Max. amount of grain in a 10 gal cooler?

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ohiobrewtus

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What's the most grain that you've been able to successfully mash with in a 10 gallon round cooler?

I'm trying to plan a big brew, but am unsure what my limitations will be with the 10 round gallon cooler I use.

I would have added a poll if I could have figured out how the heck to do it :drunk:
 
ohiobrewtus said:
What's the most grain that you've been able to successfully mash with in a 10 gallon round cooler?

I'm trying to plan a big brew, but am unsure what my limitations will be with the 10 round gallon cooler I use.

I would have added a poll if I could have figured out how the heck to do it :drunk:

I make a Scottish ale which requires 15lb Golden promice plus flavour grains. OG 1.080. That big enough?:)
 
OldFarmer said:
I make a Scottish ale which requires 15lb Golden promice plus flavour grains. OG 1.080. That big enough?:)

No, actually. :drunk:

I just did my Wee Heavy last weekend with roughly 15 lbs of grain and I had plenty of room. Based on the results of the calculator located at the above link, I should be fine up to a bit over 28 lbs. I'd obviously never use that much unless I was going to do a 10 gal batch, but good to know what my max is.

30 lbs of grain at a mash thickness of 1 qt/lb = 9.9 gallons.
 
I'm doing 10 gallons of IPA with a 26.25lb grain bill (1.1 ratio) tomorrow in a 10 gallon cooler. That's maxed out for me. :D

Good thing I'm step mashing with steam! :rockin:
 
ohiobrewtus said:
... 30 lbs of grain at a mash thickness of 1 qt/lb = 9.9 gallons.
Remember - you need room to stir - 25 lbs. is the maximum for me in my 10 gallon round cooler.
 
I have a 10 gallon mash tun and I just did a barleywine that used 22 lbs of grain. Had a few inches left on top yet. I'm guessing 25-27 lbs is about going to max out the cooler.
 
I have a 5gal cooler that I usually try to keep to 12#, 12.5 if I push it. I would say 25 should work in a 10gal cooler. Ofcourse if you are doing a high gravity 5gal batch you are probably using a higher grain to water ratio and using less sparge water also which means the total volume need is reduced allowing even more grain. But that starts to get crazy big OG for a 5 gal batch.
Craig
 
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