Coleman Cooler Mash Tun

[slantedbolt]

Here is another question. I got a 5 gallon round coleman cooler for a mash tun. Is this to small? From what i have read, for 10 pounds of grains, you need 2.5 gallons of water but I do not know the displacement value of the grain.

Did I waste money on this cooler?

 

[stratslinger]

I think 5 gallons is OK, so long as you stick to 5 gallon batches and if you don't plan to do much with really big grain bills. If you step up to 10, you'll need more room.

I brew AG with a friend of mine, who has a 10-gallon coleman. We've done a ton of 5 gallon batches in that one, I think it only ever got more than half full when we made an oatmeal stout. We've also done a couple of 10 gallon batches with the same cooler, and once came close to running out of space.

 

[VegasBrew]

I can handle 12 lb of grain in mine, looks like I could do more. If you want a bigger beer just add lme or dme to up the SG.

VB

 

[Kahuna]

Check out this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/grain-volume-calculator-30498/

And this link:
http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

You should be ok with a 10 pound grain bill, using 1.25 quarts per pound.
You would hit the limit of the cooler at that ratio with 13 pounds of grain.

So I'd use this for smaller beers and then use it as a hot liquid tank when you eventually buy a bigger cooler. (The 48 quart rectangular ones work well.)

 

[slantedbolt]

Awesome guys. Thanks a bunch!

 

[slantedbolt]

The other thing I didnt mention was that the spigot that it comes with is removable for cleaning. Check out the pics. Any thoughts on issues this may cause?

 

[stratslinger]

To be honest, you'll probably want to remove that spigot and replace with a brass or stainless ball valve - check out Palmer's "How to Brew" for DIY instructions for such a thing, or check out Bargain Fittings for a kit. These will be much more easily cleaned, and you can connect them much more easily to a false bottom or SS screen to help filter the wort from the grain.

 

[slantedbolt]

The issue is to be honest is once I remove the spigot, the hole is much bigger then a normal cooler. Do you think you can get larger washers to make this work? I am worried I wasted 20 bucks.

 

[Rentachik]

I have mashed 15# in a igloo 5 gal cooler. The was was really thick. 1.1qt/lb maybe. I made a 8.9% abv maibock. Pain in the ass to sparge though.