Mash Tun

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wildcatman17

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I am just getting into brewing and was wondering if a 5 gallon mash tun wil be large enough to make a 5 gallon batch or should I go larger. Having a hard time finding a round drink cooler over 5 gallons....
 
max beer you could brew 5 gallons of in a 5 gallon mash tun would be 1.068

(decimal part of gravity * batch size)/17 = quarts needed

backwards: (mash tun size * 17) / batch size = decimal part of max gravity that can be brewed

mash tun size in quarts, batch size in gallons

rubbermaid makes a 10 gallon round, sold at Home Depot
 
I started all-grain over a year ago with two 5-gallon beverage coolers (Mash Tun & Hot Water Tank set up).
Been able to successfully mash up to 13.5 lbs of grain in it.
Most of my beers are in the 5-7% abv range and the 5-gallon coolers have worked great.
Most go with the 10-gallon size, but I like mashing with as little head space as possible.
Can always get a 10-gallon cooler and use the parts I have in the future.
 
Go big bro! I have a 10g igloo and I find myself needing a bigger one from time to time. You can do a higher grav beer in a 5 gal, but mixing it it a PITA. It is hard to do when you have grains and water 1" from the top of the cooler.
 
Guess I will keep looking Home Depot by me is out of 10 Gallons coolers are sorta hard to find this time of year....Not a large variety yet....
 
I just started using the 5-gallon as the 10-gallons aren't sold here in Canada (none that I could find anyways).

But I plan on putting 3.5 gallons in the mash for 60 minutes, and then sparging with 3 gallons, then boiling :)

I'll let you know how it turns out in a month!
 
Ok thanks Maybe I will just try the 5 gallon and see how it goes ...5 gallon is only 20 bucks...
 
I'm also new to brewing and picked up a 48qt(12 gal) Rubbermaid beverage cooler. Not round, but rectangle. I'm pretty confident on the efficiency and it also was only 20$ at menards.
 
I brewed for a very long time in a 5 gallon rectangular cooler and it was fine. But I do not brew high gravity beers so it worked fine for me. I just switched to a ten gallon cooler so I could start making 10 gallon batches but instead am making no sparge 6 gallon batches with it. It is kind of cool to mash in and forget it for awhile and then dump it all into the boil pot.

In the end it all depends on what you want to do. If you enjoy big beers or plan to brew 10 gallon batches then a big cooler is a must. If none of the above apply then a 5 gallon cooler is the ticket. In any case enjoy brewing :tank:
 
I also plan on sparging in it, picked up a ball valve, a bazooka tube and some other brass fittings... This particular cooler had no existing drain so I can put my bazooka tube way in the corner, I bet with everything, I only spent 60$ (give or take)
 
wildcatman17 said:
Does the cooler I use have to be new or can I use an old one I have laying around..

I used one iI had but makes sure it's not all scratched up so you can clean it properly I would say but then it gets boiled anyways so
 
I used one iI had but makes sure it's not all scratched up so you can clean it properly I would say but then it gets boiled anyways so

Pretty much this ^^^ You just need to make sure that it's clean, not sanitized. A few scratches in a mash tun are fine, unlike in a fermentation vessel.
 
My old 5 gallon one I would fill with beer and take out with me. Looked kinda funny having a cooler with a valve and barb nipple on it but it worked.
 
Ok so I am using a cooler that I had laying around at 7 gal... Now I just put valve in it and I used a 3/8 valve instead of 1/2 inch will that be ok seems to pour out rather slowly.. Good thing is it doesnt leak....
 
plastic vs glass carboy is their a big difference in the final brew

In short, no.

Though Some will argue that glass is better for aging because plastic is permeable. Glass is easier to clean. Plastic people say that glass is dangerous, and will show you pictures of severed limbs and appendages.
 
plastic vs glass carboy is their a big difference in the final brew

recent freakouts over some barely perceptible nasties leeching out of plastics causing 3-eyed babies or some crap

but no... no difference in the final brew. glass I would say is better for extended secondaries or lagering, but only because the oxygen permeability of plastic is greater
 
Ok so I am using a cooler that I had laying around at 7 gal... Now I just put valve in it and I used a 3/8 valve instead of 1/2 inch will that be ok seems to pour out rather slowly.. Good thing is it doesnt leak....

While half inch is better 3/8 will work. I love seeing folks use stuff that they have laying around instead of buying new. That is why my set up including the first batch of grain was under a 100 bucks. Sadly though I have spent much more now for the silly addiction :D
 
I haven't needed bigger than a 5 gallon one in all my years of all grain brewing.

Rarely have I ever had a grain bill that exceeded 13 pounds of grain that my 5 gallon cooler holds at a standard water to grain ratio we use.

I get beat up for daring to post this, SCANDELOUS idea, but I've used my 5 gallon cooler for over 5 years, on 5 gallon all grain batches and have never had a problem. At 1.25 it actually holds nearly 13 pounds of grain. Since most of my grainbills run between 10 and 14 pounds, I have no problem. for 14 pounds I just use about a 1.15 quarts/pound mash dillution. Or for 15pounds I go with a 1 quart/gallon.

14 pounds of 2-row in a 5 gallon batch gives you a 1.076 OG so it's not a small beer.

I rarely need a larger mash tun. If I'm making a bigger beer I'm often doing a 2.5 gallon batch instead of a 5 gallon one and those 14 pounds would then make a beer with an og of 1.151..... If I do want to make a 5 gallon batch of a big beer, or a larger than 5 gallon batch, I have a TON of homebrewing buddies, with all sorts of systems and sizes of mash tuns, and they'd let me use their geer. and if it's a barleywine or something like that, we're all brewing together then anyway, or hanging out.

I really don't have the space for a 10 gallon cooler, and like I said, in 5 years of using my 5 I've never had the need to go with a bigger one for more than a 1 shot deal. I maybe brew 1 huge beer a year anyway.

Other folks have other opinions, but in truth, you can make a lot of beer in a 5 gallon cooler.

If you wanna be realistic and practical and it not just be about the biggest toys, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.

1) Am I ever going to brew larger than 5 gallon batches?
2) Are the majority if not all of my batches going to have an og higher than 1.076 (14 pounds of grain?)
3) Do I have the money or the storage space for a larger one?

It really comes down to those questions. In my case all three of those were no.

You could also add a fourth question- If I need to brew bigger once in awhile can I lay my hands on a bigger cooler. My Answer to that was yes.

So to me, a larger cooler was overkill, in light of living in a loft and not having much storage, nor having a realistic need for a larger one.
 
^this. And a max-grain saison that attenuates down to 1.004 would give you a ~9.2% beer - that's a big beer in a 5 gallon cooler. BTW, I also use a 5 gallon cooler and haven't needed the larger size yet.
 
I am slowly going to start collect stuff for full grain. I am thinking of going to pick one of these up tomorrow

http://www.menards.com/main/outdoor...ice-cube-48-quart-cooler/p-1761166-c-7839.htm

anyone else try this cube type? Does it have a drain?

620-1789.jpg
 
Revvy said:
That's a good point. I never really factored in attenuation into it.

:mug:

I thought you lived in a bell tower? Like a wise man once said to me, it's not the size of the mash tun that counts but the licker in it.
 
I want to go the Home Depot rout and was going to do that thing where you use the metal mesh wire, but I've heard complaints that it ruins the efficiency of the mash when compared to a false bottom...

I was wondering if there was a cheaper false bottom for a 10-gallon Rubbermaid I could either buy or manufacture since a false bottom can cost almost as much as the cooler itself.

Also I want to build a HLT, but have not been successful in finding documentation for it yet.

Also what is the best way of sparging, using a shower head drilled through the cooler lid (I saw this from Highlander Brewing Supply) or by constructing a sparge arm out of PCP pipe?
 
NadoHawk said:
I want to go the Home Depot rout and was going to do that thing where you use the metal mesh wire, but I've heard complaints that it ruins the efficiency of the mash when compared to a false bottom...

I was wondering if there was a cheaper false bottom for a 10-gallon Rubbermaid I could either buy or manufacture since a false bottom can cost almost as much as the cooler itself.

Also I want to build a HLT, but have not been successful in finding documentation for it yet.

Also what is the best way of sparging, using a shower head drilled through the cooler lid (I saw this from Highlander Brewing Supply) or by constructing a sparge arm out of PCP pipe?

check out Amazon for SS round sieves. I am going to try one myself. They have them in multiple diameter and different screen sizes. $15 was a nominal cost.
 
I want to go the Home Depot rout and was going to do that thing where you use the metal mesh wire, but I've heard complaints that it ruins the efficiency of the mash when compared to a false bottom...

And yet millions of people like me use them....could be that maybe it's like all those other things, in brewing, aluminum vs stainless, glass vs plastic, batch vs fly, long primar vs seconday, just a matter of opinion.

And you know what they say about opinions, "opinions are like a***holes, everybody's got one, and they're all full of ****."

You'll find in brewing for everything you "hear" about something, you'll find an equal number of opinions about the other thing...There rarely is a best or better in brewing. Just what's best for us. ANd you can ask 10 brewers the same question and get 12 different answers and they'll all be right.

Been using mine for years, and get great efficiency....

22829d1301421820-vorlauf-techniques-forumrunner_20110329_135903.jpg
 
Menard's was my friend today
48 qt cooler
3/4" x 24" stainless flexible water heater pipe (not hose)
Just need to cut slits in the grooves and crimp the end.
I may get a second one and slip them together
Maple board to make a mash paddle

IMG_20130317_093458_zps52692d09.jpg


The cooler does NOT have a spout but there is a molded spot for one. Like they decided later on not to drill and install them.
 
if you can't find a 10 gallon round cooler at the store, a lot of the stores websites will let you order one and pick it up in a week or so at the local store. I know Ace hardware will do this. I almost went that route when I made my mash tun, but then decided on a rectangular picnic cooler instead.
 
Is sanatizing only when u are gonna be botteling. Do u need to sanatize mash tun and cooking pots....:mug:
 
everything before the boil needs to be clean

everything that comes near the beer after the boil needs to be cleaned AND sanitized
 
Should I warm up my mash tun before mashing. Maybe put hot water in before I start mashing just to heat it up..
 
Revvy said:
That's pretty common. I do it. Just a little hot tap water is all it takes. Beersmith factors in whether you pre-heat you tun or not.

How much tap water do you use to preheat? I have been heating water to near mash temp as a preheat but if not needed would cut some time

Thanks
 
I dont really measure. The point is just warming the inside to minimize heat loss when you add everything. I just turn on a tap, put some in. Seal it and slosh it around a bit, and leave it til time to mash it. In an insulated space it doesn't need much.
 
Ok so My mash tun That I made has about 1 gal of water that doesnt come out due to the valve position is that ok. Do I need to just calculate that as dead space.
 
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