Cooler for mash tun or hlt

Found a 5 gallon water cooler on Craigslist for 5 dollars, problem is I like to do big beers and don't think the 5 gallon is big enough to move to all grain, if I build a mash Tun out of that could I take the parts from that one and place it in a 10 gallon later, or should I just make the 5 gallon into a hlt

Actually,I'm not sure 5 Gallons would be adequate for an HLT either.Mine is 9.5 and I'd like it to be bigger.

IMO, for any batches over 3 gallons a 5 gallon cooler is useless as either MLT or HLT. I'd simply pass on it. Or if you already bought it, just use it to hold ice at parties for bottles of homebrew.

Golddiggie said:

IMO, for any batches over 3 gallons a 5 gallon cooler is useless as either MLT or HLT. I'd simply pass on it. Or if you already bought it, just use it to hold ice at parties for bottles of homebrew.

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I agree, coolers seem fun and cool at first, no pun intended, but putting out the money for an actual stainless steel or aluminum kettle which i brew with and have had much success and no off flavors whatsoever is a better long term investment. ive seen many forums where people cooler hlt/mlt start warping and begin leaking over time. I bought a 40 qt alluminum pot on amazon for 49.95 with free shipping since i have prime membership and it works great, and im not the kind of person who throws things around so dents in my pots are not a concern. the decision is yours.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Thanks for the input. Exactly why I post on this forum. I had no idea it wouldn't be big enough for a hlt. I haven't bought it and I didn't want to waste the trip

Ctayl9jq said:

Found a 5 gallon water cooler on Craigslist for 5 dollars, problem is I like to do big beers and don't think the 5 gallon is big enough to move to all grain, if I build a mash Tun out of that could I take the parts from that one and place it in a 10 gallon later, or should I just make the 5 gallon into a hlt

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Not knowimg what parts it has I can't really say, but for 5 dollars it is hardly a risk. Coolers can work just fine, the 5 gallon is certainly tight for hg beers, but fine for smaller ones and should be usable in the short term as an hlt, for 5 bucks.

I have a 5 and a 10 gallon cooler. For mashes, I can fit about 11.5# grain and about 3.5 gallons water, max, into my 5 gallon. I just brewed a batch today were I put a bit too much into it (4 gallons/12#) and it overflowed a bit.

Sometimes it is very nice to have the right size...not too big or small...for 5 bucks i see value when brewing beers siz.e appropriate for a five gallon MLT HLT. If storage space is not an issue, buy it if it is conveniently located.