How much grain fits in a keggle MLT?

[hal simmons]

I'm planning a big parti-gyle brew tomorrow, a barleywine and an ESB. I've got my recipe worked up and it calls for 33 lbs of grain. I've got a converted keg with false bottom and i'm wondering if this grain bill will even fit. My total volume will be 33 lbs of grain, and 11 gallons of strike water. Up to this point i've only done standard sized batches, so I have no idea what my maximum capacity for the mash is.

 

[WBC]

Yes it will fit. Start with 1.0 qt per pound of grain entered into your beer program and see how many gallons the mash comes to. You can add more water in the program to get close to 14 to 15 gallons with the grain in there to find the strike temperature needed. You will need to fly sparge to get good efficiency with that much grain depth. You could also do it in 2 batches but it would take longer.

I have done 25 LBS in a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler with a false bottom but it is very full at 1.0 qt per lb of grain. I do a modified Fly sparge by just keeping the 180 F water 1 to 2 inches above the grain for 45 minutes to 1 hour draining < 1 qt a minute.

Parti-gyle brewing is kind of fun if you have 2 beers in mind for 2 yeasts. I like to get the first 5 gallons and then collect the rest in another bucket(s). I then mix if desired after finding their gravities as one will have way more of the sugars.

 

[Jaybird]

35# w/ 11 gallons should be no problem at all. I often do 30# w/10.5 gallons and I have space left over.
Good luck
JJ

 

[EvilTOJ]

According to www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml 33 lbs of grain with a mash thickness of 1.25 qt will take up 12.95 gallons of space. You should be set.