You are correct...the traditional advice about grain bed depth does not relate to batch sparging. I've made 426 5 gal. batches in a 48 qt. cooler over the last 14+ years. If it didn't work I would have switched to something else a long time ago!
This is how big your Mash Tun needs to be
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You are correct...the traditional advice about grain bed depth does not relate to batch sparging. I've made 426 5 gal. batches in a 48 qt. cooler over the last 14+ years. If it didn't work I would have switched to something else a long time ago!
i've also noticed that fly sparging with only a 5 gallon batch is hard because of what little water is coming in from the top of my tun. I guess i'll have to just batch when i do 5s and fly when i do 10s
BrewmeisterSmith
Well-Known Member
I've been attempting to 10 gallon batches in a 10 gallon igloo cooler. For an IPA that I'm about to do, it calls for 28 lbs or grain. If I calculate my strike water at 1.25 qt per pound, I come up with 8.75 Gallons needed. That doesnt leave much room in the tank for the grain. I did a brown ale recently and ran into the same thing. I just filled my cooler with strike water as much as I could. I felt the batch tasted a bit thin. I also batch sparge. So, filling up the mash tun doesnt leave any room for the mashout either. Anyone run into this problem and have a solution? Looking at the chart, I may have to invest in a bigger mash tun.
nutty_gnome
Well-Known Member
I use a 5 gallon cooler and since life begins at 60 (1.060 that is!) I never have room for a traditional mashout. Instead I drain roughly 1.75 gallons of wort from the cooler and bring it to a boil then return it to the cooler. This raises the temp of everything to 168-170 depending upon the day and recipe. It absolutely loosens the grain bed. After 10 minutes I start draining and batch sparging.
Short of a bigger tun (highly recommended), you can just skip the mashout. No big deal.
GrogNerd
mean old man
looking at the 36qt Coleman Extreme 5 and it lists interior dimensions at 19.75 in. x 7.75 in. x 10 in.
= 1,530.625 cubic inches
/231 ≈ 6.6 gallons ≈ 26.5 quarts
I majored in math, so arithmetic is not my strong suit, and anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but 26.5 quarts ≠ 36 quarts
where did the other 2½ gallons go?
which makes striking a perfectly reasonable 6.75 gallons in what SHOULD BE a 36 quart system a little difficult
= 1,530.625 cubic inches
/231 ≈ 6.6 gallons ≈ 26.5 quarts
I majored in math, so arithmetic is not my strong suit, and anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but 26.5 quarts ≠ 36 quarts
where did the other 2½ gallons go?
which makes striking a perfectly reasonable 6.75 gallons in what SHOULD BE a 36 quart system a little difficult
Probably the volume under the lid, which you can't use. My 48 qt. cooler really holds about 9.5 gal., not 12.
GrogNerd
mean old man
I can get the 70 qt version for about the same price
12½ x 24½ x 10½ interior = 3215.625 in³ = 13.92 gal = 55.6 qt
that'll work just fine
12½ x 24½ x 10½ interior = 3215.625 in³ = 13.92 gal = 55.6 qt
that'll work just fine
johns
Well-Known Member
nice thread
justkev52
Well-Known Member
That's cool. Thanks for the chart. All good to know.There seems to be a huge uprising in the number of new all grain brewers and the persistent question is "how big of a tun do I need?" It depends on what your batch size, efficiency, and desired OG is. Here's the easy way for you to decide based on your needs.
Keep in mind that even if you think you might want to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches, odds are your really high gravity beers will be 5 gallon batches. Who needs 10 gallons of barleywine?
Just for example, a 10 gallon mash tun can do 5 gallons of 1.118 barleywine (~11% ABV) and 10 gallon batches of 1.060 IPA (~6% ABV). I personally think something in the 50-60qt range is most flexible in that regard if you don't mind a square/rectangular cooler.
If you want to figure for larger or smaller batch sizes, take the number in the "Max Gravity Units" column and divide that by your desired batch size.
davebstock
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Excellent thread here! If I didnt see this, I would have been screwed on my next brew!
Can somebody tell me how much volume loss would occur if you cut the top of a 15.5 gallon keg off where the skirt meets. In other words there would be no curve, only straight sides. I'm guessing less than a gallon but wanted to be sure. I'm wanting to make a straight sided Mash Tun for a "tippy dump" and am trying to figure how much volume it would be.
Thanks
Thanks
Well, I just eyeballed a 1/2 keg in my garage and I would estimate that cutting as you would describe would reduce the capacity comapared to a full uncut keg by approx 3 quarts, even less compared to a keggle cut at a 12" top hole as typically cut. To get a better number would take filling it and measuring the water level to the skirt weld, then using a measured pitcher fill the remaining volume.
Just figure your strike water based on your ratio. Take your grain weight and multiply by 0.1 to get your "gallons" equivalent from the grain....add the two together and that's how big your MLT needs to be.
15 pounds at 1.5 qts per pound = 5.6 gallons strike plus 1.5 "gallons" of grain = 7.1 gallon MLT requirement.
15 pounds at 1.5 qts per pound = 5.6 gallons strike plus 1.5 "gallons" of grain = 7.1 gallon MLT requirement.
SpeedYellow
Well-Known Member
FWIW, their measurements are off. I measured my 36-qt Coleman Extreme and it's about 8.0-8.2 gal (32-33 qt).
Awesome way to boil this down!! :rockin: Seems to be a smidgen optimistic but perhaps that's just my measurements.
Cooler manufacturers usually include the volume of the concave space under the lid as part of the total volume. Obviously we can't use that for mashing.
Ok trying to understand, I'm new so if I'm only doing 5 gal batches no bigger than 1.090 I would need a 36 qt cooler
(90x5)/17=26.5 qt minimum tun
Is this correct? I want to have the option of both batch and fly sparging, does this play into it?
(90x5)/17=26.5 qt minimum tun
Is this correct? I want to have the option of both batch and fly sparging, does this play into it?
I've read over much of the sticky and have learned a lot about volume but not much about shape. Is there an efficiency difference between a tall round tun like a Gatorade cooler vs a shallow square tun like a cooler? Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered but finding clear info on it using search has been tough.
If you batch sparge, no. If you fly sparge, likely yes. Fly sparging the taller round cooler would probably give you better efficiency. But other factors would be much more important.
Thanks, didn't really know the difference. Found some good info on it here. http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/
Not sure if this was touched on or not, to much to read...lol
Has anyone asked about a mash out step, If im using say 26lbs of grain for an 11 gallon batch, using lets say a 13.2 keggle...At 1.25qts per lb your at 8.75 intial strike volume for your mash in. Then an additional 4.5+ for your mash out. Total volume in that keg is 13.2, so this calculator is basicly good only if you do not do a mash out step, correct...unless im missing something. Cheers
Has anyone asked about a mash out step, If im using say 26lbs of grain for an 11 gallon batch, using lets say a 13.2 keggle...At 1.25qts per lb your at 8.75 intial strike volume for your mash in. Then an additional 4.5+ for your mash out. Total volume in that keg is 13.2, so this calculator is basicly good only if you do not do a mash out step, correct...unless im missing something. Cheers
GrogNerd
mean old man
not that batch. don't forget the ≈2 gallons the grain would displace
So, I pulled the general formula out of the thread:
Mash Tun Size (gallons) = (OG*BatchSize/(21*Efficiency))/4
where OG is original gravity post boil and BatchSize is the batch size after the boil.
My question is (if I followed the thread correctly) that this is assuming a mash thickness of 1.25 qts/lb - where do I input this variable into formula as an input?
I am in the process of creating a spreadsheet to handle some things (percentage grain bill recipes based on brewhouse efficiency, efficiency before adding sugar or boiling, how much water to add if gravity is over and how long to boil at your implied evaporation rate before continuing the recipe if you are under) and wanted to include this. Once it is finalized I will post it.
Thanks!
Mash Tun Size (gallons) = (OG*BatchSize/(21*Efficiency))/4
where OG is original gravity post boil and BatchSize is the batch size after the boil.
My question is (if I followed the thread correctly) that this is assuming a mash thickness of 1.25 qts/lb - where do I input this variable into formula as an input?
I am in the process of creating a spreadsheet to handle some things (percentage grain bill recipes based on brewhouse efficiency, efficiency before adding sugar or boiling, how much water to add if gravity is over and how long to boil at your implied evaporation rate before continuing the recipe if you are under) and wanted to include this. Once it is finalized I will post it.
Thanks!
Well all that being said . Ill be the odd one and state / ask . My brews max out at about 1.080 id like to be able to brew 5 and 10 gallon batches from 1.050 to 1.080 . I have about 25 all grain 5 gallons batches under my belt and would like to be able to do a ten gallon batch of some of my session brews. I have about 2 grand to build my Herms and would not like to leave my hlt mlt bk size to chance .. can someone point me in the right direction or just give me the right kettle size . Where I don't waste money
I'll shoot from the hip and say 20 gallon across the board.
I like symmetry.
Someone else can likely give you a better answer with sound reasoning.
I like symmetry.
Someone else can likely give you a better answer with sound reasoning.
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attaching it
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