Can non-converted Igloo cooler work as a mash tun?

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bmurph

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Currently I do BIAB with my partial mashes in 6 gal stockpot and attempt to maintain temperature with direct heat from a stove burner. What I've found with this method is that I get very uneven temperature distributions, the temp near the bottom being dangerously high for enzyme activity and the temp near the top being much lower than optimal, even with lots of stirring. I looked into converting an igloo cooler but I don't have the equipment to do so. My question is if I got a bag big enough to occupy the entire volume of the cooler, could I still BIAB and drain the cooler through the unmodified spigot?

This is the cooler I'm looking at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N6SB/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I was thinking cylindrical because square/rectangular are prone to hot spots in the corners...right?
 
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It'll work, I've seen some BIAB users use that method. I'm actually thinking of doing the same because I'm having the exact same problem you are having in my 5 gallon pot, it's aluminum and not stainless steel, so the bottom is pretty thin.
 
If you already have a cooler (or are going to get one), a CPVC manifold and the valve to turn it into a MLT are VERY inexpensive.

And that way you don't have to hold that damn bag of wet grain over the cooler while it drains :)
 
I use a 5 gallon cooler and 2 foot x 3 foot bag and it works great, and it only cost $25 for both. The five gallon cooler can handle mashes that use 12-13 pounds of grain,so if you mostly brew moderate gravity beer it might be the way to go.

Rather than using the spigot, I find it easier to lift the bag out of the cooler after the mash, and then sparge in the brew kettle.
 
It should work. You could also convert it on the cheap as well.
I made this mash tun from the link above. It was cheap and easy to make and is really easy to use. It keeps temps really well too.

Maybe you could get the cooler and then get the parts as you have money to do so, then put it together.:ban:
 
^ +1 to that. I would get a large enough cooler that in the future you can hook up with extra parts in case you want to stray away from the BIAB and go to a MLT setup. That's what I'm looking into, but for now I'm still doing BIAB for sure. I'm just waiting for a good sale to get my cooler!
 
You could get the cooler with draining valve to convert it back and forth so nothing is permanent
 
I mash in a bag, the voile keeps the wort clean and I don't have a problem transfering through a ball valve. It is a pre-filter if you will ...
 
I used a very similar method with my cooler for partial mashes before I converted it to the false bottom. I would put the grain bag into a monster colander that spaned the top of the cooler and let it drain out with I poured my hot sparge water out of a flower watering pot that had a shower type nozel on it... Sort of like suspended fly sparging I guess. It worked ok, but was a PITA slowly pouring all that hot water over the grains for 30 minutes or so. Great shoulder/bicep workout, but really hard to enjoy a homebrew!!!
 
Yeah I was thinking of doing something like that with a colander and then setting the bag back in the cooler to batch sparge for a few minutes. Hopefully I'll get some advantages of both techniques
 
Yeah I was thinking of doing something like that with a colander and then setting the bag back in the cooler to batch sparge for a few minutes. Hopefully I'll get some advantages of both techniques


I had good success with it, just be sure to check your gravity and have some extra extract on hand incase you need to adjust.
 
The mesh bag inside the cooler will do the same job as a manifold.... while you could continue w/ brew-in-a-bag, you could also batch/fly sparge like the rest of us. Just leave the bag in there.
 
Yes, I've for a while before converting a cooler:) you may need to place the paddle outside the bag in front of the spigot so your bag don't get suck into the spigot ;-) happy brewing! I also took a rubber band and a bottle cap to depress the button.

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I am so glad I saw this post!! I had the same exact idea last night! I have a 5 gallon cylindrical cooler.

So if I put the bag in the cooler, add heated water and the grains to mash, then recycle the wort to sparge I should be good to go, no?

What about capacity? will it hold 5 gallons of water and grains? Or should I maybe try a 4 gallon batch? It's a 5 gallon igloo.
 
sendkyleanemail said:
What about capacity? will it hold 5 gallons of water and grains? Or should I maybe try a 4 gallon batch? It's a 5 gallon igloo.

If your brewing for a 5 gallon batch of beer!! 5 gallon cooler should hold 10ish pounds of grain & 3.1ish gallons of water !!
But you will have to split up your Sparge water if your batch sparging

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Can I drain the liquid out of the cooler after mash, right into the brew kettle, then use a separate 2nd gallons of water to sparge with using a big colander or something?
 
sendkyleanemail said:
Can I drain the liquid out of the cooler after mash, right into the brew kettle, then use a separate 2nd gallons of water to sparge with using a big colander or something?

If your going to drain entire mash wort out, after all mash wort is out of cooler into BK I would pour half your sparge amount into cooler with grain, stir up, drain off to BK and repeat for the second half of sparge water!!


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If your going to drain entire mash wort out, after all mash wort is out of cooler into BK I would pour half your sparge amount into cooler with grain, stir up, drain off to BK and repeat for the second half of sparge water!!


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Exactly what I do and consistently get 70% efficiency or more. only things I did for the cooler was change the drain and got a mesh kitchen sink screen and fitted it over the intake to stop the bag from getting sucked in and drilled two holes into the side of the lid where not seen and filled with latex foam insulation to help keep the heat in, only lose about 2 degrees over 60 minutes.

you'll also need some spring clamps to hold the bag while pouring the water
 
UnderThePorchBrewing said:
exactly what I do and consistently get 70% efficiency or more

I have a converted 48qt Coleman cooler now and do 10 gallon recipe's:) But the mash and Sparge process are the same !!
SIMPLE PROCESS WITH GOOD RESULTS, I LOVE IT!!
Cheers!

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I've done this at a fellow brewer's - it makes the sparge easy as well.

Basically the bag performs the same function as all the DIY conversion equipment, so you're golden!
 
I did something similar to this before I built my MLT. I found it was easier to put the strainer bag in my catch container. The drain hole will set up similar to a manifold. What still comes through you catch in your strainer bag. It's much easier pulling out a small amour of grain in your bag than the entire batch of grain.
 
This is exactly how I mash. Unmodified 5gal cooler lined with a 5gal paint strainer bag. Actually, I just switched to lining with two bags. Now, I have no need to recirculate or anything. I just drain the cooler and I'm ready to boil.

I double crush my grains and get around 80% efficiency, which means I can get up to 1.060 beers with 12 lb or so of grain, which just barely fits when mashed at 1.3 qt/lb ratio. Plus, you can just throw in a pound of extract or sugar if you want higher gravity. That or boil longer and collect 4 gal in the end.

There are two ways to drain the cooler. First, you can simply lift the bags up and out of the cooler, leaving the liquid behind. Second, you can drain out of the existing spigot of the cooler. I jam a paperclip into the spigot inside the cooler, so that it pushes the bag material off the inside of the spigot. Otherwise, the bag material would push into the spigot and stop the flow.

I do have to do a real sparge, so it's not 100% brew in a bag, but it's a great trade off. I drain the cooler then pour in the sparge water jus like in a normal mash tun. My total investment in the mash tun is $10 at this point.
 
I've done about a half dozen partial mash batches using a strainer bag in an unmodified 2 gallon cooler. Using the spigot worked, but one thing I discovered was this: If I slid the big plastic stirrer down between the bag and the inside of the spigot, the bag didn't get pulled in with the flow and cause a slow run-off. A slotted spoon would also work...
 
Sounds like it would probably work. I had the exact same issue trying to do partial mashes on the stove. Heat control is damn near impossible.
 
I used an unconverted 10-gallon cooler and 5-gallon paint strainers for a long time. I didn't even bother with the spigot---I'd usually have a buddy over, and we'd just set the grain bag aside and tip the cooler up into the boil kettle (hot side aeration be damned).
 
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