Typical heat loss using a 48qt cube cooler

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Schmidty

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So this weekend I did my first all grain brew.
I have a 48 quart Igloo cube cooler that I'm using for my mash tun.
I started at 153° and after 45 minutes I was down to 149°.
I preheated with 170° water, so maybe I need to go hotter or keep it in there longer.

So I guess my question is has anyone else had problems with heat retention in one of these cooler tuns or should I ( keep your mind out of the gutter ) go hotter and longer with the preheating.
 
Sounds odd to me.
Try this calculator at Green Bay Rackers it has not failed me yet. Just remember to stir like mad and wait 10 minutes before you stick your thermometer in there, that way it has time to stabilize. Sounds to me like you were about 2 or 3 degrees low with strike water. I use a 5 gallon drink cooler (thinner walls than the cube) and Heck, I don't loose but MAYBE 1 degree after stabilization, and I usually mash for 90 minutes.
 
Ahh, maybe that was my problem. I stirred every 15 minutes and took a reading right away. My mash temp was supposed to be 152° and my strike temp was good at 153°.
 
So this weekend I did my first all grain brew.
I have a 48 quart Igloo cube cooler that I'm using for my mash tun.
I started at 153° and after 45 minutes I was down to 149°.
I preheated with 170° water, so maybe I need to go hotter or keep it in there longer.

So I guess my question is has anyone else had problems with heat retention in one of these cooler tuns or should I ( keep your mind out of the gutter ) go hotter and longer with the preheating.

I lose about 1 degree every 15 minutes in my cube cooler. I just adjust to these temperatures during decoction or mashout.

P
 
Might depend on the cooler. I have two 48 qt cubes. The one was a cheap $20 one from Target with thin wall and it doesn't hold heat well. You might try pre-heating with 180 degree water and see how that helps. Worst case if it's a thin wall one, buy some reflectix (sp?) insulation from Home Depot and make a blanket for the cooler.
 
Ahh, maybe that was my problem. I stirred every 15 minutes and took a reading right away. My mash temp was supposed to be 152° and my strike temp was good at 153°.

When you open your cooler and stir you are losing heat. I dough in, check temp, if it's close leave it alone. I only stir (after dough in) if my temps are a tad to high.
 
I thought I had read to stir every 15 minutes or so, maybe thats a special case or maybe that was for a heatable mash tun. Ahh well, live and learn. The fermenter is still bubbling so at least it should be beer like liquid when it's all done.
 
I have one of the thin walled igloos. (It was 20 bucks I couldn't resist) I regret buying it because it losses heat like a mofo. I will mash in at 153 and be down in the 145 range when im done mashing. Now I have to go buy some insulation for it and with the cost of that i wont be too far from purchasing a quality cooler. Should of forked over the extra dough for a good one.
 
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