Upgrading to 10 gallon capacity - gear recommendations?

[Burndog]

I have a Spike 10 gallon conical arriving today and need plan out what other new equipment I need add to continue all grain brewing.


Currently:
Grinding grains with a Cereal Killer @ min width for max efficiency
Yeti 50 qt (12.5 gallons) Cooler using Wilserbrewer BIAB to Mash then dunk Sparge in 8 Gallon Kegco Brew-kettle
Add Mash runnings and do a full boil for 5-6 gallon batches.

Considerations:
1) Continue same method and just add a 15 gallon Spike Brew-kettle and pulley to garage ceiling to dunk sparge.

2) Pick up a 10 gallon false bottom Igloo cooler
https://www.homebrewing.org/10-Gallon-Converted-Igloo-Cooler-Mash-Tun-With-False-Bottom_p_1006.html
Use the current 8 gallon brew-kettle as the HLT
Full boil into 15 gallon Spike Brew-kettle

BIAB using the current cooler seems like it could be less work but likely not as efficient even fine grinding my grains.
Igloo Mash Tun, requires learning some new skills and figuring our how to recycle runnings through Mash Tun (pump with some sprinkler device?).

No problem learning new skills as part of home brewings allure is the engineering and science side.

Any other perspectives that should be considered?

 

[LarMoeCur]

I'd scratch the 15 gallon kettle and go with a 20 gallon one. I do 90 minute boils on most of my beers. I have an adverage boil off rate and have to collect at least 15.5 gallons to reach 10 gallons in the keg mark. Depending on the beer. I lose .5 gallon to kettle/hop trub, I lose .5 gallon to each fermenter (still using carboys). So I try to finish the boil right around 12 gallons. Which leaves me with a .5 gallon margin which I always find away to fit into the kegs. Even with a 60 minute boil you will still be worried about boil overs.

 

[Tuttdog]

I agree, 20 gallon kettle doesn't increase cost much. Lessening risk of boil over will help you sleep at night. It does for me, I have a 20 gallon spike.

 

[Burndog]

Thanks for the advice.. I'll get the 20 gallon.

Comments on the Igloo Mash Tun? Super cool and fully flexible to any style brewing or just stick to BIAB in the 50 quart chest cooler and use a pulley to dunk sparge?

 

[MaxStout]

Ditto on the 20 gal. BK. A 15 will do ok for 10 gal. batches of lower gravity beers, but the 20 means never having to worry about space for big beers.

 

[mengelma]

Hi Burndog,

I brew 11 gal to the fermenter. A 10 Gal mash tun will limit you to lower gravity brews. I have a 15 gal tun, and often have it pretty full. If I had to do again, would do a 20 Gal mash and 20 Gal boil.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If you want to know what you NEED for 10 gallon brews its simple. A 20 gallon pot for full volume mash makes things so easy. A heat source a bag and pulley. That's it. Everything else is to make the brewer happy but has no bearing on the finished product. The beer could care less about the name on the pot. My 20G Concord $120 Ebay pot will last forever...literally

Skip all coolers/mash Tun and do everything in one pot...would be my advise. Its unneeded and creates more work

Efficiency is not a concern. I use a cereal killer also grinding on average 24 pounds per brew and hit my numbers always, usually a tad high. My last batch was 82%

 

[Burndog]

I like the idea of BIAB in the 20 Gallon... I forgot that the reason I moved to the cooler from my 8 gallon for 5-6 gallon batches is because of the difficulty using that small of a kettle. And I like higher gravity beers so JohnnyRottens idea make a lot of sense. Gracias!

 

[MaryB]

I brew 11 gallon batches. I use a 15 gallon BK and mash tun. Mash tun is okay for the beers I brew, BK is always and exercise in burner control and stirring to stop foam over(I refuse to use chemicals in my beer!). If I upgrade both will go to 20 gallon, the current mash tun will become the HLT and the 10 gallon HLT will come in the house for small BIAB winter brews. Current 15gallon BK will get sold...

 

[madscientist451]

I like the idea of BIAB in the 20 Gallon... I forgot that the reason I moved to the cooler from my 8 gallon for 5-6 gallon batches is because of the difficulty using that small of a kettle. And I like higher gravity beers so JohnnyRottens idea make a lot of sense. Gracias!

I went from BIAB in a pot to BIAB in a cooler because of temperature swings, and I didn't like pulling the hot bag out and spilling wort. But with 10 gallon batches, using 20 lbs of grain and 7-8 gallons(?) of strike water, you'll have lots of thermal mass so maybe that won't be a problem for you.
If you brew outside in cold weather, you'll need some removable insulation for your brew pot.
You might want to consider a metal basket instead of a bag and then when you hoist it out you can rinse with some sparge water, OR put in some kind of re-circulation system.
Doing BIAB in the big pot should save you some time, no transferring wort and you can put the heat on right away.
If you keep the cooler mash tun method, you'll either need a pump or a 3 level gravity fed arrangement, and you'll need another burner for the HLT. You don't need to do a fly sparge, you can just dump the sparge water in.

 

[fragged]

I like the idea of BIAB in the 20 Gallon... I forgot that the reason I moved to the cooler from my 8 gallon for 5-6 gallon batches is because of the difficulty using that small of a kettle. And I like higher gravity beers so JohnnyRottens idea make a lot of sense. Gracias!

100 percent the way to go. Skip the cooler altogether. Add reflectix around the kettle for mash and get Wilser to stitch up a bag for the new kettle. 10 gallon biab rocks. Easy, effeciant and consistent.

 

[Burndog]

Final plan is install a pulley in the garage and move from the kitchen to the garage using a 20 gallon BK. New Wilser bag and ordered one of those small brown pumps to assist with any pumping if necessary.