BIAB upgrade to MashTun

[iglehart]

I have done a few brews in a bag now and I am wondering if I should build a mash tun.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

For me, I like to build things and I like to make brewing as easy as possible. Money is not to much of an issue, but I don't want to spend more than $100 or so.
Should I spend the money elsewhere?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I enjoy both BIAB and using a cooler MLT. One process is not "better", than the other, but different. Just about any cooler will work as a mash tun, so you may already have something that would work.

I prefer a stainless braid and batch sparging over a manifold and fly sparging FWIW.

I used this cooler MLT a few years ago, very simple and cheap, worked well batch sparging. Just an idea of how simple a cooler MLT can be....
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/ten-minute-cooler-mash-tun-conversion-125108/

 

[RM-MN]

By going to a conventional mash tun you should be able to stretch your brew day to 5 or 6 hours. You'll also get to clean one more vessel and if you get really lucky, you can learn about a stuck sparge. If you've been milling your grains really fine for BIAB and are getting 80% or higher efficiency you can also learn to scale the recipes for 65 to 75% efficiency. It will be a great learning experience.

 

[Limestone_Cowboy]

Split the difference and just put a bag in the cooler. That's what I do.. :rockin:

advantage: all the usual biab benefits, plus temp holding. Mine's off-the-shelf Gott with no fittings, I pour the wort to kettle. No desire to move "up".

 

[cgrivois]

I only did a couple brews using BIAB and I always seemed to make a mess doing it, pulling bag out of keggle, sliping a rack under the back then squizing the wort out. Always seemd to drain some down the side of keggle onto the floor. I started using a tun with a braid and batch sparging and my process seemed to get cleaner. This last brew I threw the bag in the tun and brewed that way. So far I prefer using the cooler tun.

 

[jason91notch]

I went from using a cooler as a separate mash tun to doing strictly BIAB in a 8.5 gallon kettle. Way easier process, easier clean up, shorter brew day, better efficiency, less variables that can go wrong. Going to BIAB was my "Upgrade".

 

[ram5ey]

Been doing MIAB (mash in a bag) in a 10g cooler for a while now. Works great.

 

[jason91notch]

Also, I made a coat for my kettle out of reflectix insulation and with that I hold 60-90min mash temps to within 2 degrees, which was about how much swing I had in my rubbermaid mash tun. This is what I bought at Home Depot for the coat- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQSYRO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20