Round v/s Square?

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joeunc

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I have the 5gal round Rubbermaid now but am going to get a larger cooler for MLT. What is the consensus on round v/s square. I am going to do batch sparging split into 2 steps.

Lots of people have the Coleman extreme and lots have the 10gal Rubbermaid round. Any one hold better temps, work better for batch sparging etc???

I am sure the conversion of the two with the parts from Home Depot will be about the same,,I am going steel braid setup.

I have been doing all grain with my 5gal cooler and a 5 gal bag, but wanting to step up to the non bag version.

thanks
 
I've had three MLTs (four if you count the zapap.) The Coleman Extreme is the best.

P1010434.jpg


No dead space and no need to keep a siphon to drain it completely. So many MLTs have the braid two inches off the bottom.
 
I have the Coleman Extreme. LOVE IT. It holds temps fantastically, the trough (sp) at the bottom is great, pretty easy to build too. I haven't tried a round one so say whether or not its better, but the Coleman is awesome.
 
thx, what is that braid setup you have in there?

Water supply SS braid with inside rubber removed, attached to bulkhead with SS worm clamp and end crimped. Everything inside is SS. The braid does not need to span the entire bottom of cooler. In fact, the long braids are harder to keep in place if it's not bolted down.

Finally, the Blue Xtreme is better than the red :) ( not really...just a running joke on the AHA forum ).
 
why are the larger coleman xtremes cheaper or same price as the smaller ones? i am thinking of going with either 36 or 48qt for 5 gallon all grain batches but the 70qt one seems to be cheaper than both of them.
 
I use a 52. My lauter device is 1/2 inch pex with hundreds of 1/8 inch holes in the bottom.

My frist cooler was a five gallon water jug with a false bottom that I fly sparged with. How easy a false bottom fits is the only advantage of a round cooler. If you just connect a braid to the outlet you end up with efficiency robbing dead space.
 
why are the larger coleman xtremes cheaper or same price as the smaller ones? i am thinking of going with either 36 or 48qt for 5 gallon all grain batches but the 70qt one seems to be cheaper than both of them.

Not sure why, but if the price is the same or better, go big. I've made 5 gallon recipes as big as 1.100 and as small as 1.036, and for both the grain bed has sufficient depth and doesn't come close to being full.
 
I don't have much to say regarding square coolers, as I have never used them. But I do have a 5 gallon round igloo, a 10 gallon round igloo and a 10 gallon round rubbermaid (home depot cheapo) that I have used for MLTs. Neither of the 10 gallons can match the heat holding capabilities of the 5 gallon. Both of them routinely lose around 4 degrees per hour, while the 5 gallon only loses about 1 degree. The higher loss is probably due to increase surface area and head space of the 10 gal vs the 5 gal. I've tried insulating the tun with blankets, winter coats, etc with little improvement. Since most of my beers are below 1.060 (5-gallon) I kind of regret purchasing the bigger coolers as I can survive with the smaller one by splitting up my batch sparge in to ~3 batches. Just something to consider before spending the $40-60 for a larger round cooler.
 
Not sure why, but if the price is the same or better, go big. I've made 5 gallon recipes as big as 1.100 and as small as 1.036, and for both the grain bed has sufficient depth and doesn't come close to being full.
but won't a too large cooler cause a thin grain bed and too much head space making it harder to maintain temperature?
 
Grain bed depth is only important with fly sparging.

7346-10_Braid_in_Cooler_r.jpg


Here is a common design problem. The braid is an inch or two above the bottom of the grain bed. It will leave that much sweet wort behind. A dip tube would help if there was siphon from a hose on the other side of the MLT. Still a braid will loose siphon at the top, where as my pipe looses siphon on the bottom. The Coleman solves both these design issues with the drain being level with the bottom of the cooler.
 
so far looks like Coleman extreme is probably the best cooler. I am torn between that and the igloo icecube since it looks like it take up less space to store. only thing is that the bigger ones seem cheaper than the smaller ones for some odd reason. there is a walmart right down the street from where I attend college might check it out after i get off today
 
I agree sportscrazed. I was earlier looking at the round Igloo water coolers and they seem more expensive ($20-$40 more on avg) than the Coleman Xtremes. The Colemans are much more readily available as well.
 
www.coleman.com has 75 qt xtreme's onsale today for $45 normally they are $90. I'm a fly sparger and think I'm going to go with a 10 gallon Home Depot rubbermade cooler. I have the 5 gallon version of it and have been pretty happy with it. I'm now working on upgrading to 10 gallon batches. I currently own an Ice Cube and may use that but I don't know how well the square coolers will work with fly sparging. If I can use that, it would save me $40.
 
but won't a too large cooler cause a thin grain bed and too much head space making it harder to maintain temperature?

I did a mild in one ( 1.036 SG 5 gallon ) and lost about 2 degrees F over the 60 minute mash. You can also cover them with a blanket or large towel to keep some of the heat in on really cold brew days.
 
I called Coleman and they said it was rated as their 6 day cooler. Same insulation as their other extreme models. Basically same cooler they said except this one has the coating that the sun will not fade and rust proof hardware.
It also has the same drain channel and drain valve as their other xtreme models.
Placed my order, as I don't think I want to go 70qt and this one is $37 delivered for 58qts, just over 14 gallons so it will do all the mashes I will be interested in doing.


Product Description

Xtreme® Ultimate Marine Plus Coolers
6 Day Cooler - Keeps Ice Cold for Six Days

These insulated coolers keep their contents cold up to six days at 90° F, and are among Coleman's best-performing coolers. Ultimate Xtreme coolers range in capacity from 50 to 82 quarts. They coolers all feature UV and infrared guard reflective color, as well as an antimicrobial liner, and stainless steel hinges.
♦ Stainless steel spring lid strap
♦ Large, overmold handles
♦ Antimicrobial liner
♦ UV⁄IR additive reflective color
♦ Stainless steel hardware
♦ Tray and cutting board
♦ Molded in drink holders



coleman has this on sale today for 28.71+ $9 shipping. it's normally a $100 cooler according to coleman. would it make a good mash tun? https://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/detail.asp?product_id=6273A798
 
you will be fine and should jump on it, I did and no of two others who did.
5 gal batches will be fine. I already have a rd 5 gallon cooler and have found getting a good stir when the grain bill is high to be tough. And the square will be great for batch sparge. Thanks for finding that cyber monday deal.


so will that do 5 gallon batches ok or should i go even smaller?
 
ordered it hopefully it goes through first credit card wouldn't go through for some reason so i tried a paypal debit card and it worked have it linked to my bank account so hopefully it works
 
I just found a 70 in the middle of a road. No kidding, I just went to check out a job and there it was, a silver 70.

The day got better too. I found Viennese lager at the supermarket.
 
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