dr_finklestein
Well-Known Member
How much Grain will a 10 Gal. RubberMaid hold?
How much Grain will a 10 Gal. RubberMaid hold?
- Thread starter dr_finklestein
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
This is a great tool to use...Scroll down to the third calculator called "can I mash it?"
Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators
You add in your grain, and you water to grist ratio and it will tell you what size cooler you will need.
Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators
You add in your grain, and you water to grist ratio and it will tell you what size cooler you will need.
jcarson83
Well-Known Member
Total Volume=(0.07812*lbsGrain)+StrikeVolume
JMSetzler
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that link. I'm working on getting into AG brewing and this very question is one that I have been researching for about two days. I"m in a bit of a quandry because I can't decide if I want to continue brewing 5 gallon batches or if I want to do 2.5 or 3 gallon batches instead. I think I'm ultimately going to have to build two MLTs so I can go either way efficiently. I'm not sure if it would be best to just build one large enough to do any size batch I want because the efficiency might not be as good with a large cooler if I want to do a small batch. Based on that calculator, a 5 gallon MLT can handle up to about 12lbs of grain and associated strike water, which puts it right on the edge of being able to do 5 gallon brews. It would be a nice size for doing 2.5 or 3 gallon batches though. I think my ultimate goal should be to build a 5 and a 10 gallon MLT, starting out with the 5. Having both on hand would give me the flexibility to efficiently do smaller and larger batches... any thoughts?
AFAJ Brew Guy
Well-Known Member
There has got to be a ton of threads around here that discuss this. The consensus is that the 10 gallon is pretty much the way to go. When I go AG later this summer I will be doing 5 gallon batches and the 10 is the way that I plan to go.
I use a 5gal round igloo and a copper manifold and just batch sparge with it. I am able to get my whole grain bill in it for 5gal batches and constantly get 75-80% with this system. Granted their is only about an inch or two at most left in it.
eschatz
Well-Known Member
go for the 10 gal. skip the 5. you'll be happy. i usually mash 5 gal batches in a 10 gal cooler. it gives me the flexibility to do bigger beers. 
StunnedMonkey
Well-Known Member
An anecdotal experience, I did an Imperial Stout (the Stone Imperial Stout from BYO) today with 21 pounds of grain in a 10 gal rubbermaid, and there was some room to spare. I'm sure I could have squeezed another couple of pounds in there with no problem.
TwoHeadsBrewing
Well-Known Member
I use the 10 gallon rubbermaid. The most I've mashed at 1.33 qts/lb. is 24#...and the water was 1-2" from the top. I could probably mash a couple more pounds at 1.25 qts/lb. but I haven't needed to yet but I do mostly 11 gallons batches of 1.060 beers and below. For any "big" beers, I do 6 gallon batches and I have plenty of room for grain.
ewbish
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2008
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 3
Shape too. A 10 gal round cooler will work for a wider variety of grain bills, because even a smaller beer will still have a deep enough grain bed. whereas a rectangle type 10 gallon may result in too shallow a grain bed for a small beer.
In the case of wanting to be able to do 2.5 gallon batches or 5 gallon batches........the 10 gal round is the way to go IMHO.
I am switching to a 10 gal rnd igloo just for this reason. My 48qt rectangle MLT has served me well.......but it is falling apart now due to the heat and I've never been happy with it's performance when doing light lagers, it just doesn't make for a deep enough grain bed.
In the case of wanting to be able to do 2.5 gallon batches or 5 gallon batches........the 10 gal round is the way to go IMHO.
I am switching to a 10 gal rnd igloo just for this reason. My 48qt rectangle MLT has served me well.......but it is falling apart now due to the heat and I've never been happy with it's performance when doing light lagers, it just doesn't make for a deep enough grain bed.
JMSetzler
Well-Known Member
How many uses does it take before the cooler would have to be replaced from heat damage?
Depends on how much heat, some add boiling water to preheat and warp / crack the cooler. If you keep the temp under 170, I think just about any cooler will last long enough not to be a concern.
ewbish
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2008
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 3
Well, I started with an old one out of my shed........but I guess I got about 20 or 30 batches on it. I don't use boiling water in it, water temp is never higher than typical mash/sparge temps. It's started warping and the plastic has become brittle and the lid no longer fits. It also swells up during the sparge and jams the sparge arm. I imagine if you start with a new one, it'll last dang near forever.
For a visual reference here is 25Qts of water and 19.75lbs of grain. Just brewed it up Saturday
You can see that there is still a bit of room.
You can see that there is still a bit of room.
surfbrewer
Well-Known Member
I've been using a 10 gallon cooler for years, like 10 years, and the only damage that has occured from heat is to the exterior when I let it get too close to one of my burners
Other than that I has performed wonderfully. Holds a constant temp. and is easy to clean and use, I don't see needing to replace it any time soon. That being said, I don't put anything hotter than about 175* water in it, I would avoid putting boiling water in it.Got Trub?
Well-Known Member
I have a Rubbermaid 48 that I have used for 28 years. It has blisters but no cracking or warping. I do not preheat with boiling water.
GT
JMSetzler
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the responses... Now all I have left to do is decide if I'll use braided hose or build a copper manifold.
I'm excited about trying all-grain.
I'm excited about trying all-grain.
LIVETOBREW
Active Member
I just used my for a 10 gall rubermaid for a kolsch and had 20lbs of grain in it with mash water... could prob fit another 4 pounds with water and be at the top of the rim...
TwoHeadsBrewing
Well-Known Member
If you have the money to buy the supplies, or already have a soldering torch, flux and solder I highly recommend a copper manifold. The braid works great for many on here, but a copper manifold is more durable and will work better if you decided to fly sparge. The copper fittings are just a few dollars more than buying the braid and other connections.
chumprock
Well-Known Member
GDI, I can't find a reasonably priced 10 gal anywhere locally.
I went to Lowe's, and they only had 5 gal.
I went to Home Depot (after reading a post here that they had them) and all the employees gave me a funny look with one of them directing me to the refrigerated water coolers.... meh.
Any hints on where to find a 10 gallon round for a decent price?
I went to Lowe's, and they only had 5 gal.
I went to Home Depot (after reading a post here that they had them) and all the employees gave me a funny look with one of them directing me to the refrigerated water coolers.... meh.
Any hints on where to find a 10 gallon round for a decent price?
Buford
Well-Known Member
I picked one up at Pleasants (Ace) Hardware yesterday for $50.
Schwind
Well-Known Member
I too got mine at Ace hardware. They will ship it to your local store if you ask.
To answer the original question, I did a 10 gallon batch of my IPA on sunday and had 26 lbs of grain and 7.5 gallons of water and it was completely filled to the top. I lost maybe an ounce while stirring. It was a bit scary mashing in.
To answer the original question, I did a 10 gallon batch of my IPA on sunday and had 26 lbs of grain and 7.5 gallons of water and it was completely filled to the top. I lost maybe an ounce while stirring. It was a bit scary mashing in.
Similar threads
