Rubbermaid 10 Gal. or 48 Quart Rectangular MLT?

I have been planning on getting the 10 gallon Rubbermaid beverage cooler from HD, but I have seen rectangular 48 quart coolers for under $20. Do you think the 10 gallon is worth double the price?

I use the 48 quart cube, I don't think you can beat it for the price.

I went from the 48 to the 10 gal round, the only benefit is i get more consistant volume runoffs. Also it is 100 times easier to dump the spent grains.

tbulger said:

I went from the 48 to the 10 gal round, the only benefit is i get more consistant volume runoffs. Also it is 100 times easier to dump the spent grains.

Click to expand...

I now have a 10 gallon round on order that I'm going to convert tomorrow. I had the 48qt cube from walmart and couldn't hold temps in it worth a darn. Also I found it was leaving lots of wort behind too. Hoping the 10 gallon rubbermaid works out better for me.

ohiodad said:

I now have a 10 gallon round on order that I'm going to convert tomorrow. I had the 48qt cube from walmart and couldn't hold temps in it worth a darn. Also I found it was leaving lots of wort behind too. Hoping the 10 gallon rubbermaid works out better for me.

Click to expand...

Are you preheating it?

My 48 qt Ice Cube doesn't lose more than half a degree over the course of an hour.

I am in the market for a MLT.
and I was thinking the same thing... which one.

I know most people make theirs on the cheap... not that I am made of $ but I am not the best DIY person.

So I was leaning towards the 10gal drink cooler and installing this bottom

Any thoughts about this bottom? it is 30$ .. I went and saw it today... I was concerned that the grain would get clogged?>

Any thoughts?

Thanks....
T

PseudoChef said:

Are you preheating it?

My 48 qt Ice Cube doesn't lose more than half a degree over the course of an hour.

Click to expand...

I do preheat it... And on my last mash I lost 5 degrees over an hour. I don't think that is working well. It was about 42 degrees in my garage while mashing but I still think it should hold a temp better than that. Just to make sure we have the same cooler. I have the ice cube not on wheels that walmart sells for like 13.88. I hate the lid on that thing too. Makes it a pain in the butt to dump and always pops off at the most awkward time.

tgrier said:

I am in the market for a MLT.
and I was thinking the same thing... which one.

I know most people make theirs on the cheap... not that I am made of $ but I am not the best DIY person.

So I was leaning towards the 10gal drink cooler and installing this bottom

Any thoughts about this bottom? it is 30$ .. I went and saw it today... I was concerned that the grain would get clogged?>

Any thoughts?

Thanks....
T

Click to expand...

That's the one I have. I've never had a stuck sparge, or had grain get underneath it. I really like mine!

I've had times when that extra 2 gal. difference between the 48 qt. and the 10 gal. would have come in handy but I'm doing 10 gal batches. If I had it to do all over again I would probably go with the 48 qt. but only an Extreme or Max Cold not a regular cooler.

I'm getting ready to build an MLT also, but wont be AG'n for awhile.

Will i have any trouble if i get a big one now and use it for PMs. I figure the 48 qt rectangular wont be so great because of the area involved with a smaller grain bill and such.

I hope to do 10 gallon batches and may have a hookup to a Keg i can convert for my brew pot that is as long as my Dad's memory is correct on him having a keg on the farm someplace.

tgrier said:

So I was leaning towards the 10gal drink cooler and installing this bottom

Click to expand...

I like the looks of that as well; however, I just noticed on the AHS website that they won't have them until the end of the month. I might wait until next month to start AG.

ohiodad said:

I do preheat it... And on my last mash I lost 5 degrees over an hour. I don't think that is working well. It was about 42 degrees in my garage while mashing but I still think it should hold a temp better than that. Just to make sure we have the same cooler. I have the ice cube not on wheels that walmart sells for like 13.88. I hate the lid on that thing too. Makes it a pain in the butt to dump and always pops off at the most awkward time.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that sounds like the same one. Odd, though. I think a large reason may be your temp. I either mash inside, or the time I used it outside, it was low 60s. It may not make that big of a difference, but I don't know.

As a reference, my method is to heat my strike water to around 180 and let it sit in the cooler for 30 minutes or so. When it drops to strike temp, I add the grain.

How much grain are you mashing? Perhaps dead space plays an issue.