Biab-mash in cooler

Iam new to biab and this will be my second batch . I have a cooler I have not converted to a mash tun yet for all grain batches. Can I use my cooler to mash in to hold the mash temp more constant? Or should I just fit my cooler with a false bottom for conventional all grain?

 

Your grains don't really care what they are mashed in. If your cooler works for you, go for it. I find that I can do my mash right in the pot I boil in. Stir in the grains really well, put the lid on and wrap it in a bath towel, especially the top. It holds the temperature within a couple of degrees for the hour I mash. I've even read that I could cut that to half an hour and get full conversion but I haven't tried it for myself yet.

 

Exactly. You can do either.

If you're having trouble keeping mash temps while its cold out just BIAB mash in the cooler then dump it in the kettle. You can always modify the cooler later if you choose to.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I use simple biab calculator to calculate my mash and sparge amounts. The calc says to use 5.5 gallons mash with and 2.2 to sparge with. I only have a5 gallon cooler can I just mash with 3 gallons and sparge with the rest?

 

You sure can. Mash in whatever volume you can. After that transfer the wort and "dunk sparge" in the remaining volume, then mix.

As long as your conversion was good the 2 volumes mixed should result in your expected pre-boil gravity.