linusstick
Well-Known Member
Anyone use both and prefer one over the other? I have 2 cylinder shaped ones and was wondering the pros/cons of either over the other. I know it's probably a personal preference thing, just curious
Rectangular shaped vs. cylinder shaped mash tuns
- Thread starter linusstick
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Huh? You can buy coolers of various capacities regardless of shape.
Both work, the choice can be made depending on aesthetics, they type of system you're building, price, etc. Rectangular coolers generally are less money per measure of volume than round ones.
well I've only seen the 5 and 10 gallon round coolers being used for mash tuns. I guess you can get a huge 15 or 20 gallon round cooler, but I've just personally never seen one.
I see 60qt cubes and large rectangle coolers all the time however.
-=Jason=-
If you're doing 5 gallon batches (and I assume you're not just doing Barley Wines), watch what size rectangular/cube cooler you use. Too big a cooler will result in too shallow a grain bed. You want at least 4"
I prefer the cylindrical ones, but only because I like a false bottom for fly sparging.
-a.
-a.
From a purely engineering standpoint, assuming both cylindrical and rectangular coolers have similar wall thicknesses, a cylindrical cooler will insulate better than one of any other shape (other than a sphere) due to its volume to surface area ratio.
Me? I use a 5-gal cylindrical I bought used and am sparging (right now, actually) 15 lbs of grain for a barleywine.
Me? I use a 5-gal cylindrical I bought used and am sparging (right now, actually) 15 lbs of grain for a barleywine.
I batch sparge so grain bed depth is not a issue, so I like rectangular coolers. They are cheaper, the shape makes it easier to stir to get rid of dough balls and a cooler of around 50 qts is a good compromise for 5 gallon batches or small ten gallon recipies.
brandonhagen1
Well-Known Member
is a 70 qt rectangle cooler too big for 5 gallon batches will probably go 10 gallons soon
Nope, and despite the engineering "theory" stated in an other post, my 70 qt rectangular cooler holds temperature perfectly--verified by 3 different thermometers--here in the real world we live in.
I have read that cylindrical coolers tend to favor fly sparging. I batch sparge with terrific results. If you want to fly sparge, cylindrical is probably better. If you want to batch sparge, you won't go wrong with either choice.
brandonhagen1
Well-Known Member
ok thanks i dint think it was too big but wanted to make sure
I use a 70 qt and it works perfectly...I usually do 1.080+ OG beers, so that helps as I normally have 15 lbs + of grain, but yeah, I hope to graduate to 10 gallon batches with it shortly.
I'm assuming that I will do a basic pale ale grist and then split the batch up between me and my friend to do with it what we wish separately.
I'm assuming that I will do a basic pale ale grist and then split the batch up between me and my friend to do with it what we wish separately.
Heh... not exactly theory we're talking about here, but whatever. Just simple geometry, that's all. OP asked for "Pros/cons", so that's why I chimed in.
I built a rectangular cooler MLT for batch sparging, but have found I can get by with my 5-gal cylindrical, so haven't even used it yet.
Plenty of folks use rectangular coolers and don't have a problem with them, and I have no doubt they can hold temperatures just fine. I wouldn't hesitate to use my rectangular MLT, if needed.
I also stir mine once or twice during the sacc rest (whether needed or not, plus I just like to check temps again).
Stratification can be a problem when there is a heat source, like an electric element heating cold water (in an electric hot liquor tun). Since here the water is all at one temp before it's dumped in the cooler, and the cooler holds the temp to 1° (or less) during the mash, there is no differential.
Probably not if you are batch sparging, but it's much bigger than it needs to be.
If you are going to fly sparge, then it is too big.
-a.
