This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be

Homer said:

I am fairly new to all grain, so I might have been off on my water volume calculations, but I ran out of room in my 52 qt rectangular mash tun while batch sparging a 10 gal 1.065 pale ale. So, I decided to upgrade, and am about to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332

I plan on doing mostly 10 gal batches and batch sparging, I want to be able to do strong beers in here too (8-9%), will this cooler cut it. Reading through this thread and seeing some other charts, it seems like it would while mashing, but not sure about when I batch sparge.

Thanks

Click to expand...

That is exactly what i have (70qt) and i have been able to put upto 23.7lbs of grain into it and pull off a batch sparge with no issues - except that you will need to be careful about the level and pop the top a bit towards the beginning of the sparge... or just start the runoff and then start the sparge a small bit later.

maierhof said:

That is exactly what i have (70qt) and i have been able to put upto 23.7lbs of grain into it and pull off a batch sparge with no issues - except that you will need to be careful about the level and pop the top a bit towards the beginning of the sparge... or just start the runoff and then start the sparge a small bit later.

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My hinges gave out on my 40 qt but I have continued to use it.... I have looked at a few new coolers but none have the drain in a place that I like...

BUT

I will have to look next time I go to Wal-Mart.... Ya cannot beat that price.

DPBISME said:

My hinges gave out on my 40 qt but I have continued to use it.... I have looked at a few new coolers but none have the drain in a place that I like...

BUT

I will have to look next time I go to Wal-Mart.... Ya cannot beat that price.

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that's the one I got, for around that same price

I love mine.

I was worried about headspace in it. the first batch I made the mash temp dropped like 7 or 8 degrees in the hour, so I started putting a layer of tinfoil on top and have never lost more than 1° since.

it helps keep from disturbing the grain bed when I pour the vorlauf back in, so I just leave the tinfoil sitting there until I'm completely done with lautering.

GrogNerd said:

that's the one I got, for around that same price

I was worried about headspace in it. the first batch I made the mash temp dropped like 7 or 8 degrees in the hour, so I started putting a layer of tinfoil on top and have never lost more than 1° since.

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So my problem was that the weight of the MASH widened/spread the cooler.

I fixed this by taking the "crank" ties downs that I use to tie-down my motorcycle to my pickup truck.

With them wrapped around the cooler it provided the support needed for the top to close tightly...

DPBISME said:

So my problem was that the weight of the MASH widened/spread the cooler.

I fixed this by taking the "crank" ties downs that I use to tie-down my motorcycle to my pickup truck.

With them wrapped around the cooler it provided the support needed for the top to close tightly...

Click to expand...

Mine has done the same thing, so I'll try cinching it up. I think the large volume of hot water softens and expands the plastic, then the weight of the contents spreads the cooler wider. It mostly goes back into shape when it's cool, but the lid doesn't fit as tightly as it once did. Hopefully the straps will help.

Last week I put 31 pounds of grain in it with no problem. Once I tried a 42-pound brew and had to split it into 2 mashes.

Derp said:

Mine has done the same thing, so I'll try cinching it up. I think the large volume of hot water softens and expands the plastic, then the weight of the contents spreads the cooler wider. It mostly goes back into shape when it's cool, but the lid doesn't fit as tightly as it once did. Hopefully the straps will help.

Last week I put 31 pounds of grain in it with no problem. Once I tried a 42-pound brew and had to split it into 2 mashes.

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Wow... I have did a Triple but it had only 27 pounds... I did not need more since the rest was about 4 pounds of sugar added to the boil. 10 gallon batch.

I need a new TUN as my hinges have finally broken.... I just have not found a cooler that fits the bill yet...

I have considered building a "BOX" to put the cooler in, with EXPANDING foam to add the support for next time...

Having this thread on the sticky list saved me much time. Been a few months since I've brewed and I just ordered enough for two batches. Since my time is limited, I am considering combining batches to make a 10 gallon brew. I am using a 10 Gallon cylindrical cooler with a perforated dome false bottom. Converted keg for BK and HLT. It will be a bit tricky getting the ratio right, as I won't be able to add water to bring mash temp up in the event of a cold dough-in. Got lucky the only time I did a big one.

I've only done one big batch and it was underhopped since I used a hop sock/spider and the hops weren't fully circulating in the boil.

I am looking forward to this big brew:
20 lbs American 2 Row
2 lbs CaraRed
2 lbs CaraPils

(90 minute boil)
2 oz Columbus for 60
2 oz Columbus for 15
2 oz Willamette for 10
2 oz Willamette for 5
2 oz Columbus at whirlpool

No hop sock this time

I did this recently with a 25 pound grain bill...

I left out 5 pounds and just did them in a pot next to the main mash and then combined them...

DPB

I just picked up an Igloo 48 qt Island Breeze Cooler for $16 at Walmart. I'll have to drill the hole for the false bottom and ball valve assembly. No biggie considering that a comparable cooler with the spigot cost 2 - 3 time more. The cooler was running about $27 last week

Hey all, I apologize ahead of time if this has been answered I just didn't have time to read through all the posts. I am looking to set up a mash ton but I like to switch between 3 and 5 gallon batches. Is there a certain size cooler that would allow me to accommodate for both sizes without having too much head space? My second question is coming strictly from a lack of knowledge; how does the space in the ton affect the gravity of the beer? Or am I reading everyone's post wrong....

Thanks for the help.

Don't worry about "too much headspace"

I put a layer of aluminum foil over the grain bed and I lose <1° over an hour mash

Size of the tun only limits how much grain and water it can hold. The size of your grain bill vs batch size determines gravity. Then you determine mash thickness & that tells you how much water to use.

My opinion is that it is better to have a larger tun than you think you need, but if it's smaller, you can always make up gravity points with extract in the boil

I've recently came across 3 sheets of stainless around 21'' x 34''. So I've decided it's time for a new mash tun.

Until now i've been using a 48 quarts cooler that is always full, I mostly always make a bit of mess and I most often restrict myself to light beers since for the times it takes me to brew thing i'm better be making 10-12 gallons of beer rather than pony 5. Also the Wife is less happy when I don't make small beer... I most often find myself making my own malt since grain is cheap, malt hard to come by around here and I enjoy making things from scratch... or I use just enough of the 6 row that I got last time I went to the big town to convert ordinary grains. My efficiency is probably lower than most, I use around 25lbs of grains for an ordinary bitter or more near 30 if I want a in the 5 % beer. I've found i got better efficiency when i use a big part of wheat vs other grains no idea why, maybe more starch in the wheat around here. I enjoy big beer but i rarely makes them since i always gets troubles when making it.

What comes to mind with the stainless sheets that I have is making a 17''x17''x21'' mash tun that will bring me to a bit over a hundred quarts and wondering if it might be too large. My kettle is a 15,5 sanke, all electric, rims. I have 20''x25'' piece of 50 mesh stainless wire mesh that I intend to use for a false bottom. I'll probably place 1'' foam in my brew rack around the tun to reduce heat loss. Anyone seeing any problems in that plan?

Oh and sure I'd need 10 gallons of barleywine. The last one I made took me around 15 hours to brew, i've had to mash twice using the runnings of the first mash in the second to raise my gravity to an acceptable level plus a 3 hour boil and a few incidents, had an horrible efficiency but I never tasted a better barleywine and fed the chickens for a few weeks...

EDIT: I finally decided make it cylindrical 20 inch diameter by 23 inch high, i'm probably half done, i've taken some picture, i'll probably make a thread on it sometimes, it's a pretty interesting thing to build but i think I'd be a little off topic doing that here.

Noice

GrogNerd said:

Don't worry about "too much headspace"

I put a layer of aluminum foil over the grain bed and I lose <1° over an hour mash

Click to expand...

So you just put the aluminum foil directly on top of the water in the MT? I'm having some issues w/heat loss due to headspace and looking for solutions...

BACKSTORY:
I've used my ~10 gallon cooler MT twice now, first for a 10 gallon IPA (23 lbs of grain, 7 gal strike water) and only had ~1* of loss over ~2 hrs. Good stuff. A few weeks ago I made a smaller batch (5 gallons of brown ale; 10 lbs of grain, 4 gal strike water), & I had over 12* of heat loss over 1.5 hrs, and that was with adding more strike water (in attempts to keep the temp up). The water/grist took up maybe 2/3 of the mash tun, so there was a decent amount of headspace.

I've heard of folks lining the inside of their cooler MT lid with aluminum foil, but if I'm reading your post correctly you're placing the foil on top of the water?

I want the flexibility of being able to brew 5 or 10 gallon batches, mostly due to bottle-conditioning space being pretty limited. & I could just save the 5 gallon batches for bigger beers, but that also limits my flexibility...

Any other input towards stopping temp loss due to headspace would be much appreciated!!!!

Yep, just lay it on top

When the mash is done, I poke holes in it and pour vorlauf on top to not disturb the grain bed during recirc

Easy & cheap

GrogNerd said:

Yep, just lay it on top

When the mash is done, I poke holes in it and pour vorlauf on top to not disturb the grain bed during recirc

Easy & cheap

Click to expand...

Awesome. and that's a pretty brilliant idea regarding re-circulation & not disturbing the grain bed! Thanks bud.

:rockin:

Deckers_Beers said:

Awesome. and that's a pretty brilliant idea regarding re-circulation & not disturbing the grain bed! Thanks bud.

:rockin:

Click to expand...

Correct, as long as you're fly sparging. If you're batch sparging, it's unnecessary.

Do you get any reaction between the acidic mash and the aluminum?

Deckers_Beers said:

So you just put the aluminum foil directly on top of the water in the MT? I'm having some issues w/heat loss due to headspace and looking for solutions...

BACKSTORY:
I've used my ~10 gallon cooler MT twice now, first for a 10 gallon IPA (23 lbs of grain, 7 gal strike water) and only had ~1* of loss over ~2 hrs. Good stuff. A few weeks ago I made a smaller batch (5 gallons of brown ale; 10 lbs of grain, 4 gal strike water), & I had over 12* of heat loss over 1.5 hrs, and that was with adding more strike water (in attempts to keep the temp up). The water/grist took up maybe 2/3 of the mash tun, so there was a decent amount of headspace.

I've heard of folks lining the inside of their cooler MT lid with aluminum foil, but if I'm reading your post correctly you're placing the foil on top of the water?

I want the flexibility of being able to brew 5 or 10 gallon batches, mostly due to bottle-conditioning space being pretty limited. & I could just save the 5 gallon batches for bigger beers, but that also limits my flexibility...

Any other input towards stopping temp loss due to headspace would be much appreciated!!!!

Click to expand...

I drilled a few holes in the top of the lid (not through) for the 10g cooler and filled the lid with spray foam. I used the window/door type so it didn't expand too much and distort the lid. Works great, and no more heat loss issues.

k1ngl1ves said:

I drilled a few holes in the top of the lid (not through) for the 10g cooler and filled the lid with spray foam. I used the window/door type so it didn't expand too much and distort the lid. Works great, and no more heat loss issues.

Click to expand...

That is freaking brilliant. I'm going to do that before my next brewday! How long did you wait for the foam to dry before brewing? A few days? and did you cover up the holes after filling with foam with duct tape or something?

Bernie Brewer said:

Nice chart, Bobby. I'd like to add that new AG brewers should think ahead. You may THINK that all you need is a 5 gallon tun, but are you going to outgrow it??? If there is even a small possibility that you may indeed outgrow it, get the bigger one right way. It'll save you $$ in the long run.

Click to expand...

I had the 10 gallon SS brewtech mash tun for about 24 hrs took it back and got the 20 gallon SS brewtech (it helped morebeer was doing the bi-annual 15% so that helped ALOT!) I got the Vorlauf, re-circ. arm, sparge assembly, MTS temp pad and it is magical.

However it is critical to pre-heat the mash tun to hit your target temps. I went bigger because I want to do a pliny the younger clone at a future date when I get my beer brewing legs under me. I also plan on doing a 10 gallon batch of Hops Lamb Imperial soon for the Thanksgiving season because my family can run through beers like nobodys business.

Oh god... now we are going to see all the threads "First AG Brew - Barleywine".

**Edit** Just saw this thread is several years old...

Deckers_Beers said:

So you just put the aluminum foil directly on top of the water in the MT? I'm having some issues w/heat loss due to headspace and looking for solutions...

BACKSTORY:
I've used my ~10 gallon cooler MT twice now, first for a 10 gallon IPA (23 lbs of grain, 7 gal strike water) and only had ~1* of loss over ~2 hrs. Good stuff. A few weeks ago I made a smaller batch (5 gallons of brown ale; 10 lbs of grain, 4 gal strike water), & I had over 12* of heat loss over 1.5 hrs, and that was with adding more strike water (in attempts to keep the temp up). The water/grist took up maybe 2/3 of the mash tun, so there was a decent amount of headspace.

I've heard of folks lining the inside of their cooler MT lid with aluminum foil, but if I'm reading your post correctly you're placing the foil on top of the water?

I want the flexibility of being able to brew 5 or 10 gallon batches, mostly due to bottle-conditioning space being pretty limited. & I could just save the 5 gallon batches for bigger beers, but that also limits my flexibility...

Any other input towards stopping temp loss due to headspace would be much appreciated!!!!

Click to expand...

Rather than using aluminum foil, use 1/4" styrofoam and cut it to the approximate size of the inside so that it can "float" up or down depending on the size of the what's in the cooler. That would be LOT more insulation value than simple aluminum foil, and doesn't take up much space at 1/4".

Nebraskan said:

Rather than using aluminum foil, use 1/4" styrofoam and cut it to the approximate size of the inside so that it can "float" up or down depending on the size of the what's in the cooler. That would be LOT more insulation value than simple aluminum foil, and doesn't take up much space at 1/4".

Click to expand...

That is a great idea as well! I haven't had much heat loss since i started using the aluminum foil, though. Mostly about 1* over 90 minutes, but sometimes less. So as the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke..."

Deckers_Beers said:

That is a great idea as well! I haven't had much heat loss since i started using the aluminum foil, though. Mostly about 1* over 90 minutes, but sometimes less. So as the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke..."

Click to expand...

yep

I won't sweat over a 1° loss

Anyone else having issues seeing the photo of the chart in the original post?

I believe this is it

(am also claiming this as my daily entry into the Random Picture thread while it's locked)

All I am getting is a "huge domains" logo gif when I click on the link. Anyone else getting that?

Thanks grog! As soon as I posted, your picture showed up.

Bobby_M said:

There seems to be a huge uprising in the number of new all grain brewers and the persistent question is "how big of a tun do I need?" It depends on what your batch size, efficiency, and desired OG is. Here's the easy way for you to decide based on your needs.

Keep in mind that even if you think you might want to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches, odds are your really high gravity beers will be 5 gallon batches. Who needs 10 gallons of barleywine?

Just for example, a 10 gallon mash tun can do 5 gallons of 1.118 barleywine (~11% ABV) and 10 gallon batches of 1.060 IPA (~6% ABV). I personally think something in the 50-60qt range is most flexible in that regard if you don't mind a square/rectangular cooler.

If you want to figure for larger or smaller batch sizes, take the number in the "Max Gravity Units" column and divide that by your desired batch size.

Click to expand...

I found that the most grain I can do in my 10 gallon water cooler is about 24.5 pounds of grain. It was for my imperial stout. That is a 5 gallon batch.