5 or 10 gallon mash tun for starters?

[ilikethetrees]

I'm new to all grain brewing and I bought myself a 5 gallon rubbermaid cylindrical cooler to use as a mash tun. I intend to fly sparge with a sparge arm. Is this big enough for my purposes considering most of the recipes I look at are for 5 gallons, and the max size of my fermentors is 6?

Thanks!

 

[JonK331]

5 is okay for smaller beers but ten is a bit more versatile.

 

[KCBrewer]

I'm currently using a 5g and it is barely big enough for 5g brews. I batch sparge, and have to split it into 2 sparges, which isn't necessarily a negative, but is my only option. If you can get the 10 gallon, do it and don't waste the time/money on a 5.

 

[buzzkill]

if you got it,use it! at least until you can get your hands on a bigger one.

I started with a 5gal rubbermaid,and I worked it like a $2.00 wh... well ya know. but I finaly got a 10 gal Igloo and have not used it since. but I got them for free. so use it,and you just may luck into a better(bigger) one. I think 14lbs was its limit. 14lbs of grain will do you right for some time.

its kinda of a 'run what you brung' thing. we spend way to much money on our 'hobby' as it is. use it. love it. and upgrade when ever you can afford it.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Trust me dude, you'll eventually want the bigger one. Just pull the trigger now...

 

[Jewrican]

if you are buying now.. get the 10. no question about it. I had an 8 gallon cooler, and i still needed the 10.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Trust me dude, you'll eventually want the bigger one. Just pull the trigger now...

I completely agree. I have 2 of each and use the 5's mainly for heating my sparge water and making other smaller batches. Bite the bullet and go for the 10.

 

[Newton]

I have a 36 quart and this is barely doable for alot of the beers I want to make now. I wouldn't go with anything smaller than a 48 quart...

 

[lumpher]

i started with a 36qt, and it lasted about 2 months before i found a 60 qt. been using that for a long time, but have a 15g sanke i need to get ready to convert for a herms setup. always bigger and better. if you can, take that 5g back and trade it in for the 10g now. you won't regret the extra money later

 

[grampska]

Agreed. Go with the bigger one and if you plan on batch sparging instead of fly sparging go with the rectangular and the braid to save a bunch of money.

At a 1.25 grain to water ratio you can get about a 12.5 lb grain bill in a 5 gallon cooler as opposed to 25 lb grain bill in a 10 gallon cooler. This means the 10 gallon will give you enough room for a big beer for a 5 gallon batch or a regular beer at 10 gallon batch.

 

[jerryalan]

I'm new to all grain brewing and I bought myself a 5 gallon rubbermaid cylindrical cooler to use as a mash tun. I intend to fly sparge with a sparge arm. Is this big enough for my purposes considering most of the recipes I look at are for 5 gallons, and the max size of my fermentors is 6?

I'd go with at least 10 gallons. It will enable you to have more versatility in your OG. Keep your eye on this site: http://www.hydrationdepot.com/Gatorade-10-Gallon-Cooler-Original-Bright-Orange-Design-Cooler.html. They had this 10-gallon cooler for $30 shipped last September. Otherwise consider getting a larger rectangular cooler or even a 15.5 gallon keg.

 

[ilikethetrees]

Thanks for the advice, guys! Is it generally easier to keep an even grain bed for fly sparging in a rectangular cooler or a cylindrical one? Seems to me the cylindrical one would keep the temps maintained better because heat rises, etc.

 

[jerryalan]

Thanks for the advice, guys! Is it generally easier to keep an even grain bed for fly sparging in a rectangular cooler or a cylindrical one? Seems to me the cylindrical one would keep the temps maintained better because heat rises, etc.

I think most people prefer a cylindrical one for fly sparging. I have a rectangular one and I batch sparge but I'll probably move to fly sparging eventually and will continue using the rectangular one. Just have to change the manifold on the bottom.

 

[jmf143]

Check your grain bill - you can fit approx. 12.5 lbs grain at 1.25qts/lb into a 5 gallon cooler.

 

[jmendez29]

Reading this with personal interest...

So I remember reading a while back that someone was concerned with the open air space in a 10 gallon cooler for "smaller" beers. I can't seem to find where I read that, can anyone give me an idea of the outcome on that one? Is all that head space going to affect the cooldown rate of the cooler?

And I've been watching ebay for a few weeks to get an idea of what to expect to pay for a cooler. I've seen a couple of the 5 gal coolers that are built like the cylindrical ones, but have a square footprint and body to them - square, but tall. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm planning on using the SS mesh tubing as a filter medium and was curious if the shape would make a diff.

At this point, I'm not really looking at "big" beers, just something I can enjoy and manipulate to standard. Most of what I've done so far would require about 9 pounds of grain, so a 5 gallon is adequate for me at this point.

 

[KevinW]

My mash tun is a 5 gallon (SWMBO got for $5 at a garage sale so how could I say no). I would go with the 10+ mash tun if given the option now and use the 5 gall. for an HLT, especially if you want to fly sparge!

Of course, with the 10 gallon mash tun are you prepared for a ~12 gallon boil???

Just a thought

Good luck

 

[lumpher]

i've used my 60qt for many 5 gallon recipes. never worried about head space, and never scored less than a 30 (since i don't compete, they don't score at all. me and my friends do drink them, though )

 

[ajf]

For many years I used a 5g cooler with sparge arm and false bottom for fly sparging. I had no problems getting OG's of up to 1.075 using 1 qt / lb for the strike water. When I eventually switched to a 10g, I lost about 5% efficiency, but found I could sparge twice as fast. I like the time savings, and the SS false bottom in the 10g cooler is less prone to stuck sparges than the plastic one I used in the 5g.

-a.

 

[TheDom]

If you've already got a 5, use it. If you're in the market, get the 10. You'll probably want the bigger one later, so no sense buying both, right?

 

[Bob]

+1 to "use what you've got and up-size when you get the chance."

Most brewers prefer a round mash-tun for fly-sparging. While it's possible to fly-sparge in a rectangular mash-tun, it's really quite impossible to cover the entire grain bed unless you keep the whole bed submerged, which is really quite tricky to properly accomplish.

I use a five-gallon cylindrical mash-tun, but don't brew beers much over 1.060. When I brew stronger beers I partial-mash.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Reading this with personal interest...

So I remember reading a while back that someone was concerned with the open air space in a 10 gallon cooler for "smaller" beers. I can't seem to find where I read that, can anyone give me an idea of the outcome on that one? Is all that head space going to affect the cooldown rate of the cooler?

I have a 10 gallon mash tun and generally make 3-4 gallon batches, so there is usually a lot of deadspace. The problem you run into with the extra headspace is that it is harder to keep the temperature stable during long mashes. It helps if you preheat the tun well above where the top of the mash will be so the walls don't absorb heat. For some reason, I find I get more stable temperatures if I add the mash water to the grains in the tun, not the other way around. It's probably because it produces a lot of steam and keeps the air in the deadspace warm.

If I had the cash, I'd probably have both a 5 and 10 gallon mash tun so I could use the 5 gallon when making a smaller batch.