48 Qt rectangular cooler Vs 5 gal round cooler

Hi.
I've been brewing ales from kits for several years and most have turnnd out pretty good. I've decided to run with the big dogs and try my hand at all grain brewing. I've ordered the necessary grains, hops, yeast etc. to brew a 5 gallon batch of Liberty Cream Ale. I first made a mashing tun out of a 48 qt rubbermaid rectangular cooler with 1/2 inch CPVC manafold according to the instructions in Lutzen and Stevens book. I then read that a 48 qt cooler is too large and will result in a too thin grain bed. I had a 5 gallon water cooler in in my basement I tried to make a false bottom out if plastic but it was a disaster. I then made a support to hsupport grain bag, about 2 inches above the drain hole. So, I now have 2 options I can either dump the grains in the 48 qt cooler on top of the Manifold, add the hot water and proceed fron there or I can put the grains in a grain bog and place the bag in the 5 gal coole and add the hot water. I would appreciate responses as to the pros and cons of each option and what you think would be the beat approach

Thanks for any help.

David

I think the only problem with the 48 would be an even sparge/ drain. Its easier to concentrate an even sparge in a round cooler. Unless you build a specially adapted sparge ring for the 48 q. They should both insulate and hold heat well, so no advantage there. That is a large area, and would prolly be better suited for a 10 gallon batch. There are ways to do a screen mesh tube instead of a false bottom. Just need to make it tough enough not to be crushed under the grain weight. Whatever is easiest for you. There are a lot of ideas here to help you either way.

If you wanted to go for something a bit bigger then the 5 gal, but not have the problem that Beermaker said with a 48 you can go with the Igloo Ice Cube cooler. It is a little bigger inside then the 5 gal cooler. Its 48 I believe, but the dimentions are different. More square and less rectangular. I went with the 5 gal because I'm not doing AG yet till I get a biger brew pot. But the Cube did look real good.

Here is a link to a picture of it.
http://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?itemNumber=25701&type=Product

i use a 48 gallon one and haven't had problems. i read the same thing as you, which made me worry, but its worked ok so far. a 5 galon one seems so small to me, but i know othres use them. i'd start off batch sparging, but if you fly s[arge, the circular cooler might be easier.

I can't see any serious disadvantage to batch sparging with the rectangular cooler, so I would go with that. It will certainly serve better for any recipe for >12lbs grains, although the circular cooler will more or less work up to 14lbs or so.

I used my ice cube 48qt for the first time. I did a test batch 2 lbs 2-row and 2 lbs crystal with the brass valve with SS braid. I wanted to see how much dead space I would have as it does have some and how small a mash you can do in it. I never measured the dead space but preheating, draining and leaving that area filled when adding grain/strike water it won't matter IMO. it worked like a champ and I hit my number dead on for the test.

plus the thing has enough room inside to hold all kinds of brewing stuff when not in use and dried out

jldesign said:

plus the thing has enough room inside to hold all kinds of brewing stuff when not in use and dried out

Click to expand...

yes it does...i think my brew cellar has gotten to small.

I am getting into this game now, too. question: are the 5 gal rounders (looking at a Rubbermaid right now) sufficient for most brews? Am I going to limit myself with batch/"heavyness" size with this MLT? the price (less than $20) is not bad at all, and I figure I can outfit it with the valve, tubing, and a bazooka T or something similiar for another 25 or 30...

The consensus seems to be that 5 gal is a little small to do high gravity beers with...I'm going to go with a ten gallon myself.

fair enough. Looks like I will need to get prices on those too.

Hi

From what you brewers tell me is there dosen't seem to be any big objections to the 48 qt cooler so that's the way I'll go. I've got all my equipmernt lined up. I bought a propane cooker and my 9 pounds of grain,hops and yeast arrive today.
So Saturday is the big brew day.I want to thank everyone for their input. This is a great forum with a lot of people participating. I'll let you know how it turned out,good ,bad, or disastrous. I'm as nervous as a cat but I just tell myself it's not a matter of life or death.

Regards

David

10 gal I have found are VERY EXPENSIVE compaired to the 5 gal equivalant. I saw a 10 at a restruant supply house for 75.

davidkrau said:

Hi

From what you brewers tell me is there dosen't seem to be any big objections to the 48 qt cooler so that's the way I'll go. I've got all my equipmernt lined up. I bought a propane cooker and my 9 pounds of grain,hops and yeast arrive today.
So Saturday is the big brew day.I want to thank everyone for their input. This is a great forum with a lot of people participating. I'll let you know how it turned out,good ,bad, or disastrous. I'm as nervous as a cat but I just tell myself it's not a matter of life or death.

Regards

David

Click to expand...

Good luck and enjoy your first AG experience!

The 10g coolers most of us have purchased as rectangular coolers, not the more expensive round ones. You can usually find a rectangular for ~$25-30.

I think I saw the 10 gal rubbermaid coolers at ace hardware for 48 bux which is the cheapest I have seen. My only question is that I have seen 2 types of 10 gal rubbermaid coolers and I can't tell what the difference between them is. One has white handles on it that swivel and the other had handles that are just molded into the plastic orange outside of the cooler. I wonder if they both are basically the same thing.

El Pistolero said:

The consensus seems to be that 5 gal is a little small to do high gravity beers with...I'm going to go with a ten gallon myself.

Click to expand...

I've got the Igloo ten gallon round and it has worked fine for me. I've even done a 10 gallon batch in it. The photo shows sparging of my ESB which contained 14 pounds of grain.

Well, I think that I am now back to my original original plan of a 48Qt Rectangle, and build a custom manifold to ensure that there are no deadspots that could develop. Eventually (here's hoping) I would like to get to 10 gallon batches, since I just can't keep up with demand doing 5G batches. With Luck, I will get my keggle welded this weekend (having a pro do that) and can get started on my MLT and my brew stand (I am welding that since it is just structural and I am a messy welder).

Here is my take on the 48q cooler issue.

I just moved into AG and made my first batch this weekend. The beer was an English pale ale made with 9# English 2 row, 1/2# 10L crystal, and 1/2 # carapils, for 10# grains total.

I made a mash tun from a 48q igloo cube cooler and I could not have been more pleased with the results. I think that the cube shape is what makes the 48q cube preferable to a 48q chest. It has a smaller footprint and allows for a deeper grainbed as compared to a chest cooler.

Another advantage of a 48q cube is that it is also large enough to handle high gravity/10g batches. Further, I picked up my 48q Igloo Cube at a local sporting goods store for under $13.00, and after building my manifold, I was out around $40.00. Not a bad investment if you ask me.

My next brewery upgrade is going to be converting a stainless steel keg to a brewpot, but I probably wont have the time or money to do this for a few more months. Will keep anyone who is interested updated.

Rooster

Yea, I did my first batch with my square 48 qt. cooler over the weekend. The batch was a Belgian Strong Ale with 20 pounds of grain. After adding about 10, I am pretty sure that the grain bed would have been sufficient. However, after adding the full 20 lbs and mash water, there was still about 40% of room left. I love it. Also, at $40, I think it is cheaper than the mash tun I had (bought from Local HBS).