10 or 15 Gallon stainless mash tun?

[zodiak3000]

decided to ditch the cooler and upgrade to stainless. is a 15 too big for 5 gallon batches? i will be attempting to insulate and not running heat in anyway. just wondering if a 15 will lose too much heat with the dead space, maybe a 10 is the way to go? I never plan on maxing out more than 22lbs in a 5 gallon batch. Just wondering if there is any benefit to go with a 15.

 

[mamies]

The biggest benefit to the larger quantity is if you ever want to increase the size of your brewery. Is it possible to make a lid to sit just above the mash.

 

[patthebrewer]

Normally I would recommend you get the largest you can afford, but why get a 15 gallon mt if you are a 5 gallon brewer? A ten gallon Mt should be all you'll need for that size. As far as heat loss goes, if your not using some type of recirc. heating (herms etc), or direct fire.....you will lose heat, and the larger to pot (and headspace) the more you will lose. However, I don't know if the loss will be that significant, especially if you insulate. A 15 gallon would make more sense if you plan on doing regular no sparge batchs.