Really stuck on cooler size

[goodwood]

There are tons of discussions on here about cooler size for mash tuns. I just wanted to ask if you guys every have two coolers

First off we went ahead and bought a real nice 100qt cooler thinking it would be sweet for a 10gal brew. But then I started reading about how the grain bed will suck when doing the vaurlof if the bill
Isn't big enough. I was thinking we could set up a nice 50qt for smaller bills.

We start all grain brewing in about a month. We plan on getting a few basic recipes down before we do crazy stouts and stuff.

Do any of you keep two coolers set up and use each one accordingly to your recipe? That 100qt is just too sweet. Haha.

Is there a way to insure a good grain bed in a 100qt with smaller grain bills?

 

[grampska]

I'm still on 5 gal batches for now and I have the standard false bottom Igloo 5 gal cooler for smaller grain bills and a 70 qt for my larger grain bills.

 

[brewingkitty]

70qt XTREME! by coleman, with stainless mesh. 5 or 10 gallons works out great with my max of 35# grain to date per 10 gals.

 

[goodwood]

70qt XTREME! by coleman, with stainless mesh. 5 or 10 gallons works out great with my max of 35# grain to date per 10 gals.

Yea we bought the same brand.

What do you guys say? Should I keep it and use it for large bill/10gal batches? And have a second cooler for the rest?

We will be doing the stainless braid with stainless steel wire coil in the braid to prevent collapse. I'll probable use a cross and have a long braid for each branch off the cross.

 

[jerryalan]

You should be able to make big 10-gallon beers with that 70qt Coleman. Check out Bobby_M's post: This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be. Return the 100qt and buy some ingredients.

 

[goodwood]

You should be able to make big 10-gallon beers with that 70qt Coleman. Check out Bobby_M's post: This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be. Return the 100qt and buy some ingredients.

thanks jerry. im still a noob on these forums. i missed that post

 

[brewingkitty]

the 70 qt will probably fit 40 to 45 pounds of grain in it.. that would make one heck of a 10 gal batch!

 

[goodwood]

the 70 qt will probably fit 40 to 45 pounds of grain in it.. that would make one heck of a 10 gal batch!

Yea we will save the braid, fittings, and ball for the 70qt until we find a 70. It's fall now, well have to do some searching for a cooler. Haha.

We will use a 50qt regular rectangle for a few brews until we need a 70qt. Since we are moving from extract, we don't want to start brewing a real mean beer yet. Simple ales and a pilsner till we get confident again.