice outcome.. go for the larger would be my recommendation.
 
Then you can't go wrong.

I use a 5 gallon Igloo and do 1060 SG brews all the time. Now I do wish I had a 10 gallon one but I'm not in the market for one just yet.

PS. I have and use a porkert mill which is the same as a corona and find nothing wrong with it.
 
You don't even need a kewler kit, just get a drilled rubber bung that fits the opening where the spiget use to be, 4" of 3/8 OD copper tubing, stainless braid and a small tube clamp, about $10-$15 of stuff and your done.
 
Brewnurse said:
Now I have got to work on that manifold......where is my torch!

I strongly suggest you don't sweat those pipes. After all you are building something that is supposed to leak. And when it comes to cleaning...it's nice to just knock the plumbing apart, rinse and reassemble.
 
KalvinEddie said:
I strongly suggest you don't sweat those pipes. After all you are building something that is supposed to leak. And when it comes to cleaning...it's nice to just knock the plumbing apart, rinse and reassemble.


Hummmmm.... Never really thought about it that way. Would be nice to be able to take it apart and clean easily. Thanks!
 
I used a 5 gallon then went to a 50 qt when I went 10 gallon batches, and now have a 70 qt with a CPVC manifild and sparge arm.

I can comfortably work with as little as 20 and as much as 50 pounds of grain at a time.

It is still a work in progress but it works very well indeed.

You can see pics of it along with my old 50 qt in action here.

Go big or dont go.

You WILL grow in to it.

Once you find out you can make 10 gallons in only an extra hours work you will never brew 5 gallons again.

Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

Cheers,

knewshound
 
sause said:
You don't even need a kewler kit, just get a drilled rubber bung that fits the opening where the spiget use to be, 4" of 3/8 OD copper tubing, stainless braid and a small tube clamp, about $10-$15 of stuff and your done.

I used to use a bung, and it was a PITA. It always used to leak a bit, and sometimes came out while stirring the mash.

I replaced it with a bottling bucket spigot. The hole needed to be enlarged slightly, but a half round rasp did that without any problem.

A drilled bung fits into the inside of the spigot, and a short length of copper tubing inserted into the bung connects to the false bottom, manifold or braid.

Saved me about $50 vs the kewler kitz (I have ait on the HLT as well as the MLT)

-a.
 
knewshound said:
Once you find out you can make 10 gallons in only an extra hours work you will never brew 5 gallons again.

Respectfully disagree. I am way to impatient to work (drink) my way through 10 gallons worth of the same beer. To me the only thing more fun than drinking a homebrew..is brewing a homebrew.

Five gallon batches yield slightly more than 2 cases...just right. Maybe it's my ADHD, but as soon as I've placed my new brew into a primary, I'm thinking about my next recipe.

Variety is the spice of life. If and when you find the magical recipe that you cannot live without...then brew 10 gallons. Until then, experiment, try new things..have fun and remember:

30 gallons of homebrew divided by 5 gallon batches, gives you six varieties of beer...VS...three if you're doing 10 gallon batches.
 
I just had a crazy idea about an MLT and wanted some input for folks like the guy who started this thread, it may be worth considering.

First off, I'll make no bones about it... I'm on a STRICT budget... and I have no space at all to speak of. Things have to be collapsible, cheap, and simple. The main reason I haven't gone AG is that I don't have the space for a cooler... especially not a hideous orange one. And I'm not crazy about dropping $50 for something I'm going to hack into... so I got this idea.... it's a take off on an old idea, but I think it's a new idea...

I read about Papazian using two 5 gal buckets with holes drilled in the inner bucket. Not bad... but why not go one step farther... Create a manifold, just like the manifold in the Gott cooler system that guys are using... Put it in the bucket, plumbing it not through the side of the bucket, but through the BOTTOM of the bucket using some compression fittings to hold tight against the plastic bottom. Then you've got a great little MLT. But to make it even better, get a second plastic bucket. Put one inside the other, drill a hole through the outer one and run the manifold through the bottom of the outer bucket as well. Now you've got some insulation value as well... just add a valve for adjust flow and you should have a good MLT....

The cost of two 5 gallon buckets? Less than $10. The cost of a 5 gallon cooler? $40+... right? The insulation value should be about the same for the two.

So what do you think? 5 gallon MLT for under $30 should be doable...
 
Toot said:
I just had a crazy idea about an MLT and wanted some input for folks like the guy who started this thread, it may be worth considering.

First off, I'll make no bones about it... I'm on a STRICT budget... and I have no space at all to speak of. Things have to be collapsible, cheap, and simple. The main reason I haven't gone AG is that I don't have the space for a cooler... especially not a hideous orange one. And I'm not crazy about dropping $50 for something I'm going to hack into... so I got this idea.... it's a take off on an old idea, but I think it's a new idea...

I read about Papazian using two 5 gal buckets with holes drilled in the inner bucket. Not bad... but why not go one step farther... Create a manifold, just like the manifold in the Gott cooler system that guys are using... Put it in the bucket, plumbing it not through the side of the bucket, but through the BOTTOM of the bucket using some compression fittings to hold tight against the plastic bottom. Then you've got a great little MLT. But to make it even better, get a second plastic bucket. Put one inside the other, drill a hole through the outer one and run the manifold through the bottom of the outer bucket as well. Now you've got some insulation value as well... just add a valve for adjust flow and you should have a good MLT....

The cost of two 5 gallon buckets? Less than $10. The cost of a 5 gallon cooler? $40+... right? The insulation value should be about the same for the two.

So what do you think? 5 gallon MLT for under $30 should be doable...


You want to go REAL cheap for your first AG system?? Not a problem, I did that too, and I did it for a lot less than $30. You have a bottling bucket, right? Go to Wally World, Target or whatever and buy a plastic colander. Cut the lip off of it, stuff it down into the bottom of your bottling bucket, just above the spigot. Instant MLT. Wrap an old blanket around it to hold temp, and you're set. Total cost under 5 bucks. But when you want to upgrade, don't mess around with the little stuff. As long as you're making an investment, Get the bigger stuff, cuz you will eventually anyway.

Oh, BTW I can tell you from experience that the insulation value of a cooler is MUCH better than with just a bucket.
 
Bernie Brewer said:
You want to go REAL cheap for your first AG system?? Not a problem, I did that too, and I did it for a lot less than $30. You have a bottling bucket, right? Go to Wally World, Target or whatever and buy a plastic colander. Cut the lip off of it, stuff it down into the bottom of your bottling bucket, just above the spigot. Instant MLT. Wrap an old blanket around it to hold temp, and you're set. Total cost under 5 bucks. But when you want to upgrade, don't mess around with the little stuff. As long as you're making an investment, Get the bigger stuff, cuz you will eventually anyway.

Interesting....

Oh, BTW I can tell you from experience that the insulation value of a cooler is MUCH better than with just a bucket.

No.. I was talking about using TWO buckets stacked together... taking advantage of the airspace between them for the insulation value.. just like the plastic coolers do.. but without the expense of a $40 cooler.
 
If you was to do that you'd have to seal the top gap which would be a pain.

What quite a few people in the UK do is use a plastic bucket with manifold and use camping mats to insulate it.
400-534842.jpg

What they also do is had a cheap kettle Element for around £4 and havi it so they can heat the mash or use it for heating sparge water and even boiling the wort.

you can really get much cheaper than this set up. It's easy to store, cheap to make and you can brew inside.

http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/ingredients.htm

brewing_sparge_setup.jpg


If you want to try minimash first then this is DAAB's set up.
Great info.
http://www.18000feet.com/minimash/page1.htm
 
Hey Orfy! :)

WHy would you *have* to seal the top gap? If the air in there is getting warm and moderating itself, then it's doing its job as an insulator. I can't help thinking it sort of makes more sense than wrapping it in a blanket.

Air is a great insulator.... and it's generally free. :mug:


I thought about a mini mash, but I kinda feel like, "why bother?" It's like sticking it in and then going home... dry hopping is good. Going all the way is better. But getting the hops in the carboy and pulling them out before your done is a waste of effort.
 
Warm air rises and draws cooling air in. Most things that use air for insulation works by trapping the air.
If you just place the pails together the walls will be in contact and there'll be no airspace.

An old sleeping bag is ideal for extra insulation.
 
When I nest my two buckets, there's about a 3/8" gap between the walls. How about some of that expandable spray foam? Drill a couple strategic 1/8" holes though the outside bucket and insert the nozzle. I agree that trapping air is the key.
 
When I was doing mini mashes, I was using my bottling bucket like we discussed. I wrapped with a sleeping bag, but still lost 10-15 degrees over an hour. Not a huge deal for minimashes, because I was adding extract anyway. But for AG, you don't want it to drop. Two buckets would lose too much heat, but if you throw a blanket around it, it would help.
 
This is an interesting discussion on how to make a MLT other than the usual cooler-conversion route. And not to throw a spanner in that, but...

Wal-Mart sells five-gallon Rubbermaid coolers for ridiculously cheap. The orange and blue ones, I think are $16, but the "hunter's green" ones get cheaper every time I go back: $9.79 on last visit. I bought one for an HLT, but before they got *that* cheap.

At that price, I keep thinking I should get another, but I don't think I'd have any use for it.
 
I agree 5 gal coolers are cheap. I bought mine today for just under $20 (I'm too impatient to wait for sales). It sounds like a rubber stopper, SS braid and short piece of copper will be less than $15. But it you want even cheaper you can buy a large nylon grain bag for a few dollars and just use the spigot as included with the cooler. Thats what I'm going to do for now for my PM brews.
Craig
 
I used my 5 gallon Rubbermaid round again today for an AG Bitters. Once again, it performed perfectly...holding my mash temp at 156 for 45 minutes before finally giving up 1 degree (down to 155)for the next twenty minutes.
 
Back
Top