52 quart xtreme cooler

[periwinkle1239]

Hey all, I'm looking to make the jump to AG sometime soon and I want to start assembling some new equipment. I'm going to go with a barge-sparge method and saw a 52 quart coleman xtreme cooler at Kmart for 28 bucks. Looks like a great deal!

I will be sticking with 5 gal batches and my fav beer is imperial IPAs. Is this cooler adequately sized for the grain bills in my future? I realize this topic has been talked about and after researching, it sounds like I should be able to mash plenty of high gravity brews that require significant grain poundage. Just double checking with all you experts out there. Thanks!

 

[AleFred]

you should be dandy..just gotta make sure it can accept your brass or ss fittings

 

[CPORT546]

That's the one that I have, also from kmart. There is more than enough room in it to double the current 5 gal batches to ten. IF you search a little, somewhere there is a chart on these boards that shows you the maximum grain bill you can run and still have room for the water. That's why I picked this cooler because the only thing I couldn't do was a 10 gal barleywine or RIS.

 

[periwinkle1239]

Thanks CPORT I see you are from the area. Do you get your ingredients local or online? I've not been that impressed with the stores in St. Louis so I pretty much always order online.

 

[jyda]

Think this is the calc you mean, the Can I mash it one:

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

 

[periwinkle1239]

Think this is the calc you mean, the Can I mash it one:

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

sweet awesome webpage to bookmark. plus it's named after the town of my hometeam

 

[CPORT546]

Thanks CPORT I see you are from the area. Do you get your ingredients local or online? I've not been that impressed with the stores in St. Louis so I pretty much always order online.

It all depends on the time of year my job doesn't allow me to get there while they are open during the summer so I buy a lot more online. Stl wine and beer if you can be there while they are slower will give you some tips and tricks which is nice.

 

[Malticulous]

I use a 52.

With 20 pounds of grain, a single infusion and a single sparge I get 11 gallons of 1.060 wort. Much more grain than that I'd have to add another sparge.

Here it with a no sparge 5.5 gallon batch of 1.086 wort.

I had to add a few more quarts before vorlauf. It seems the space the lid takes is included in the 52 qt measurement.

 

[sagnew440]

If you are in or around st.louis there is Kent at momalt.com. He does bulk grain buys at least once a month, and he has just about anything else you could need. The pickups are at a warehouse in fenton.

 

[CPORT546]

If you are in or around st.louis there is Kent at momalt.com. He does bulk grain buys at least once a month, and he has just about anything else you could need. The pickups are at a warehouse in fenton.

+1

I bought all my stuff for my keezer from Kent as well as a barley crusher next thurs. He has the best prices in town. Only drawback is one pick up a week. Just email him to get on his mailing list.

 

[periwinkle1239]

+1

I bought all my stuff for my keezer from Kent as well as a barley crusher next thurs. He has the best prices in town. Only drawback is one pick up a week. Just email him to get on his mailing list.

really that's awesome, I'll check him out!

 

[periwinkle1239]

I use a 52.

With 20 pounds of grain, a single infusion and a single sparge I get 11 gallons of 1.060 wort. Much more grain than that I'd have to add another sparge.

Here it with a no sparge 5.5 gallon batch of 1.086 wort.

I had to add a few more quarts before vorlauf. It seems the space the lid takes is included in the 52 qt measurement.

wow she's full to the brim, very nice. What are you using as a filter? It looks like maybe a piece of PVC or a plastic tube, perhaps with slits on the bottom?