Coleman 70qt extreme cooler?

[LuciferSam]

Could I get a straining bag to put the grains in big enough to fit in/out of the cooler for easy discard? Or is this stupid since the manifold will be straining my grain?
How often should I stir?
How many times should I crush my grain?
Is there a link to a DIY thermometer install on this cooler?
What is the purpose of the manifold on the lid of the cooler ???


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[TopherM]

This guy sells 70 qt rectangular cooler bags:

http://www.biab-brewing.com/?page_id=11

 

[GrogNerd]

How often should I stir?

I would say after each water infusion. strike, mash out or sparge, then stir

as Yooper says, "like it owes you money"

How many times should I crush my grain?

if it's your own mill, set it to the lowest setting that won't give you a stuck sparge. should only have to do it once
if it's your LHBS's mill and you're getting crappy efficiency, twice should do

What is the purpose of the manifold on the lid of the cooler ???

not sure what you're referring to, but it could be for continuous/fly sparging or mash recirculation

 

[MX1]

Is there a link to a DIY thermometer install on this cooler?

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/02/15/add-thermometer-probe-to-hlt-mlt-cooler/

What is the purpose of the manifold on the lid of the cooler ???

without pics it is hard to say, but my guess is that it is a sparge manifold for fly sparging

tim

 

[GrogNerd]

I have the 70qt cooler and use this thermometer + probe

used some heat-shrink tubing over the wire end of the probe and haven't had any problems with submerging the probe

I drop the probe into the mash, put a layer of aluminum foil over the grain bed and close the lid on the wire. I lose at most 1° over the duration of the mash

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...r-with-timer/120845?Keyword=thermometer+probe

 

[tommyguner03]

this guy makes great bags!

http://biabbags.webs.com/

he is also a vendor on this site. i have one for my 70 qt cooler but i tend not to use it anymore just because its one more item to clean.

 

[LuciferSam]

Thanks for all the replies....
About the grain bag ? Is it worth the time to put the grain in and out of a bag because it would be easier/ more convenient to remove it from the cooler w/ less cleaning? Or is it easier to just put the grain in the cooler and take it out and clean it all? Any change in efficiency using a bag?
This is my newly built manifold, I'm still de- burring the slits.

I am about to do my first all grain batch, to confirm : strike water at 170 to mash at 152 for an hour , for a 5 gallon batch I'll need 6.5 gallons. How much h20 do I start with? How much do I add and how long do I let the second filling sit?stir just once after adding water?


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[MX1]

Thanks for all the replies....
About the grain bag ? Is it worth the time to put the grain in and out of a bag because it would be easier/ more convenient to remove it from the cooler w/ less cleaning? Or is it easier to just put the grain in the cooler and take it out and clean it all? Any change in efficiency using a bag?
This is my newly built manifold, I'm still de- burring the slits.View attachment 206427

I am about to do my first all grain batch, to confirm : strike water at 170 to mash at 152 for an hour , for a 5 gallon batch I'll need 6.5 gallons. How much h20 do I start with? How much do I add and how long do I let the second filling sit?stir just once after adding water?


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Nice looking manifold, make sure you flip it over before you start, holes to the bottom.

For the water follow the brewers friend ad, there is a water calculator there I think.

One of the best things about a cooler mash tun is that you can heat your strike water up to abuot 180, measure your grain temp and calculater your strike temp, then when the cooler absorbs the heat from the water and get down to your strike temp, you add the grains, and because you pre-heated the cooler you will see very little temp drop as you mash.

Tim

 

[LuciferSam]

Grog why a layer of aluminum foil over the grain bed?


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[LuciferSam]

Can you explain/ describe continuous/fly sparging or mash recirculation, and why it's better?


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[GrogNerd]

Grog why a layer of aluminum foil over the grain bed?


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70qt cooler and 5-gallon batches of 1.060 beer has a lot of headspace. 1st couple batches I ended up losing 7 or 8° in an hour-long mash

aluminum foil helps keep the temp

as far as sparging goes...

with batch sparging, you strike & stir, wait for the mash time, drain a little (vorlauf) and then completely drain all liquid of of the tun. pour in your sparge water, stir, then vorlauf and completely drain again. you're calculating the amount of water in, minus grain absorption, minus deadspace (the amount that won't drain out) and that should equal what your pre-boil volume should be

fly sparging is the same, except you're not draining all the liquid. you set it up so you're draining slowly while adding more water at the top, slowly and keeping a couple inches of water above the grain bed. you don't want to disturb the grains. keep adding and draining until you get your pre-boil volume

 

[LuciferSam]

Thanks for the explanation, do most people prefer batch over fly? It seems a little easier? Why do you have so much headspace, can't you fill to have as little headspace as possible?


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[GrogNerd]

Thanks for the explanation, do most people prefer batch over fly? It seems a little easier? Why do you have so much headspace, can't you fill to have as little headspace as possible?


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I do batch because it is much simpler. strike, mash, vorlauf, drain, sparge, vorlauf and drain.

if I wanted to use fly, I would have to build that manifold on top to add the water to the top. I guess I could add a little water at a time, but that time is better spent cleaning or setting up for the next steps

"filling it" would be larger batches, bigger beers, more grains, more money. I brew 5-gallon batches, normal-sized beers, around 10lbs of grains, $25 worth of ingredients. 10-gallon batches would "fill" my mash tun and have as little headspace as possible, but the cost would be double, plus my 30-quart pot can only handle so much

instead, I use 10¢ worth of tin foil, problem solved

 

[LuciferSam]

If there is room for 6.5 gallons of water in the mashtun why not just drain once ?, or do you need to sparge to rinse the grain? If so what % of mash/ sparge water volume is needed? 75/25?


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[MX1]

Look at the Brewers Friend website that is linked all over the forum.

It will tell you how much water to strike with,and to sparge with.

Strike or mash water should be between 1 to 1.5 quarts per pound of grain.

Then divide the remaining water volume in half and do two batch sparges.

Also, take a look on YouTube, there are a ton of videos that will let you see the basic process of the brew day before you fire up your first batch.

Good luck and happy brewing

Tim


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[Bradyfumbled]

+1 to YouTube, sometimes it helps to see it done rather that read the steps.

For water volume, if you don't use a calculator, a rough way to figure it out is mash with 1.2 quarts per pound of grain (or whatever ratio you decide to use), take that total volume and divide it by half for grain absorption, subtract that number from 6.5 gallons (your boil volume) and whatever number that comes to is your sparge volume. If you don't use an online calculator, that's the rule of thumb I use.

If that doesn't make any sense, then the point about YouTube is nailed home, lol.

 

[GrogNerd]

and, IIRC, you don't add all your water at once because you want to keep your mash pH in a certain range and all that water at one time will raise it too high.