How big or small a mash tun?

[Zrab11]

So I am looking to move to All grain. So I am looking to build a Mash tun.

Right Now I brew 5 Gallon Extract batches in a 15 gal keg. So I have room to do 10 gallon batches but haven't yet.

Also all my beers have beer IPA's or Pal ale's. No big beers

In the Article below it looks like if I plan to do 10 gallon or do a Barleywine or other big beer it would be best to get a 10 gallon cooler

http://http://www.homebrewdad.com/view_page.php?pageid=1

But in John Palmers book it looks like he says NOT to get a cooler bigger than you plan to use as the grain bed depth is too shallow and my extraction will suffer.

http://http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-3.html

I don't plan on doing a 10 gallon batch within the next year but could see my self trying a bigger beer in the next year.

I am also a person who liked to buy something I will grow into or be able to use in the future. So a 10 gallon seems logical. But I don't want to hurt the efficiency of the first few All grain 5 gallon batches I do.

So what should I go with? A 5 or 10? Or maybe bigger?


My 2nd Question is about the Braid

I am going to go with a Round cooler as I have heard there can be some pockets of warm air in the corners of square coolers. If I am wrong about this or you think I should go with a square or rectangular cooler let me know now!

If Not I will go with the Round.

I Plan on batch sparging and so it looks to me that a Braid is better than a false bottom as they have less chance to get stuck sparge. If this is false or you think I would be better off with a flase bottom Speak now!

If not I plan on making a Round Braid.

Looks like a little more work but I think it might provide alittle more efficiency than just a Braid and have less chances to get stuck.

Is this true? Or is there no advantage to making a round braid over just installing a straight braid?

Thanks for the help! Always Appreciate it!

 

[NTXBrauer]

If you ever plan on brewing high gravity beer, you should go with the 10 gallon cooler, as you can use quite a bit of grain 18-20lbs or more for a 5-6gal batch. I use a 10 gallon mash tun with a straight 12" SS braid, and do not believe you will see much improvement on using a round one. Currently I am happy with the SS braid, as I only batch sparge at this time. If you will be fly sparging, you may go with a false bottom, as it is known to improve on your efficiency.

 

[Copbrew133]

I brewed with a 10 gal round cooler for a long time with really good results. When, not if, you decide to do a imperial stout or barleywine you are going to want the space. I used a false bottom connected to the bulkhead with high temp hose and with batch sparging never had a stuck sparge. If I brewed like an oatmeal stout or pumpkin beer I always used rice hull as well. I would get the larger cooler because you will most likely use it. Whatever you decide, enjoy!

 

[day_trippr]

If you ever want to brew high gravity recipes, you'll appreciate the 10g tun. And I wouldn't get too hung up on a modest extraction ding when you could simply add 50 cents worth of grain to make up for it...

Cheers!

 

[BansheeRider]

Go big or go home. Eventually you will need the bigger mash tun. I just made one following this method....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

I bought a 5 gallon pot and regret it. Today I bought an 11gal pot because I now need a larger pot to improve my brewing process. This could happen to you later if you decide to get a smaller mash tun.

 

[TrubHead]

Too big a mash tun (cooler) as compared to grain bill makes it more difficult to hold mash temps.

 

[Evan_L]

I use a 10G for 5G batches, get ~80% efficiency on average, holds temps like a boss. I wouldn't worry about it. You will be thankful for the flexibility to do larger/higher gravity batches later.

 

[niquejim]

Grain bed depth only matters if you fly sparge. It is harder to hold temps if you do very small beers(bitters or milds) but should not be an issue with pale ales and IPA's

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

Go big or go home. Eventually you will need the bigger mash tun. I just made one following this method....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

That's exactly what I built. It holds temps very well. I started out using the SS braid and switched to a false bottom after a few batches. The braid would get stuck in the middle of the grain bed, and it got all beat up. Once I switched to the false bottom my efficiency improved.

This is the false bottom I used ( http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...10654&osCsid=7146ecf3aac1be19c2733cefc605da02 )
, fairly cheap and works great. I have since bought another one for my kettle.

 

[junior]

To give you an idea of what size you need, I use a 24 qt rectangle cooler and max it out with 9.25 lbs of grain and 15 qts of water that's for a volume of 5.5 gallons boil volume. Hope this helps.

 

[Dustinj]

I went straight to 70 qt Coleman extreme. I can do whatever I want from there. My last batch was 14 lb grain and 5 gals water. It stayed at 148 for an hour and I batch sparge so bed depth is not an issue.

 

[Dustinj]

 

[tooldudetool]

I use a 10 gallon round with the round SS braid, and I love it! I regularly get 85%+ efficiency with batch sparging. Palmer uses a rectangular cooler, so maybe that's why his grain bed would be shallower. I did a Russian imperial stout with 22 pounds of grain and my cooler was filled to the very top!

 

[foos-n-brew]

A 15 Igloo Cube works quite well for various size mashes as well. Search on here and will find some details on the build. I used a cpvc manifold in mine and never have had a stuck sparge.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I think the least amount of grain I have put in my round 10 gal cooler was 7 pounds. Maybe lost a degree or two Fahrenheit.

 

[Chefflahertycec]

you can't go wrong with a 10 gal cooler tun. I use an igloo 10 gal I snagged for free at the golf clubs I run and it works like a champ. I 'm waiting to get a larger rec. tun down the road to do larger batches but for now , no problem doing 5 gal batches and I just brewed a 10 gal batch of dark mild in it. For 10 gal batches doing all grain depending on the recipe, your strike water is only around 5 +/- gal with 10 +/- gal sparge water (14# grain) so space to do 10 gal batches is still an option... Don't waste your time with a smaller one. you will regret it.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Do a 10 gallon. Even if you only do 5 gallon batches you want more than a 5 gallon mash tun if you ever want to do bigger beers. I believe a 10 gallon mash can hold about 25 lb batches and a 10 is around 12 with a thick mash. If you want a 1.070-1.090 beer you'll want the bigger mash tun


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[m1k3]

The Can I Mash It? Calculator helped me figure this out.

Another thing to consider is the size of your HLT and boil kettle.

I really like the ratio of my vessels. Using my full HLT and adding my usual amount of grain (for my desired strength of beer), my mash tun is filled almost to the top. Then I refill the HLT and I have the exact amount of water to sparge. My kettle is large enough to boil it with out risk of boil over.

These are my ratios (I make 15 gallon batches)... I wonder if they scale to other size systems?

 

[Riot]

I'm gonna have to agree with the nothing under 10 gallons crowd. I just upgraded from a small tun, and I now know way more than I ever thought I would about super thick mashes. That mash calculator posted above was also invaluable for not having frequent overflows.

 

[Denny]

I went straight to 70 qt Coleman extreme. I can do whatever I want from there. My last batch was 14 lb grain and 5 gals water. It stayed at 148 for an hour and I batch sparge so bed depth is not an issue.

Same here. I have a 48 qt., a 70 qt., and a 152 qt. If I was going to recommend only one to someone, it would be the 70. Holds temp great even with a small grist bill. Grain bed depth is not an issue since I batch sparge. A rectangular cooler is easier to work with than a round one due to the larger opening, and you get more volume for you money than with a round.