Mash tun size for AG/PM

The next piece of brew equipment on my list is a mash tun. I'm having trouble deciding what size to go with. Are there any guidelines like "a cooler with X volume can hold Y lbs of grain"?

I'm assuming 3gal is plenty for a partial mash.
Is 5 gal enough for AG? What is the minimum for AG?
What cooler size is typical for a 10gallon batch?

BlendieOfIndie said:

The next piece of brew equipment on my list is a mash tun. I'm having trouble deciding what size to go with. Are there any guidelines like "a cooler with X volume can hold Y lbs of grain"?

I'm assuming 3gal is plenty for a partial mash.
Is 5 gal enough for AG? What is the minimum for AG?
What cooler size is typical for a 10gallon batch?

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I all grain with a 5 Gallon Gott. It is good for most brews in a five gallon batch. If however you are looking to do a bigger beer all grain or you plan on doing 10 gallon batches, a larger one would be nice. I find that that a 1.070- 1.080 is as big as you can get and to get the 1.080 you need to boil down to 4.5 gallons. I hope this helps you out. S.

A 3 gallon cooler is perfect for partial mashes. It will easily hold 5 pounds of grain and give you a nice thick grain bed. The 5 gallon coolers will work for AG brewing but are a bit restrictive. If you brew a big beer there isn't enough room for the mash. If you are wanting to get a MLT for AG brewing I recommend a minimum of a 10 gallon cooler.

Is a 1 gal. cooler too small? I'm guessing so, for more than 2 pounds of grain.

I use a sanke keg as a MLT. It works great for 5 or 10 gal batches up to about 36 lbs of grain.

+1 to what Rich said above.

Assuming you are batch sparging:
- for PM batches 3 gals is perfect (5 gal is probably even fine)
- for 5 gal AG batches, 10 gals is about right
- for 10 gal AG batches, 60 quarts and up

Get a 10 gallon Rubbermaid. This is the size most all grain brewers use. If you buy a 5 gallon you will be sorry because you will sooner or later want a big beer or start doing 10 gallon batches.

Thanks guys. I live in an apartment and brew in my kitchen, so space is a major concern. I'm worried that a 10gal Gott would take up too much room in my closet. I might be able to squeeze it in. Does anyone know the dimensions of the 10 Gallon version? What about the 5 gallon version.

You're only looking at an extra $20 or so to get a 10 gallon vs. a 5 gallon. Even if you think it will be a while before you will need the extra capacity, it's money well spent.

BlendieOfIndie said:

Thanks guys. I live in an apartment and brew in my kitchen, so space is a major concern. I'm worried that a 10gal Gott would take up too much room in my closet. I might be able to squeeze it in. Does anyone know the dimensions of the 10 Gallon version? What about the 5 gallon version.

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Something to think about -- my big 30 qt pot fits nicely inside my 10 gal cooler, but there is no way it would fit inside a 5 gal one. That sort of nesting of equipment could save a lot of space right there.

Dimensions for the cooler can be found here:
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd150117

I had a 5 gallon gott cooler and ended up going to the 10 gallon one because I would get stuck sparges if the grain was plied up too high. The grain bed is not as thick when it is in the 10 gallon gott cooler, thus, recirculation is easier.