10 vs. 5 Gallon Equipment Kits

I'm thinking of getting this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/deluxe-ags-10.jpg

I'm planning on doing 5 gallon batches for the foreseeable future. Any reason I might want to splurge and get the 10 gallon system?

EDIT: Oh yes, also I was wondering if the $199 price tag for this kit is overly extravagant as compared with making it myself? Would I be paying much less if I just bought two rubbermaid coolers and all the hoses, fittings, and false bottom myself?

Seems pretty high priced to me, but I'm new here and only do extract right now. The coolers are about $25 to $30 each. And if you are planning on doing 5 gallon batches for a while, why bother getting the 10 gallon setup? Just have another 5 gallon cooler to take up space.

If you were talking about getting the brew pot that could handle the 10 gallons vs. just 5, then I'd say go for the bigger pot for future growth, but with coolers, it's just a matter of adding another one.

Get the 10 gallon, here is why. Making a high gravity 5 gallon beer will require it, period. Also, if you are making Heffes or anything with step mashing, you can use that 10 gallon cooler to perform muli-step infusion mashes. You can buy 10 gallon coolers for $50 each.... build ball valves for $15 each... build through the wall thermometers for $10 each, false bottom for $28 and a SS sparge arm for $40... that is what I am using now and it costs... um, carry the one.... Regardless, get a 10 gallon cooler system, the 5 gallon will last you a year at best before you realize how limited you really are with it.

$220 fully assembled.

Pol

PS when you are discussing the volume of a MLT, you cannot simply add another 5 gallon cooler to do a larger mash (more grain or water or both)... you will be doing two mashes then, and that is not even attractive.

Orpheus said:

I'm thinking of getting this:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/deluxe-ags-10.jpg

I'm planning on doing 5 gallon batches for the foreseeable future. Any reason I might want to splurge and get the 10 gallon system?

EDIT: Oh yes, also I was wondering if the $199 price tag for this kit is overly extravagant as compared with making it myself? Would I be paying much less if I just bought two rubbermaid coolers and all the hoses, fittings, and false bottom myself?

Click to expand...

That price is reasonable--you might be able to find the coolers on the cheap at Home Depot...but then you've got some work to do. I say drop the 2 hunge on this system, and definitely get a 10 gallon set-up. With the 5 gallon system you will be limited to about a 1.074 beer--which means no Imperial anything in your future.

With a 10 gallon cooler system you can do a 3 step infusion mash at an OG of 1.060... Rest at 122F, Rest at 153F and a mash out at 168F. I have a spreadsheet that will calculate the water volumes and temps, also warn me if I am going to exceed the volume of my tun...

I had this same debate myself and was finally convinced to get the 10 gallon set up. I've never maxed it out but I have used 15 pounds of grain in my DFH clone and it would have never worked in the 5 gallon set up. I don't see me EVER doing 10 gallon batches but I love the 10 gallon set up. I bought the MLT from morebeer.com and didn't get the hot liquor tank. So, I batch sparge. I bought my MLT with the false bottom and bulkhead fitting all done, for $110 delivered (or thereabouts) and am happy I did.

Want an EASY way to a through the wall thermometer??? HUH?

"If you build it they will come"........oh wait wrong movie!
I say build it yourself and use the savings for your first batch, also go with the 10 gal, Just incase.


Cheers

I dunno, I just upgrade my 5 Gal to a 10 gal Mash the other day (yes, POL after 2 beers I realized I needed more space)

I'd check here: http://brewd00d.infinites.net/

Prices are pretty good. Another thing I like about having the square MT instead of the deep round one is it's easier to stir and get a good mix out of it. Buy the 10 gal Sparge vessel if you really need it, but for the cooler, I'd just go with the 60 Quart at this site and save yourself a little money.

For fly sparging, I'd definitely recommend a round cooler with a false bottom, but I'd also recommend a sparge arm which is missing.
For batch sparging, the shape of the cooler is immaterial. I'd recommend a rectangular cooler with a manifold or braid because they are cheaper for a given volume.
Why would you need a SS false bottom in a plastic MLT? I've been using a plastic one for over 10 years, and it still works as well as the day I bought it.
If you are fly sparging, I would recommend a second cooler for a HLT, but this is unnecessary if you are batch sparging and have the capacity to heat the sparge water without using the MLT. Even if you do need an MLT, a rectangular cooler may be cheaper.
Instead of using the spigots shown, I use bottling bucket spigots in both the MLT and HLT. You need a half round rasp to ease out the hole to fit them.
I'll admit that my spigots may not last as long as those shown, but I haven't had any problems with them since I installed them (3 years on the HLT, and 1 year on the MLT)
As for the 5g lbs 10h debate, 5g coolers fit into by brewing cupboard while 10g coolers don't. If I brew heavy beers (which I do about once every 2 - 3 years) I simply make a 3g batch instead of 5g. There's no way I'll ever make 10g batches (or bigger) because I'm too cheap to get a bigger kettle, and I can't lift more than about 5g without damaging my back.

-a.

I have a 2 x ten gallon cooler setup for brewing 5 gallong batches, and I kinda wish I had gone with 1 x 5 gallon and 1 x 10 gallon instead. If you are doing a small grainbill, then mash with the 5 gallon and get a nice deep grainbed, and the 10 gallon serves as a hot liquor tank. If you have a bigger grainbill, then mash with the 10 gal cooler and use the 5 gallon as an HLT. Best of both worlds in my opinion. The only downside is that with a 2 x 10 gal setup, it would be possible to brew some (not all) 10 gal batches of beer, but not if you had a 1 x 5 and 1 x 10 gal setup.

I also went the batch sparging route, mostly because it was easy, inexpensive, and forgiving. Unless you are set on fly sparging (perfectly fine to do so), I would strongly consider batch sparging, in which case lose the false bottom and use a SS braid. Way cheaper and could be easier/quicker. But let's not start that debate again, please....

My sig has some instructions on how to construct a do it yourself MLT. You could use exactly the same setup for both 10 gal and 5 gal coolers. If you do it this way, it will be half the cost of the commercial product. It wil take you about 20 mins per cooler to do the conversion, once you have the parts.

Let us know how you make out. Happy brewing!

I would definitely go with the 10gal system even for 5 gal batches. I have a 5gal cooler and nearly every batch fills it up and any high gravity batches require the addition of DME.
You can definitely build a cooler system for cheaper but to replicate the quality of this system won't save you much money. The biggest difference is you could probably save some money on the coolers and shipping by buying the coolers local and getting the rest of the system through NB. Many people have put together similar systems using mostly/all local parts but it seems to be a pain to collect all of the parts necessary.
Craig

Here's what I'd do:

1. One (1) ten gallon cooler @ Home Depot: $40
2. One (1) 44 qt Turkey Fryer kit: $80 @ Costco (if they still have them)
3. One (1) Used keg, $15 on CraigsList (no ethics debate, please)
4. Three (3) Fittings Sets, http://www.greatbargain.net/order/shop1.html: $17 ea
5. SS braid or manifold and pick-up tubes: <$20
6. Couple lengths of food-grade heat-rated tubing, $15

Entire setup, $221 plus shipping, tax, propane, and male prostitutes (since this IS orpheus we're talking about. He'll need at least one or two to get through the process).

Two questions:

1. Do you plan on brewing big beers?

2. Do you have a problem with adding, say 3 lbs of DME in order to make a big beer?



If the answer is Yes to both, buy the 10 gallon system. If the answer to either is No, then the 5 gallon system is fine.

If you batch sparge, you can have a comparable set up for less than $50 and a few hours of your time. How much is that worth to you?

If you fly sparge, you can still do it for around $50, but now you're talking a full day of your time... or you can spend $100 and speed up the production process by buying things such as a false bottom instead of making your own.

I bought the 5 gallon system from them and am very happy with it. I guess in hindsight if I had to do it over again I may have bought the 10 gallon system. So far, though, the 5 gallon setup is working perfectly for me. I think that for now if I need to make a bigger beer I'll just add a little extract during the boil. Now that I have the stuff, though, it would be very easy to upgrade to 10 gal. coolers. I would need a bigger false bottom and maybe even a bigger sparge arm, but other than that it would just be a matter of moving the fittings to bigger coolers. Right now, though, I think I actually prefer the smaller sized coolers.

How are you going to brew a pumpkin ale in a 5 gallon cooler? Huh? LOL Anyway, the reason that I bought the SS sparge arm and the SS false bottom was because that was all that I could find at my LHBS and online a month ago when I assembled it. I also heard SOME ppl have issues with the plastic false bottoms "floating" in the mash because they are so buoyant. My 2 cents. My 10 gallon system will easily mash down to 9lbs of grain and retain 78% eff while fly sparging.

Go for the 10 gal. if you can afford it, you won't be sorry.

5 gal is far to restrictive.

Most people that buy cheap buy twice.

Exactly, you cannot afford NOT to buy a 10 gallon system...

After 6 straight weekends of 5 gallon batches and no end in sight, I decided that 10 gallons is the way to go. I've done three 10-gallon batches the last three weekends and don't regret it at all.

Twice the output for essentially the same effort.

Of course, with both setups, I could have a 15-gallon brew session.

Go for the bigger setup. It'll save you headaches down the road. This coming from someone who just a few months ago was preaching that 5-gallon setups are sufficient...

PS - I bought my 10-gallon rubbermaid from HD for $39.00.

i say go big or go home. i have maxed out my mlt which holds 48 lbs of grain for a 15 gallon batch. sure right now you're saying ...no no i'll never need 10 or 15 or even more gallons. but i'm here to tell you YOU WILL!

brewhead said:

i say go big or go home. i have maxed out my mlt which holds 48 lbs of grain for a 15 gallon batch. sure right now you're saying ...no no i'll never need 10 or 15 or even more gallons. but i'm here to tell you YOU WILL!

Click to expand...

I whole heartedly agree! If you want to do five gallon batches, then eventually you will want to do 10, then maybe even more. which is the quandary I am facing right now. I have more kegs now so I have the capacity to do more beer, Right?

Cheers