starting to do partial mash's

So now I've built a 5 gallon mash tun from a Rubbermaid cooler. I know I can't do AG at this size, in particular cuz I can't boil that much liquid in a single vessle (yet)...instead doing two smaller pots, and combining at the end of the boil.

So, what's the total grain bill I should NOT exceed, to get as good a mash as I can get?

using a braided SS hose for the manifold, rather than a false bottom.



I'm trying to get a good handle on this 'intermediate' brewing step, before my next batch on July 30th.

Hey Malkore -- how big are your pots? There is no reason why you can't do both AG and PM brews with that MLT. The 5 gal coolers will hold about 12 - 13 lbs of grain in a mash, which is enough to brew beers up to about 1.065 gravity (so most styles).

Can you split your boil? I have done it in two 5 gal pots before with no problem (it is just a bit more work). Alternatively, that MLT is a nice size to do smaller batches, say in the 3 gal range. They are a lot of fun, too, and I bet you could do almost any type of beer at 3 gals, regardless of the SG.

As far as PMs go, you should be able to do almost anything now, especially if you do a late addition of your extract. But the more wort you can fully boil, the better. Give us a better idea of your system (i.e., pot sizes, stove capacity, etc.) and we can try to provide some more precise advice.

Cheers!

How big is your kettle? 1.5 pounds per gallon of boil capacity is a good place to start. Most PM recipes fall into the 3.5-4.5 pound range.

5 gallon MLT is more than enough for partial mashes. I think that in order to build a quality grainbed on the bottom of the tun that you're going to need to probably mash minimum of 8lbs of grains, which is a good size. I only got a 3gal MLT and I can't seem to fit more than about 5lbs of grains in there, which is good for most PM recipes, but Im kinda thinking I should have gone 5gal. if you're sticking with PM, 5gal is more than enough.

basically the problem is my stove. its a really nice ceramic top....so nice that it has temperature sensors built into the cooktop that prevent it from over-heating past the element.
It took me 90 minutes to get 3gallons of water in a typical 5 gallon SS pot to just 170F. And that was the upper limit :*( the diameter is too wide for the cooking surface so the element runs for about 6 seconds, then shuts off for a minute.

So, I use two 12qt pots for my boil, usually putting in about 2.25gal water into each, splitting all my hops and DME/LME right in half. With evaporation, I end up needing barely 1 gallon of boiled/cooled water in the bucket to hit 5 gallons.

I do entertain the idea of a propane burner setup for outdoor brewing this fall, and to do full boils during the cooler months. Sadly no garage or covered patio for a lot of outdoor brewing until we decide to sell this starter home.

My goal is to get as much gravity from PM as I can, and then do late extract addition of DME or LME, like in the last 10 minutes just so it gets sterilized by the boil.