Heat Lose in MLT

Hi,

I just picked up a used round 10gl Igloo cooler at a yard sale for $7, it is an older one but seems to be in good shape. I tested it to see if it would hold heat want to know if the heat lose is acceptable.

I did not preheat it with hot water or anything I just added 175 degree water to it. After 1 hour it lost 10 degrees and about 34 degrees after 2 1/2 hours. Is this acceptable or do I need to get a newer cooler and try again?

Thanks,
Bobby1212

Your mash will hold heat better than plain water.

Preheating (or starting with higher strike water temp to compensate) will also help. My brand new Igloo did just about the same thing in a water-only test, and it loses 0-2 degrees in a 60-minute mash.

pre-heat it. I preheat mine with 122F tap water for 20 minutes, then dump it, add my grains, mash-in water, stir, and put the lid on. I lose 2-3 degrees in the hour it takes to modify.

pre-heating does wonders.

I pre-heat with a couple of gallons of water at mash temperature and experience nearly no heat loss in sixty minutes using a round ten gallon cooler.

I preheat mine with hot tap water. Works great.

Do not put boiling water in it. It will warp.

Why waste water and time preheating when you can just heat your water an extra few degress???

I don't preheat. I strike at 77°C for a 68°C mash and loose no more than 2°C on the mash.

adam2 said:

Why waste water and time preheating when you can just heat your water an extra few degress???

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If you add your grain to the water as most of us do, there's a good chance you're exposing your grain/plastic mlt to higher temps than you may intend. Preheating gives you way more stability and control.

Totally unrelated example : I went for Winter military training in the Sierra Nevadas. All of our meals required hot water to reconstitute them. We preheated our thermos' with hot water, then added boiling water (these were made of SS). The temp got to -30F one night, and my thermos still held steaming warm water 18 hours later!

Coolers are awesome! I'm thinking about putting my Sankey MLT aside and going back!

adam2 said:

Why waste water and time preheating when you can just heat your water an extra few degress???

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as much water as I waste chilling the beer, 3 gallons isn't squat.
and its not a time waste because it pre-heats while my mash water is on the burner for 30 minutes.

ScubaSteve said:

If you add your grain to the water as most of us do, there's a good chance you're exposing your grain/plastic mlt to higher temps than you may intend. Preheating gives you way more stability and control.

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For a "normal" 10-lb mash in my 10-gal Igloo, I have to raise the strike water temp 3F to compensate, rather than preheat. Seems hard to believe that would stress the grain or the plastic very much.

orfy said:

I don't preheat. I strike at 77°C for a 68°C mash and loose no more than 2°C on the mash.

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Speak American, please! To us, those numbers look like pitching temps.

Why can't everyone use numbers that make sense? 0º for freezing? Bah! Try 32º. 100º for boiling? Try 212º. Good temps end in 2's.

I also throw a couple of towels on the top of the lid. It really helps. I also preheat btw.

Cheesefood said:

Speak American, please! To us, those numbers look like pitching temps.

Why can't everyone use numbers that make sense? 0º for freezing? Bah! Try 32º. 100º for boiling? Try 212º. Good temps end in 2's.

Click to expand...

I knew there had to be one imperial system issue with the metric guy. It's the language of science, up with SI!

That said, the power of cars sound less impressive measured in watts.