Size for HLT

Am I crazy or would a 5 gal rubbermaid cooler work just fine for 5 gallon batches of this beer stuff? How many gallons of ("regular" 4.5-6.5%) beer could you mash out in a 5 gal cooler?

hrumpf.

Mike.

Are you using it only as a HLT or as a MLT?

For an MLT, you could probably get away with it with the lower gravity beers. I use a 7.5 gallon one, but always have about of gallon of extra space on even some bigger brews (1.070-1.080)

Do a google search for "Can I Rack it" (I think the Greenbay Rackers run it, but their site is currently down). It is a mash volume calculator. You enter in your recipe and it tells you if you can handle the volume

edit: Knights of the Mashing fork have a calculator here: http://kotmf.com/tools/mash.php?PHPSESSID=5475f12341e3dc210a96950beb200f8b

First, are you talking about using a 5 gallon cooler for an HLT or an MLT?

Either way, I think you can make it work, but why? The cost difference between a 5 gallon and a 10 gallon is not that much and the conversion with manifold or braid is going to be exactly the same. So why not go with the 10 gallon and make your life easier and have the freedom to do bigger batches or bigger beers?

i find the ten gallon sometimes insufficient for really big barleywines and imperial stouts in five gallon batches, so i would imagine that the five gallon MLT would be seriously limiting as far as what you could brew

if i could do it all over again, id go with a square cooler bigger than ten gallons and make myself a copper manifold...

Yuppers, I meant MLT. It's too cold here to think. So you think that I would be pushing it with a 5 gallon, darn. I have acquired a free "double insulated" igloo cooler that I was hoping would work. The only 10 gallon cooler in town is 50 bucks...more than I was hoping to drop today.

harumpf harumpf.

Mike.

Well, if it's free, use it. If you find it's insufficient, you can always use the pieces to convert to the 10 gallon size. IMO, it's worth a try.

I agree, if it's free go for it! If you ever have to upgrade to something bigger, you can use the 5 gallon to measure strike and sparge water (if it has the gallon marks on the inside).

I would use it if it was free but not if you have to put any money in it (you most likely will to make an MLT). A 5 Gallon MLT can only do 11 pounds of grain at 1.25qts/gallon ratio which will get you a max OG of roughly 1.057. That would be pretty low for me.

As an HLT, it would be great! Rarely do you need more than 5 gallons of mash or sparge water. I'm actually looking to converting a 5 (or 6 or 7) gallon cooler to an electric HLT with sight gauge.

I got a free one and it works just fine.
I have brewed porters, stouts, pale ales, and IPA's.
I say if you have one sitting there use it.

ajwillys said:

I would use it if it was free but not if you have to put any money in it (you most likely will to make an MLT). A 5 Gallon MLT can only do 11 pounds of grain at 1.25qts/gallon ratio which will get you a max OG of roughly 1.057. That would be pretty low for me.

As an HLT, it would be great! Rarely do you need more than 5 gallons of mash or sparge water. I'm actually looking to converting a 5 (or 6 or 7) gallon cooler to an electric HLT with sight gauge.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't the parts to convert a cooler MLT be interchangeable between a 5 and 10 gallon cooler? If so, there's no harm in purchasing the parts to convert the 5 gallon, and if it's insufficient, move the parts to the 10 gallon.

I use my old 5 gallon cooler as my HLT. By the time I mash out (Mash at 1.25 qts/lb + ~6 qts at mashout, the 5 gallons is plenty for sparging.

If you use a rubbermaid as a HLT, are you using a wand to heat it, or are you heating it on the stove and transfering it to the cooler??

~M~