This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be

[Bobby_M]

It's showing up for me but if you don't see it, the direct link is
http://www.suebob.com/images/brew/mlt/mltsizetable.gif

 

[Bobby_M]

So I just finished building a five gallon mash tun from a round rubbermaid cooler (before reading this thread). I'm a noob at AG so bear with me. My question deals with sparging. If I'm maxed out at 12 lbs as the chart says, can I do a batch sparge or do I have to fly sparge? Does one's sparging method make any difference relating to the max grain/OG the tun can handle?
I ask because I plan on doing EdWort's Haus IPA this weekend and I need to know if I should build a sparge arm. I'm assuming batch sparging shouldn't be much different. I would just have to do more batch sparges to get to my target volume?
Thanks for the help.

The chart is based on how much you can mash with a tiny bit of headspace remaining. You would be able to fly sparge no matter what but your batch sparge infusions might have to be broken into two half volumes if you've got it maxed out.

 

[Spannuta]

It's showing up for me but if you don't see it, the direct link is
http://www.suebob.com/images/brew/mlt/mltsizetable.gif

yea, its the computer I am on, because its giving me "page load errors" when I click some of the links in your signature. Its all good though, I got the chart on my cell phone browser!!

Thanks for your help man. Great chart! Sorry for cluttering the thread.

 

[Keith_Mahoney]

I have a question but it's looking at size in the opposite direction. I plan on getting a 10 gal cooler because l like strong beer ( I don't typically drink anything less than 7% and drink beer much stronger than that daily.) If I wanted to brew something a little lighter for the wife (5gal batch) how low could I go on the OG with still having a thick enough grain bed? I think Palmer recommends at least 8" but definitely no less than 4

Also is the OG in your chart pre or post boil?

 

[Bobby_M]

The OGs in the chart are post boil. If you batch sparge, the bed thickness doesn't matter at all. If you prefer fly sparging, you could just decide to batch sparge low OG 5 gallon batches.

 

[Keith_Mahoney]

Actually I am planning on setting up a HERMS system, no in between stuff, I'm jumping in with both feet. I will get a keggle for a boil pot. A ten gallon drink cooler with false bottom for MLT and convert my 7.5 gal aluminum pot to an electric HLT.

Most of my beers will be over 1.070 but will this set up do beers around 1.050? And is a false bottom they way to go in a HERMS setup?

Thanks for your help.

 

[SamuraiSquirrel]

Just a thought but bigger is not always better. I have a ten gallon cooler and find that for smaller beers where I am filling less than 50% of the cooler volume I lose about 5 to 6 degrees over the 60 minute mash. I am thinking about getting a smaller cooler for smaller O.G. beers and using my 10 gallon cooler only for beers that the 5 or 7 gallon cooler can't hold. The dead space in the cooler seems to contribut to heat loss over the mash. ................ maybe I just have a crappy cooler though.

 

[Bobby_M]

Cut yourself a circle out of rigid foam that fits into the cooler perfectly. Rest it down on the top of the grainbed to remove the headspace as a factor.

 

[mnHawk8]

Found my answer.

 

[woopig]

I'm sure this has been covered, but I'm having trouble finding it. All the talk seems to be about having a mash tun that's big enough. I'm deciding between the NB 5 gallon and 10 gallon cooler system. So, if I still want to do some 5 gallon batches, am I going to regret getting the 10? I thought I had heard something about needing an adequate grain bed depth, but nobody seems to talk about that much. Any thoughts?

 

[DKershner]

I'm sure this has been covered, but I'm having trouble finding it. All the talk seems to be about having a mash tun that's big enough. I'm deciding between the NB 5 gallon and 10 gallon cooler system. So, if I still want to do some 5 gallon batches, am I going to regret getting the 10? I thought I had heard something about needing an adequate grain bed depth, but nobody seems to talk about that much. Any thoughts?

10 gallon is really made for 5gal batches. 5gal is for 5gal batches less than 1.060. Both will have adequate (And nearly the same) grain bed depth for 5gal batches.

 

[Islandboy85]

How would I go about figuring out my max grain, strike water, max gravity, etc for a 36 qt cooler. I know it's oddball sized, but I have this picknick cooler and wasn't sure if it was a doable size. I just don't have the money for a false bottom right now for my keggles, so was going to use them for my HLT and BK in the mean time. Is this cooler viable?

 

[Bobby_M]

It's probably big enough for 10 gallons of 1.050 beer or 5 gallons of big ol' barleywine at 1.090

 

[Islandboy85]

What is the formula you use to figure that out Bobby?

 

[Bobby_M]

Just take the number in the row for 20qt MLT, divide by 20 and then multiply by the number of quarts the MLT in question has.

Another useful formula was posted further down:

If you get around 80% efficiency, to calculate for mash tun size requirement in quarts, it's (Desired OG x Batch Size)/17 = mash tun size

Let's say you want 1.088 x 15 gallons, it's (88 x 15)/17= 77 quart tun.

 

[woopig]

Ok, so what about a 15 gallon Mega Pot as a mash tun, when I may still be doing a good number of 5 gallon batches? Still ok, or am I pushing grain bed depth?

 

[Islandboy85]

Thanks Bobby. Really helpful.

 

[food00d]

Great post. Very helpful.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I was seriously expecting to see a phot with captions;

"This Big"

 

[schreck]

am i right to assume that a 5 gallon cooler can handle an OG of 1.13 for a 3 gallon all grain batch?

X(3/17) = 20qt
3x = 340
x= 1.13

glad algebra was useful for something! wouldnt want to be solving for x's or y's after a few drinks tho...

 

[berley31]

Is it quite possibly to get a mash tun that IS too big for a normal gravity (e.g. OG 1.050-1.060) beer? For example:

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=6270A748&categoryid=8581&brand=

It's high (a little over 12 inches), and long (24 inches), but not overly wide (10 inches).

That sounds bad, I know.

Would something of this size be too much for the lower gravity beers, say if I wanted to make a 5 gallon batch of a Mild or something similar?

 

[erikrocks]

What happened to the chart?

 

[Bobby_M]

It's back, I had to move all my pics to another server.

 

[maida7]

Cut yourself a circle out of rigid foam that fits into the cooler perfectly. Rest it down on the top of the grainbed to remove the headspace as a factor.

This is brilliant Bobby. I'm not sure why I haven't heard of it yet.

On the flip side. When the MLT is filled up to the max. How do you stir in the grain without slopping it all over the sides.

 

[Bobby_M]

You just have to work carefully I suppose. I've made a huge mess plenty of times by trying to max out a cooler.

 

[BrewMoreBeers]

i am not sure if this is the correct thread or not, but i will ask anyways.

What is the impact on efficiency of a round verse properly drained chest cooler. i like the idea of getting a chest cooler (cheaper) but don't want to be disappointed in the long run. Does cooler shape really matter as long as i have an appropriate drain system and a 4-12 inch grain bed?

 

[maida7]

i am not sure if this is the correct thread or not, but i will ask anyways.

What is the impact on efficiency of a round verse properly drained chest cooler. i like the idea of getting a chest cooler (cheaper) but don't want to be disappointed in the long run. Does cooler shape really matter as long as i have an appropriate drain system and a 4-12 inch grain bed?

It depends on if your batch sparging or fly sparging. For the fly sparge the grain bed depth is much more important to reduce channeling. So a tall narrow cooler is preferred. For batch sparge it won't matter.

Another consideration is how high up the drain is and how much dead space is in the cooler. Reducing the dead space will effect your efficiency.

 

[BrewMoreBeers]

got it. thanks

 

[fc36]

Why not add this to the mash tun wiki? Might be a useful way for someone to help them decide which of the two styles to build, either rubbermaid or chest cooler.

 

[ViciousDachshund]

Is it quite possibly to get a mash tun that IS too big for a normal gravity (e.g. OG 1.050-1.060) beer? For example:

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=6270A748&categoryid=8581&brand=

It's high (a little over 12 inches), and long (24 inches), but not overly wide (10 inches).

That sounds bad, I know.

Would something of this size be too much for the lower gravity beers, say if I wanted to make a 5 gallon batch of a Mild or something similar?

Strangely enough I was looking for the answer for this exact question, as I was debating this cooler or the 36qt version.

Anyone have any input?