Help with Sour Mash Tun Cooler

I am in the beginning stages of electric brewing. I want to make more sour beers but doing a sour mash can be tough to maintain the 100 degree temps. My idea is to convert my old 5 gallon mash tun igloo cooler into a sour mash tun. I have a Jump Start hydroponics temperature controller that I typically use to control my ferm wrap. If I install a 110V heating element into the side of my cooler and control it with the temperature controller, will I burn my mash or kill the the infection that I will be growing? Is there any way to use a heating element inside of a copper tube to prevent direct contact with the hot element?

martyjhuebs said:

I am in the beginning stages of electric brewing. I want to make more sour beers but doing a sour mash can be tough to maintain the 100 degree temps. My idea is to convert my old 5 gallon mash tun igloo cooler into a sour mash tun. I have a Jump Start hydroponics temperature controller that I typically use to control my ferm wrap. If I install a 110V heating element into the side of my cooler and control it with the temperature controller, will I burn my mash or kill the the infection that I will be growing? Is there any way to use a heating element inside of a copper tube to prevent direct contact with the hot element?

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how fast does the cooler lose heat? If you insulate it really well and keep it in a warm room and start at 115 maybe you will be fine without reheating.

Sorry for such a late response. I have never checked the heat loss on the cooler. I went ahead with my original plan and it seemed to work well. I built a mh1210f to control the temperature. I found that at first it made the grain rise to the top and leave the liquid below. This cause the lid the rise and I lost some wort on the first day. After that, I wrapped a towel around the side to catch anything that escaped. I sent the temperature controller to 99F with a 3 degree shutoff. The temperature would rise quickly to 102F and stop the heating element. As the heat leveled out in the cooler it would stabilize at around 107-109F. The third day, something weird happened and the temperature shot up to 115F and the grains sank to the bottom. Upon stirring my mixture I noticed that the temperature was rising to 130F. Since I passed 120F and decided the bacteria was dying already, I drained my cooler and proceeded with my boil. All in all, I think it was a success and I cant wait to use it again after I figure out why the temp rose on the 3rd day.