5 Gallon vs. 10 Gallon Cylindrical MLTs

[SkyHighBrew88]

As far as grain depth and ability to do normal gravity beers as well as high gravity beers, what has been the best setup for this flexibility without creating 10 gallons of a normal gravity beer?

I'm looking into getting a MLT together soon and have read that 10 gallon coolers will allow for a high gravity 5 gallon beer or 10 gallons of a normal gravity beer.

Will a cylindrical 10 gallon cooler allow for normal gravity (1.040-1.060) 5 gallon batches?

 

[Malticulous]

I was able to get over 1.060 with my 5 gallon MLT with a very thick mash. I upgraded to a Coleman Extreme 52 quart and don't regret it.

 

[SkyHighBrew88]

As far as the 48-52 quart rectangular coolers are concerned, are you still able to do normal gravity 5 gallon batches?

 

[buzzkill]

a 5 gal will let you do this. its just one day you may want to go to bigger brew sizes, and will need to upgrade then. I used my 5 gal. for along time and it worked great. I could get 14 lbs. of grain in it no problem. But now I use a 10. and am working on my 15.gal one.

 

[Malticulous]

As far as the 48-52 quart rectangular coolers are concerned, are you still able to do normal gravity 5 gallon batches?

Yes, and 11 gallon high gravity as well.

 

[SkyHighBrew88]

Wow 14lbs is pretty good! So I guess it's possible to squeeze 1.070 or so out of a 5 gallon cooler.

Thanks for the replies!:rockin:

 

[arturo7]

I use an insulated 60L HDPE drum.

 

[jpoder]

I used my 5 gal. for along time and it worked great. I could get 14 lbs. of grain in it no problem.

How thick of a mash were you doing?! Beersmith tells me that at 12 Lbs of grain and 1.2 Qt/Lb I exceed 5 gallons. if you are doing a 1 Qt/Lb or less mash, how long are you mashing for?

 

[weirdboy]

I regularly do 5 gallon batches in my igloo ice cube. If it is a particularly low gravity batch, like the mild I dis a few weeks ago, I will do BIAB instead.

 

[jldc]

I do low gravity 1.040 5.5 gallon batches all the time in my 10 gallon coolers. I batch sparge, so if you're asking about fly sparging, I can't answer, but I have no problems.

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

Check out http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml to see what the maximum grain bill you can have for your mash tun.

I've got a 10-gallon Igloo cylindrical and have fit 27# of grain in it. It was almost overflowing and I was way less than 1.2 quarts per pound (read: thick!), but my efficiency was still great...

 

[SkyHighBrew88]

I do low gravity 1.040 5.5 gallon batches all the time in my 10 gallon coolers. I batch sparge, so if you're asking about fly sparging, I can't answer, but I have no problems.

Yeah that's EXACTLY what I was wondering...are you using a 10 gallon round cooler or a rectangular type?

I do plan on batch sparging. Many threads and articles just mentioned issues with grain depth in not using as much grain in a 5 gallon batch with low gravity in a large MLT. Seems to me like a lot of people aren't having much of an issue with it which is great...

 

[bovineblitz]

I batch sparge in a 10 gallon round cooler. I've done batches from 1.050-1.085 so far, it's been excellent for all of them. Efficiency has been in the 80s.

 

[Beezer94]

Spend the extra $10 and get a 10gal. Gives you the ability to do just about any gravity 5gal batches without having to think twice about whether it will fit.

 

[jldc]

Yeah that's EXACTLY what I was wondering...are you using a 10 gallon round cooler or a rectangular type?

I do plan on batch sparging. Many threads and articles just mentioned issues with grain depth in not using as much grain in a 5 gallon batch with low gravity in a large MLT. Seems to me like a lot of people aren't having much of an issue with it which is great...

Round. I mash in the cooler in a grain bag and batch sparge in the cooler in a bag as well. No need for a manifold or false bottom.

L

 

[smokinghole]

Aren't the 10g round coolers just taller than the 5gal?

I have a 52qt Coleman extreme. It's the same LxW as the 36qt only it's taller. It theoretically will handle a few pounds more than a 30lb grain bill. I've had almost 20lbs in it at 1.25qt/lb and it was just over half full. I have a manifold and have hopes of going false bottom soon and that will give me some dead space and less capacity. I mean really, how many times am I going to do a 32lb grain bill even for a 10g batch? With me averaging around 80% efficiency that's a 1090 batch of barley wine or RIS.