Advancing to All-Grain (5G MLT)

[billrigsby]

I am going to advance from extracts with grain to all grain brewing.
I have a brew kettle, albeit aluminum, but never used for anything.
I have all the stuff to make a 5 gallon mash lauter tun, (5G IGLOO Water
Container) but I see where a lot of post suggest 5 gallons is too small,
is this really the case? Also can a sparge head be attached to the top
of the mash tun and do all in one vessel? Seems like it could.


Thanks, Bill

 

[kh54s10]

I am going to advance from extracts with grain to all grain brewing.
I have a brew kettle, albeit aluminum, but never used for anything.
I have all the stuff to make a 5 gallon mash lauter tun, (5G IGLOO Water
Container) but I see where a lot of post suggest 5 gallons is too small,
is this really the case? Also can a sparge head be attached to the top
of the mash tun and do all in one vessel? Seems like it could.


Thanks, Bill

IMO, don't waste time with the 5 gallon cooler unless you only want to do low gravity beers. I have a ten gallon one and with big beers it gets filled at least 3/4 full.

If you do a fly sparge you will need to add some sort of sparge head or you will get channeling. The sparge water finding one small easy route through the grain bed.

I don't really know what you mean by all in one. You should not boil in a plastic container even if you can.

 

[billrigsby]

IMO, don't waste time with the 5 gallon cooler unless you only want to do low gravity beers. I have a ten gallon one and with big beers it gets filled at least 3/4 full.

If you do a fly sparge you will need to add some sort of sparge head or you will get channeling. The sparge water finding one small easy route through the grain bed.

I don't really know what you mean by all in one. You should not boil in a plastic container even if you can.

I generally do IPAs, Wheats, Clones, etc. nothing above 6 or 7% max, if you are sparging during wort collection (continuous sparging), seems 5G would work.
Correct me if I am wrong as this is all new to me and I am just now starting the research phase.

 

[SnakeRidge]

Average 5 gallon batches (OG=1.050) you're using about 10# grain and 4 gallons of mash water. You would be near the very top, not to mention stirring. I would get a 10 gallon cooler and pass on the 5 gallon. I've got a 5 gallon setup that I got for free and I've used it on a couple of 2.5 gallon test batches, but I wouldn't try a 5 gallon batch in it.

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

I started off with a 5 gallon water cooler. I could manage 9 to 10 lb grain bills. I've got an excell spreadsheet to calculate my volumes just to be sure it fits. I batch sparge, so I would usually end up sparging twice to get my boil volume. Never had any problems, but I'll pile on and say go with the 10 gallon cooler from the start. Difference in cooler price isn't that much and you'll never wish it was smaller.

 

[christyle]

What is the 5 gal brewpot you havent used? Meaning you have an extra kettle, aside from your boil kettle?

I have (2) 10 gal coolers and a 7.5 gal pot. If I was going to do over, I'd keep the 10 gal MLT and just get a 5 gal HLT, or another pot that can hold around 5 gallons of water, aside from your boil pot. My HLT cooler is only used for a few minutes, until the first runnings are done.

Lastly, I would start with batch sparging and see if you find it to have issues before trying fly sparging. I was planning on fly sparging, did some research and found there was really just no reason to me. More equipment, more time, minor efficiency improvement.

 

[kh54s10]

It is not really the sparging part that is the limiting factor. It is the 1.25 to 1.5 quarts to a pound of grain. My average amount of mash water is close to 4 gallons so, with the grains you would have your 5 gallon tun pretty well filled. And it would be pretty difficult to brew a big beer if you wanted to.

A 7% beer is a going to max out the 5 gallon tun. Think more on the terms of doing 4% or less in the 5 gallon tun.

 

[christyle]

The workaround for this would be more grain (making up for the lack of efficiency from too little mash water?) and equal mash/sparge volumes, correct? Either way, I agree, 10G is the way to go.

 

[kh54s10]

The workaround for this would be more grain (making up for the lack of efficiency from too little mash water?) and equal mash/sparge volumes, correct? Either way, I agree, 10G is the way to go.

More grain to make up for too little mash water leads to even thicker mash. Hard to stir, less efficient, would more than likely require a double batch sparge. Or longer fly sparge which would effect pH levels...

10 Gallon (or even larger) mash tun!

 

[feinbera]

Hey, I started out with a five-gallon cooler, and I still use it every brew day! It's a lot easier to pour the grain into my 10-gallon cooler from a rigid container than the malt sack it comes home from the LHBS in, and ditto when I'm hauling the spent grain out to the compost bin.

...but, yeah, two super-sloppy frustrating brews that worked fine in five gallons on paper, and it was back to the hardware store for the 10-gallon model for the actual mash tun.

 

[SnakeRidge]

...but, yeah, two super-sloppy frustrating brews that worked fine in five gallons on paper, and it was back to the hardware store for the 10-gallon model for the actual mash tun.

I imagine this is the experience of many people. Get the 10 gallon!

 

[billrigsby]

Well thank you all for your replies, I cannot argue with experience, as I have no one to argue with. So I guess I will go the 10 gallon route.