# What Size Esky For Mash Tun?



## fixa (12/8/06)

Hey all.
What size esky should i be looking for for a mash tun? 
I'm not looking at ever doing double batches.
Bunnings has a 15 litre round one for $45 ish.. would that be sufficient?
:beerbang: 
Cheers.


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## Adamt (12/8/06)

Partials or full mashes?

Need I think around 2.7L per kg of grain plus a bit more for some extra room.


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## Jye (12/8/06)

fixa, If you are batch sparging a safe minimum size would be 25L, larger if you ever want to bigger beers.

Dont exclude the square eskies either, a round one is not necessary.


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## fixa (12/8/06)

thanks guys. Full mashes AdamT.


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## djackal (12/8/06)

I've seen cheap Eskies on e-bay, with good volume too. Not sure if they are the right grade of plastic though, I think they are.


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## GMK (12/8/06)

36ltr is minimun one i would go for.


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## Sean (12/8/06)

GMK said:


> 36ltr is minimun one i would go for.


Mine is 36 Litre (cuboid) and it's perfect for single batches.


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## stephen (13/8/06)

My mash tun is a 24 litre esky. For the smaller brews it is ideal. When I make anythng over 1.050 OG then it really becomes tricky. I've learnt how to do "decoctions" to raise the wort to mash out temp: I drain off an amount boil it and then add it back to the mash.

If you can, go for the 36 litre and more.

Steve


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## matti (13/8/06)

36L  

get a foam bit cut out to size and lay over mashbed to increase insulation.

OY! stephen,
Thats a peculiar decoction indeed. <_< 
You only heating up the runoff??


You should take out 1/3 of heavy mash/grain to heat up for decoction to achieve the true benefit from decoction. 
Matti


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## Kai (14/8/06)

Sean said:


> GMK said:
> 
> 
> > 36ltr is minimun one i would go for.
> ...




Mine is 55L and a single (5kg) batch is dwarfed down the bottom. Can do a 15kg batch in it if I push things.


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## shotduck (14/8/06)

Kai said:


> Mine is 55L and a single (5kg) batch is dwarfed down the bottom. Can do a 15kg batch in it if I push things.





I use a 55 litre and have managed 17kg mashes. Had to tape the lid in place between stirrings though


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## Screwtop (14/8/06)

Mine is a 36L from BCF about $75 don't think I would want smaller.


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## Screwtop (14/8/06)

I use a 36L from BCF about $75 don't think I would want smaller.


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## johnno (26/10/06)

Just looking at the Kmart catalogue for the next week. They have the 65 litre coleman at $89.
Reduced $30 of the recommended price.
Anyone after a new tun, here is a good opurtunity.

cheers
johnno


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## DJR (26/10/06)

johnno said:


> Just looking at the Kmart catalogue for the next week. They have the 65 litre coleman at $89.
> Reduced $30 of the recommended price.
> Anyone after a new tun, here is a good opurtunity.
> 
> ...



That's a very good price, good cooler too. Does anyone know if the tap connection would take a 1/2" thread?


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## DJR (26/10/06)

I might buy one of these:

(800L)


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## DrewCarey82 (26/10/06)

I'd rather the sheilla on the left.

The $89 from kmart is the one that I mentioned to you Benny.


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## yardy (26/10/06)

DrewCarey82 said:


> I'd rather the sheilla on the left.



bit of a boxhead !


jokes aside,
just a querie about one of the replies in this thread about the round vs rectangular tun, isn't it better to have a deep grain bed which the round tun would give ?

cheers

yard


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## DJR (26/10/06)

yardy said:


> DrewCarey82 said:
> 
> 
> > I'd rather the sheilla on the left.
> ...



Grain bed depth is somewhat important if you're fly sparging, but with batch sparging it doesn't matter. But plenty of people also fly sparge using a rectangular cooler.

I'm a batch sparger and i get 82% efficiency anyway.

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/


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## razz (26/10/06)

DrewCarey82 said:


> I'd rather the sheilla on the left.
> 
> The $89 from kmart is the one that I mentioned to you Benny.


The one on the left is probably the other girls mum so why not take both ? Then you would be a legend ! :lol:


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## BoilerBoy (26/10/06)

Just checked out the coleman 65L at K Mart today,

The size is perfect, but the plastic inside seems really thin and flimsy compared to the Willow 55L,

Is anyone using one of these? and how has it stood up over time/

Cheers
BB


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## Edgecliff Brewer (26/10/06)

If you really want a round cooler these are great value and can be delivered to you.

http://www.discountcamping.com.au/index/pr...oolersandicebox 

They are very strong and I can't feel any heat escaping through the cooler walls when I have the mash in it.

I sprayed some foam into the lid to improve its heat retention. As a secondary use a narrow fermenter can actually sit inside it, although the recessed tap bulkhead means that the fermenter sticks a few inches above the top. You may be able to improvise with some ice and water to keep your fermentation temps down somewhat efficiently with this method if you do not have fridge. 

I use this cooler with steel braid for some very efficient sparging.


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## Stabilo_Boss (26/10/06)

I have got a 36 litre one and maxed it out on the weekend. 28 litres of water and about 12.5kg grain. Was meant to put more water in but ran out of room. Worked out OK though but would get a bigger one if I had my day again


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## T.D. (27/10/06)

I also have a 36L mash tun (KeepCold cylindrical cooler). It gets pretty close to the top for double batches but you can get by. For me, I would rather mash heavy than get a bigger mash tun. Most brews I do are only single batches and I think its a good idea to minimise headspace in the mash tun (just for temp stability reasons). The next step up with the cylindrical coolers is a 57L version. 5kg of grain in that would look pretty funny!

The general rule of thumb I work on with mash tun volume is to just equate it with your intended batch size. But of course, some room up your sleeve is handy if you foresee any bigger batches down the track.


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## Stabilo_Boss (27/10/06)

T.D. said:


> I also have a 36L mash tun (KeepCold cylindrical cooler). It gets pretty close to the top for double batches but you can get by. For me, I would rather mash heavy than get a bigger mash tun. Most brews I do are only single batches and I think its a good idea to minimise headspace in the mash tun (just for temp stability reasons). The next step up with the cylindrical coolers is a 57L version. 5kg of grain in that would look pretty funny!
> 
> The general rule of thumb I work on with mash tun volume is to just equate it with your intended batch size. But of course, some room up your sleeve is handy if you foresee any bigger batches down the track.



I must admit the reduced water to grain ratio did result in an increase in efficiency. You've definitely got something there T.D.


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## Archie (27/10/06)

Gday all, 
I use a cy;indrical eski from bunnings hold 22 litres and so far has been working a treat about 19 ag in to it.

I do fly sparge though this certanly makes a diference with the size i guess for mash tun sizing all depends on wether you want to fly or batch sparge.
you can afford to go smaller if you fly sparge but if batch sparging bigger the better.

Arch


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## PistolPatch (27/10/06)

Might throw my two bob in here. Haven't written an essay in a while and I imagine that a lot of people reading this thread would be considering venturing into AG. My comments that follow may or may not apply to experienced AG'ers but they DO apply to beginners...

Before you go and buy any equipment, read this - the beginning and ending posts. The logic that brought about these guys being able to simply do an AG originated in this thread

For those contemplating AG, reading the above will serve you well.

In those threads you will find that grain to water ratio is irrelevant to a beginner and, in fact, what you read may be quite mis-leading. In the second thread above, an experienced traditional brewer (AndrewQLD) actually mashed with a ridiculously high water to grain ratio and had as good efficiency and taste results as traditional brews. This is something that I now do with every brew and I'm getting some good beers including my second pilsener (stuffed the first one up on temp - whoops! Still very drinkable though.) Others are doing it to.

So, if I had my time again, I wouldn't buy an esky (mine now acts as a "fermenting fridge"), I'd buy a bloody good pot.

If you do need to buy an esky, then buy the biggest you can get that will also serve some other brewing purpose (such as a fermenting fridge).

To save you a little more time and trouble, get an esky with a tap. Don't worry about building a manifold etc - just use the nylon material described in the first thread above and whack as much water in the esky, hopefully around 40 litres, to end up with a 23 litre batch after a 90 minute boil, as you can.

So, a 65 litre esky is best - you can fit a fermenter in it if you stand the esky on its end!

Hope this helps those dying to have a crack at AG.

Justin also wrote, before the above threads, A Guide to Starting Out in AG which shows the pitfalls of getting too technical in your equipment when you are starting out.

Cheers,
Pat

EDIT: Did I write all that last night? My goodness! I also should have said that the size and shape of the esky is more critical when fly sparging. It's not too much of an issue for batch sparging or full-volume sparging.


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