about to start all grain brewing

[sorefingers23]

im in the process of making all my equipment for my first all grain brew this coming week end, so far i have built my keggle, and im about to go and buy the stuff for my mash tun, and ive seen some with a manifold, and some with the steel braid, and was wondering which one works better, or are they both equally good?

also what size would be best for my cooler, for now im gonna be doing 5 gallon batches, but thinking possibly i may do 10 gallon batches in the future.

there a 48 qt cooler on sale this week for 20$ would that be good for 5 gallon batches??

 

[geneullerysmith]

48qt is plenty big enough for 5 gallon batches. Thats what I use. Depending on the gravity of your beer, you may run into capacity issues when you step up to 10 gallons. Given the modest price, get this cooler for 5 gallon batches. Later, if you want to go bigger, invest in an additional cooler. Really, its the kettle you will need for brewing 10 gallons is going to be the expensive bit.

 

[Got Trub?]

If you are batch sparging it doesn't matter if you use a manifold or stainless braid. If you are fly sparging you need to match the shape and design of your manifold to your tun to maximize efficiency.

As stated 48q is plenty big enough for 5g batches.

GT

 

[DUCCCC]

I like my braid just fine. I'm also happy with the 5 gal. cooler, as long as the grain bill is no larger than 13-14 pounds. It's pretty cramped in there at that point, and stirring the mash properly can be a pain. I keep saying I'm going to get a larger cooler one of these days, but I just haven't really needed it, yet.

 

[Hammy71]

I batch sparge with a stainless braid. 48 quarts is like 12 gallons.....you'll be fine with 5 gallon batches and most 10 gallon batches also.

 

[Walker]

I've done 10 gallon batches with a 40qt cooler with no problems. Those were using a little over 20 lbs of grain.

Mash tun was filled to the brim, but it worked fine. I do batch sparging, and I was not able to dump all the sparge water in at once, and I had to split it in half and do two smaller sparges. My efficiency was actually HIGHER (82%) on the 10 gallon batches than I normally get on 5 gallon batches (75%).

 

[azscoob]

Unless you are planning on brewing 10 gallon batches of big beer you should have no worries with that cooler, I also batch sparge with a braid using a 60qt cooler and have not run out of space when doing 10 gallon batches.
this link should help you decide