How much grain...

[Brew Dad]

I was checking out the latest issue of BYO Magazine and saw the article on building a mash tun out of an Igloo or Gott-style round cooler.

Does anybody know how many pounds of grain a 10 gallon round cooler will hold?

 

[Blender]

I have heard that a 5 gallon cooler will hold 13 pounds so a 10 gallon ought to get in the 23-25 pound range. You can make a batch sparge mash tun out of rectangular cooler as well, plus it is easier to stir.

 

[Teedocious]

ok - some quick math: math is for 1 qt h20 to 1 lb of grain:

volume of 1qt h20 w/ 1 lb grain = 42 fluid oz. (10 fl. oz. for grain only)

10 gal = 1280 fl oz.
1280 fluid oz / 42 fluid oz = 30.5 qts H20 & 30.5 lbs. grain

30.5 qts h20 = 976 fl oz.
30.5 lbs grain = 305 fl oz.

976+305 = 1281 fl oz (1280 fl oz = 10 gal.)

So you can put a LOT of grain in there. In reality though you want a couple gallons at least for empty space - so same math for 8 gallons:
1024 fl oz / 42 = 24.5 lbs grain & 24.5 qts h20.

Example:
(2-row should yeild 36 gravity pts/lb = 882 gravity pts./10gal wort = 1.088 OG * 75% efficiency = OG of 1.066 for 10gal. batch which yields 6.5% abv (at 75% attenuation))

That should give you an idea...

 

[Brewsmith]

I can fit a max of 14 lbs in my 5 gallon cooler, so I say double, or in the neighborhood of 28 lbs. That's plenty for any 5 gallon batch. Even the biggest beers I've seen top out at around 20 lbs for a 5 gal all grain batch. For a 10 gallon brew you would still be able to do brews up to at least 1.065 or higher depending on your efficiency.

 

[Dude]

Try out this calculator too.

(Third one down, titled "Can I mash it?")

http://rackers.org/calcs.shtml

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I've had as much as 22 lb in mine with room to spare. So you could go bigger than that.

 

[brewhead]

30 lbs is the max in a 10 gallon gott - with no room to spare basically

 

[Brew Dad]

Hey, thanks everybody. That was great info. Currently, I have the capacity to mash 16 lbs max, but have more room in my brew kettle and fermentor than that. So I think feel a project coming on..

 

[Spyk'd]

Don't forget the 10 gallon coolers allow you to brew double batches of a lower grain brew instead of just a BIG single brew...


...just a thought...


:cross: