New Mash Tun Option - Mash Hawk

[Howie]

A homebrewer who works for a plastics corporation that manufactures POS displays for major beer companies has started offering one of their vessels as a homebrew mash tun.


http://www.irpinconline.com

I really like the looks of it. 70 quart volume. Made of food grade plastic that is food safe to 228 degrees. Molded spigot hole (no leaking into insulation). Commercial build quality, commercial grade insulation.

Probably only suitable for batch sparging due to the design of the bottom.


I have no affiliation with this company, and I don't own one of these. At least I don't own one yet, though I am SERIOUSLY considering it.

Thoughts?

 

[nebelk]

I saw those too, there are a couple threads in the classified section, one here, with quite a bit of discussion

 

[IrregularPulse]

My question is the benefit of this over say a $20 52qt igloo cube.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you put any value on having a circular tun that holds 17.5 gallons, it could be good. It's slightly larger than a converted keg but is already insulated. It would be pretty amazing if the inside cavity went all the to the bottom because it would hold a LOT more.

 

[Howie]

My question is the benefit of this over say a $20 52qt igloo cube.

For me:

-70 quart volume

-Made of food grade plastic that is food safe to 228 degrees (try calling igloo and see if they will give you that kind of info)

-Molded spigot hole - no leaking into insulation

-Proper size drain hole - unlike my Coleman Xtreme

-Commercial build quality, commercial grade insulation.

-Height of drain hole (this wouldn't be a benefit to everyone, but would be a benefit to my gravity system)

 

[flyerwire]

If you put any value on having a circular tun that holds 17.5 gallons, it could be good. It's slightly larger than a converted keg but is already insulated. It would be pretty amazing if the inside cavity went all the to the bottom because it would hold a LOT more.

yeah, the bottom part of it makes it hard for me to use it in my system, just makes it too tall with a bunch of dead space in the bottom

 

[joex444]

Clearly working at higher temps is a good thing, but I really have to wonder when any of us get an Igloo cooler above 170F.

It certainly is cheaper than a pre-made keg mash tun, not as cheap as one you'd make yourself of course.

At that size, I'd kind of prefer something I can heat directly. Compared to a 70qt cooler, I'm not sure how its really much different. Maybe better insulation? But with my 40qt cooler I don't really lose enough temp to worry about anything, so better seems to be totally superfluous.

 

[Howie]

Clearly working at higher temps is a good thing, but I really have to wonder when any of us get an Igloo cooler above 170F.

Certainly we don't (other than maybe preheating the tun with boiling water.)

My point is that I've never been comfortable that your typical cooler is food safe even at mash temperatures. Maybe they are, but I've never heard of anyone getting conclusive confirmation from a cooler company.

It certainly is cheaper than a pre-made keg mash tun, not as cheap as one you'd make yourself of course.

I don't know. I want to use a sanke for a fermenter, and I am having a heck of a hard time finding a legal keg at a reasonable price (the whole legal keg thing is a whole other topic that's been beat to death).

 

[babalu87]

228 degrees, thats good to know if I ever want to pressure cook in it

How much does it weigh?
Thats a BIG concern for me having to tote it up and down stairs when I want to brew.

Con's

 

[petep1980]

I dunno, that thing looks pretty sweet. My igloo w/ bazooka & bulkhead was more expensive and is an inferior product.

 

[badmajon]

I'm thinking about getting this. I was going to do a herms setup "one day" but this seems like a nice intermediate step between my 10 gal igloo and that. If I could only do single batch sparge infusion high gravity 10 gallon batches....

Does beg the question though, why all the dead space at the bottom?

 

[TheMan]

I see no benefit of this over my igloo cooler. Being bigger is the only benefit. I think you can make yourself a cheaper tun with a free or cheap cooler from friends/family. Looks like they perform the same.

 

[MazdaMatt]

Base price is 42 dollars, I think i read in the picture section. I have looked and looked and I can't find these $20 round igloos that everyone here is talking about. Best price I've seen on a round cooler is 38 dollars. This is clearly a better product because it is purpose-built and larger. With fittings a cooler would cost me more than this.

The large bottom is a bit odd... I guess the point is to raise it above the height of a boil kettle so you can gravity drain, but putting it on a table would do the same thing.

 

[badmajon]

$20 for a 10 gallon igloo cooler, excuse me while I laugh myself to death. No, those coolers range from $40-60 at the big box stores.

Being bigger is the only benefit

Um, yeah.

How about a lid though? I thought round type coolers lost most of their heat from the top? With the lid, the price goes up to $80. Now it's a bit more expensive. With shipping, probably $100.

Still, not a bad price.

 

[two_hearted]

What would be cool is if you could build a CFC into the dead space in the bottom.

 

[Howie]

Does beg the question though, why all the dead space at the bottom?

Because it's not custom designed for this. It's a re-purposed drink cooler like you would find drinks iced down in at a convenience store or some kind of event.

If and when I ever get back into brewing, I'll likely be buying one.

For me, having the dead space at the bottom would be a benefit. If you have a gravity system (no pump), you often want to get your mash tun up higher. This would keep me from having to stack my coleman cooler on top of other stuff to get it up higher.

 

[smakudwn]

I assume the dead space in the bottom is just to make it taller to gravity drain, doesn't help me and my single tier stand, if they sold one that is a bit smaller with less dead space I would be interested. I've used my igloo for a couple of years and its starting to leek and liquid is starting to get into the insulation and the sides are warped.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

The "dead space" is because these were intended for "POS" (point of sale) transactions originally- you walk into 7-eleven or the like and there is a cooler with a bunch of drinks staying cold in ice sitting in it. They made it taller because it makes more sense from a marketing perspective-- counter height, people don't have to reach or look down to notice it, etc.

However, it is insulated all around the actual interior, and then there is a hollow space between the interior bottom insulation and the very bottom of the mash hawk.

It is a great piece. For a lid, just use a board, a scrap piece of rigid insulation from your ferm chamber project , or whatever...

 

[TheMan]

$20 for a 10 gallon igloo cooler, excuse me while I laugh myself to death. No, those coolers range from $40-60 at the big box stores.



Um, yeah.

How about a lid though? I thought round type coolers lost most of their heat from the top? With the lid, the price goes up to $80. Now it's a bit more expensive. With shipping, probably $100.

Still, not a bad price.

*Shrugs* found a 10 gallon igloo for $10 on Craigslist...buddy got one for $20, they are more common than you think. Neither loses more than 1 or 2 degrees. On the Mashhawk site it looks like it will regularly do the same.

I'd advise anyone to invest $100 in a fermenting chamber before one of these tuns.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

See below. If these things sound good to you, it is well worth the extra $10-20 over a new 10gallon round drink cooler. However, I don't know how $100 on a ferm chamber has anything to do with a discussion on mash tuns.

Nevertheless, the price is right, and if you want a round tun that can accomodate small or big grain bills, this is a valid option.

For me:

-70 quart volume

-Made of food grade plastic that is food safe to 228 degrees (try calling igloo and see if they will give you that kind of info)

-Molded spigot hole - no leaking into insulation

-Proper size drain hole - unlike my Coleman Xtreme

-Commercial build quality, commercial grade insulation.

-Height of drain hole (this wouldn't be a benefit to everyone, but would be a benefit to my gravity system)

 

[Howie]

*Shrugs* found a 10 gallon igloo for $10 on Craigslist...buddy got one for $20

Ah, used you may find one that cheap. Certainly not new.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a used cooler for this purpose. Who the heck knows what it was used for??

Also, those 10 gallon coolers max out on grain pretty quickly doing 10 gallon batches, and you also don't have much room to batch sparge.

I'd advise anyone to invest $100 in a fermenting chamber before one of these tuns.

Certainly agree with that.

However, the advantages of this unit would be worth it TO ME to own one. I think it's a pretty cool thing. The only reason I don't own one is that I'm not actively brewing these days. So, for the purposes of sitting in my garage collecting dust, my Coleman Xtreme works just fine!

Remember, this hobby holds different value for everyone. To me, dropping $100 bucks on this would be okay. Others wouldn't dream of spending that when they can build one out of something else. Still, others would spend over $5,000 on a tricked out MoreBeer 1550 or a Brew-Magic system. That seems insane to me!

Also, I don't know that anyone's every conclusively found out that igloo coolers are food safe at mash and sparge temps?? I mean, I've had mash tun coolers warp from the heat??