Mash tun cooler?

[Brad]

I see all of these 10 gallon coolers being used. If I am only going to be doing 5 gallon batches cant I just use a 5 gallon cooler? And where is the best place to get ss hose clamps?

 

[Symin6]

yes 5 gallon one would be plenty good for 5 gallon batches. and for the hose clamps.... hardware store maybe?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

5 gallons coolers are fine, but if you go to Green Bay Rackers Mash Calculators you'll see that with a mash thickness of 1.25 qt/lb, you'll run out of space if you try to use more than 12-13lbs of grain. I wouldn't be able to make half of the beers I've done without the 10 gallon cooler found at Savers for $6

As far as SS hose clamps, Home Depot doesn't have ss from what I could tell (unless I'm blind.) Lowe's has them for dirt cheap

 

[JuanMoore]

I had an old 5 gal cooler, so that's what I started with. I soon realized it was way too small for most of the beers I make, and now use it as an HLT. Even with a really thick mash, a 5 gal cooler will only hold about 14# of grain. The question is do you want to be able to brew beers with a higher OG than about 1.070? Even my 10 gal cooler seems a little small for some of the bigger beers I've made.

I've found that even the SS hose clamps tend to corrode after a while. I use plastic zip ties.

 

[Symin6]

you can also double mash if you wanted to stick with the 5 gal. at least that's what i do if i want to make a bigger beer