109qt Igloo Party Barrel as mash tun?

[smokinghole]

Igloo 53007 Party Barrel | Beverage Cooler | CateringSuppliesDepot.com

Has anyone here gone as far as having this nice round insulated cooler with a lid to use as a mashtun? It's already drilled for a spigot and I'm seriously considering it. The nice thing is that due to it being round it works out a bit better than a rectangular cooler for grain depth of smaller batches.

Rectangular Coleman 100qt cooler 360 square inches base surface area.

This cooler at 109qt is 348 square inches base surface area. I can't find a good internal dimensions for a 120qt rectantular to compare since this falls in between.

My current 52qt rectangular cooler has a surface area of 180 square inches. If I make the grain bed 6" its between 4gal and 5gal. I rarely even make a simple 5/6 gal batch of low gravity beers anymore. So I'm normally hitting at least 8/9" grain depths which is between 7/8 gallons of volume.

Now based on the volume of a cylinder a 6" grain bed which I consider to be about a minimum to have a decent depth would be approximately 7 gallons worth of space. That's a fairly small batch and would only half fill my current mash tun. So based on my 6" depth standard that puts me at between 8 and 9 gal of volume in the 109qt round cooler.

The reason for this is some input. I'm in the market for a new larger mash tun and I am torn between one of the mash hawks, and this behemoth. The mash hawk has enough space for me as does this cooler. The only difference is this is 100% usable space vs the mash hawk having all that dead space. Sure I could cut the dead space off but I'd be concerned that if I cut it off it'd make the structural integrity suffer when loaded down with grain and water. The other issue is I don't know what material the cooler is made with and whether or not it could leach toxins into my wort.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Email Igloo about the composition, I emailed Coleman about my cooler to get all the specs on it so I could accurately input all of the information into my brewing software.

FWIW, that might make a nice 45 gallon fermenter, if the composition of the material is food safe. Unless it is heavily insulated.

 

[FSR402]

Looks like it would work well. I have an 80qt rectangle cooler I use for 10 gallon batches and a 55 gallon blue barrel that I insulated that I use for anything from 15 gallons to 40 gallon batches.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Wow! Great find, this will make an excellent mash tun.

 

[kh54s10]

It's a beverage cooler! I would be extremely surprised if it is made of anything not food safe.

If I ever go bigger this looks great!

 

[smokinghole]

OOh for anyone considering one don't buy from the listed website. The shipping is like $100. There is an ebay seller with it listed for $50 with $75 shipping. So combined on ebay you can get this thing for almost less than the price with out shipping elsewhere.

I am awaiting a reply from igloo about the plastic composition. I am ready to order whenever they reply with good news.

 

[geeze]

smokinghole, Was at an Ollies in York this summer, and saw these, and thought about it also, but don't need anything that big. The lids are almost a clear plastic, which appears to be be very brittle since both of them were chipped and cracked when I was there.

 

[smokinghole]

Even if the lid sucks ass I'll just make one. Damn, Ollies huh? I need to stop by the stores more often. I love Ollies. How much was it?

 

[geeze]

don't quite remember, but don't think it was any more than others have listed in this thread

 

[smokinghole]

Well Igloo finally responded. They are "only rated for beverage" whatever that means. Does that translate into "only good to hold ice with bottles in the ice"? I still might look into getting one.

 

[samc]

IRP Homebrew Solutions

 

[smokinghole]

The reason for this is some input. I'm in the market for a new larger mash tun and I am torn between one of the mash hawks, and this behemoth. The mash hawk has enough space for me as does this cooler. The only difference is this is 100% usable space vs the mash hawk having all that dead space. Sure I could cut the dead space off but I'd be concerned that if I cut it off it'd make the structural integrity suffer when loaded down with grain and water. The other issue is I don't know what material the cooler is made with and whether or not it could leach toxins into my wort.

I know about those, thanks.

 

[SpartyParty]

I just picked up my MASH-HAWK yesterday. I live about 15 miles from the manufacturer. I don't get it. The Hawk is $49 without the lid compared to $125 for the cooler which not be food grade safe. The hawk is desginged as a mashtun that's why it has the height or "deadspace" as you call it. it's right at waste level so as you work with it you are not bending over all the time. It has the 1/2" hole for your bulkhead and even comes with the holes for casters on the bottom if you wat to add some. So what do you gain by having your igloo cooler 14 inches lower to the ground than my mash hawk?

 

[scottland]

Why not go with a converted keg? That would yield 60QTs and it's stainless. $109 just seems like a lot to me for a mash tun that isn't stainless. I think I paid like $23 for my rectangular igloo 48qt cooler.

 

[smokinghole]

1. I want more than 60qts.
2. The casters and current height is irrelevant since I would have to raise it anyhow.

However I will likely get a mash hawk because the cooler might not work out well enough. I was simply asking about using it in case someone had experience using one in this sort of application.

 

[SpartyParty]

I brewed with the mash hawk for the first time over the new years weekend. In a non heated garage in Northern MN it held the temp at 150 for the entire hour. I even left my lid at home so used a 1/4" piece of oak plywood and still didn't lose heat. It holds 17.5 gallons that should take of your 60 qts. What or how would be raising it? Do you want it to be on a table or work surface rather than the ground?