Would this be ok for all-grain?

I'm considering moving on from BiaB and start doing all-grain the usual way. Right now I have a 10g kettle for the boil, a spare 5g stainless kettle that i don't really use, and a 10g rectangular cooler. I thought about ditching the rectangular cooler and converting a 5g rubbermaid from Lowes for a mash tun (anything wrong with the $25 ones?), and drilling the spare 5g kettle for a HLT that I could heat on the stovetop.

Anything I'm missing here (besides hoses and valves)? Anything I could add to the setup that would make life easier?

The 5-gallon Rubbermaid cooler will work fine for your mash tun. The only thing that it will not allow for is this: 1) doing a ten-gallon batch of beer instead of five; 2) doing a higher gravity beer.
Having said that, I do five gallon batches all the time and use the 10-gallon Rubbermaid cooler. It works well for five gallon batches, but allows the opportunity to do a larger volume. I can also do a higher gravity beer if I would like (although I have not done that yet).
Finally, you will need some method keep the grain in the mash tun when you drain you tun. Some people have had good luck with a false bottom. I have not been able to get good results with my false bottom; I keep getting grain husks under the false bottom and into the boil kettle. I currently use a stainless steel Hot Water Supply Hose. This is just the stainless steel part with the ends cut off and the hose removed. This works great with half-inch copper and brass fittings. It works particularly well if you do batch sparging. Others use a copper or cpvc manifold to separate the wort from the grain.
If you do batch sparging, you can get by with the SS hose jacket or a manifold. If you do fly sparging, you will probably want to go with the manifold or a false bottom.
I hope that this might give you some help. Mark

Thanks Mark. That does help. I was considering the false bottom - anyone else had bad experiences? Re: the 10g vs. 5g cooler, how much larger/more expensive is the 10g? I have limited space in my NYC apt. for equipment storage, so every inch counts. I figured if I wanted to do a big beer I could make up for mash limitations with extract in the boil.

I would get whatever works best based on your current living arrangements. A 10 gallon cooler will set you back around $45 at HD whereas a 5 gallon cooler is $22. If you don't plan on doing higher gravity beers any time soon a 5 gallon cooler is probably fine. Personally, I have a 10 gallon cooler, but storage space is probably better than your current situation.

As far as a false bottom is concerned, I've used a stainless steel braid w/o incident for awhile and never have any husks in my wort. Obviously, though, the manifold vs. false bottom thing has been debated to death.

For the extra $15.00 or so, I would go with the 10G cooler.
I picked mine up from Walmart and had it shipped site to store for no extra shipping charges. Cheapest place out there.

Here is the link:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Beverage-Jug-Orange-and-White-10-Gallon/14550424

HawksBrewer said:

I would get whatever works best based on your current living arrangements. A 10 gallon cooler will set you back around $45 at HD whereas a 5 gallon cooler is $22. If you don't plan on doing higher gravity beers any time soon a 5 gallon cooler is probably fine. Personally, I have a 10 gallon cooler, but storage space is probably better than your current situation.

As far as a false bottom is concerned, I've used a stainless steel braid w/o incident for awhile and never have any husks in my wort. Obviously, though, the manifold vs. false bottom thing has been debated to death.

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What's cheaper? The manifold I'm guessing...

JonGrafto said:

For the extra $15.00 or so, I would go with the 10G cooler.
I picked mine up from Walmart and had it shipped site to store for no extra shipping charges. Cheapest place out there.

Here is the link:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Beverage-Jug-Orange-and-White-10-Gallon/14550424

Click to expand...

Good call, thanks. I'll have to measure out the space I have left in my brew closet to see what will fit, lol.

Personally, I'd caution against the 5 gallon cooler... Depending on your definition of "higher gravity", a 5 gallon mash tun could be quite limiting. I just did a 5 gallon batch of pumpkin ale this weekend - granted, I added a pound of rice hulls, which is going to add to the volume... But for a beer with a target OG of 1.056, I had to start with roughly 6 gallons of strike water. Now, I really don't consider that a very high gravity beer, but there's no way I could have pulled that off with a 5 gallon mash tun.

Oh wow, yeah I was thinking I could get to about 1060, but maybe I should go w/ the 10g.

Why not use the 10 gallon cooler that you already have as a MT? Sounds to me like you could brew AG this afternoon.

Go big or go home... you will never regret going bigger.

It's actually a 13g cooler: http://www.target.com/p/igloo-family-cooler-red-52-quart/-/A-11905594

I heard round coolers were better all-around for MT's. That wrong? Would I need different materials for a conversion?

And I can't brew this afternoon. No time.

So I did a bit more reading around and looks like plenty of other people are using the Igloo cooler I have. So to start, I'll just convert that and see how I like it. For the interior, does a copper manifold make a huge difference over a braid if I'm batch sparging?

I can't really speak to the differences in performance between a braid and a manifold because I have only used the braid. However, I think that the braid is easier to implement. I think this is particularly true with respect to the round beverage coolers such as Gott, Igloo, and Rubbermaid. With doing a batch spathe in a round cooler, I would recommend a braid. For a rectangular cooler I would probably use a copper manifold.

Ugh. I hate dealing with copper pipe.

From everything I've read, the manifold is really only useful if you plan to fly sparge. If you plan to batch sparge, it really should make no difference whether you use the braid or the manifold.

I fly sparge with a braid. My only gripe is that the braid is easily damaged by a mash paddle if you're not careful. It can also get raised off the bottom of the MLT and cause problems during the sparge. I will probably convert to a manifold at some point. Though I dread drilling hundreds of holes. For a rectangular MLT you probably want a manifold. PVC work as well as copper from what I hear and it's way cheaper.

D-Hutt said:

It's actually a 13g cooler: http://www.target.com/p/igloo-family-cooler-red-52-quart/-/A-11905594

I heard round coolers were better all-around for MT's. That wrong? Would I need different materials for a conversion?

And I can't brew this afternoon. No time.

Click to expand...

I believe that is the same cooler that Denny has used for hundreds of batches...check out Dennybrew for a simple tutorial on conversion of the cooler and AG brewing.

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

same cooler converted here on the cheap and simple

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/ten-minute-cooler-mash-tun-conversion-125108/

The point I am trying to make is that you don't need valves and tubing etc. etc.....A simple pitcher can move a few gallons of sparge water, and you can also siphon the chilled wort of your kettle fairly easily.

All good stuff. Thanks for those links - the Dannybrew one especially is helpful.

For a manifold, anyone have a link to a PVC version? Does it really not make a difference over copper? I don't necessarily have to build the cheapest MLT in existence. I've actually got some copper pipe (1/2" I think...) in the closet that I might could use. And I've got a dremel, so I could make it happen if there's a good reason to go with that over PVC.

Here it is so far.

So, question: right now the manifold sits at an angle in the cooler with the bulkhead side higher than the other side, which is sitting on the cooler bottom. Here's an exact replica:



Is this going to be a problem for maintaining a siphon to get most of the wort out of the cooler? Or will I be losing too much like this?

You'll be better off if you can adjust it to be flatter to the bottom of your mash tun.

Any ideas on that one? Not sure if another elbow will fit. Maybe some tubing instead?

I used the SS braid hose to adjust for the angle in my MT. It works great.

Do you have a pic? How would that work, exactly?

d-hutt said:

do you have a pic? How would that work, exactly?

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Looking at your set up I dont know if that would work for you. The angle might be too sharp and pinch off the hose.

If I moved the T-fitting to the second row, like so, that'd give me more distance from the drain to work with. What kind of hose would I need in this situation? Or, could I make it work with more copper piping?

Yes, you will leave a little bit of wort behind w/ the current set-up, however you can just tip the cooler toward the drain to fully drain the last few cups if you are so inclined. Do realize that the wort left behind at the end of the sparge is lower gravity, and therefore not that significant...up to you, worry about it and reconfigure, or don't bother. At the end of the day, we are likely talking a handful of grain wasted...maybe $0.20, maybe less???

If you mve it back to the second row it should give you a good angle. But you might want to try it with a soild pipe/tube vs the braided SS due to the incline. Not sure how the SS braid would work with the suction of the siphon.

wilserbrewer said:

Yes, you will leave a little bit of wort behind w/ the current set-up, however you can just tip the cooler toward the drain to fully drain the last few cups if you are so inclined. Do realize that the wort left behind at the end of the sparge is lower gravity, and therefore not that significant...up to you, worry about it and reconfigure, or don't bother. At the end of the day, we are likely talking a handful of grain wasted...maybe $0.20, maybe less???

Click to expand...

Yeah, good point. I'm thinking if there's no really easy fix, then I'm not going to worry about it.

I'll look into moving the T to the second row and attaching some high-temp tubing to it running to the drain. Anyone know off-hand the ID" tubing I'd need to fit over a 1/2" copper pipe T-fitting?

Another thing I might try is 2 45* fittings. I have one already - might be enough room to use them to drop the manifold down even.

copper 45 from the valve, and then align the first tee with that so that the whole manifold fits flat on the bottom. it will push the manifold away from the wall with the drain an inch, but will allow you to get it sitting flat for cheap.

Ok cool - looks like I've got several options to play around with. Thanks guys.

The two 45* elbows worked - good call.

One last question - I need to pick up either o-rings or rubber washers to seal the valve. I'm looking on McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com) for something because I'm not going to have time to go by the hardware store (it closes before I get off work). It's a 1/2" nipple - what's the best choice: o-ring or washer? Material? Size?

Thanks!

Progress - slots facing up so you can see them.