What Size Esky For Mash Tun?

[BoilerBoy]

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

 

[Edgecliff Brewer]

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.

 

[Stabilo_Boss]

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

 

[T.D.]

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.

 

[Stabilo_Boss]

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.

 

[Archie]

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

 

[PistolPatch]

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.