LIAB vs. DIY Cooler LT

[skinydipper]

Okay noobie question here. I have been reading up on BIAB and following another thread about BIAB where this came up:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/2nd-biab-brew-86-efficiency-202609/

I'll ignore the illiterate Canadian and add that I did my first BIAB two weeks ago, except it wasn't a BIAB it was a LIAB.

LIAB -- Lauter In A Bag.

I used direct heat on the stove top for a step mash in my 7.5 gal brew kettle. 10 lbs. Maris Otter with 4.5 gal. water. Constantly stirring the mash when adding heat.

I then lined my 6.5 gal HDPE bottling bucket/fermenting bucket with a 5 gal nylon paint straining bag from Ace Hardware. I made sure that the bottom of the mesh just touched the bottom of the bucket, but the sides of the parabola shaped mesh cleared the spigot. I lashed it in place and added my mash.

I gave it a stir, set the grain and volufed a couple of times and drained half way. Then I added 3 gal 170 deg sparge water, stirred and drained the whole batch as fast as the spigot would allow.

After boil it's gravity was 1.056, volume was 5.5 gal.

I'm doing it again this weekend, adding some steps. I will be putting the 'mash' kettle in the oven for the long rest to maintain heat.

So I've brewed a few Brewer's Best kits and now have two AG kits from Northern Brewer waiting to brew (hopefully this weekend). I have a 5 gal cooler that I had intended to convert to an LT with the stainless steel braid, but I'm wondering if there are any advantages/dissadvantages using LIAB method inside the cooler. The cooler will hold the heat and maintain temps, it also seems that the LIAB would prevent channeling and be easier to clean up.

Any thoughts or comments?

 

[Hex]

I'm interested in this as well, thanks for posting.

My main concern is chemical leaching from 170 deg mash and sparge water in HDPE bucket vs (?) plastic in water coolers.

 

[skinydipper]

Good point HEX, but I think the water coolers are also designed and safe for use with hot drinks also?

 

[Hex]

I've got a request in to Rubbermaid for our application. I'll post their reply here in this thread if they respond. I asked for an MSDS sheet too.

One advantage of the above process is that being a cheep bastard with limited space, I did not have to buy a water cooler, and I already had the 'Ale pail'/bottling bucket.

Another advantage is the ability to do multiple step mashing. I've been working up to doing a Westmalle Tripel clone. The recipe I liked had about 5 temperature rests to properly convert lower-modified, Belgian Pilsner grain.

Eventually I'll probably make an insulated, stainless steel Lautering tun, and continue with the direct heat mash experiments...

 

[Hex]

I just got off the phone with Rubbermain customer service and they said:

"We definitely DO NOT recommend anyone putting hot water in our water coolers over 120 deg f."

And when I asked what type of plastic are the coolers made out of, they said it is a food grade "other" type.

I then asked if they could provide me with a MSDS sheet for their product, and they said "no" it is a proprietary plastic type.

Contact them yourselves:

Attn: Consumer Service Department
3320 W. Market Street
Fairlawn, Ohio 44333-3306 USA
Please do not ship packages to this address as they can not be received.
Toll-Free: (888) 895-2110
Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm Eastern

 

[skinydipper]

I saw this in your other thread HEX. Thanks for the info, I have a LIAB in cooler right now. I hit my mash temp and it hasn't budged.

I think I'll switch to stainless though.

 

[Hex]

Yup, stainless, copper, or aluminum for me from now on.

Mash in brew kettle, place in warm oven for rests. If containers get bigger, so will the oven.