Cooler decision

[ChefRex]

I have been doing BIAB and would like to try my hand at more conventual brewing. I have been trying to decide on a cooled size and brand, Coleman extreme have served me well, i have an 100 quart, probably a little to big! but had looked at a 36 qt locally which i liked, they didn't have a 52 qt.

I have been doing 5 gallon batches but would like to have the ability to do 10 gallons.
My questions are would the 36 qt be capable of doing a 10 gallon medium gravity batch?
Is the 52 qt too big for lower gravity 5 gallon batches?
Does the 52 qt have the gully at the drain like the 36 does? I would assume this would be a good thing?
Thanks in advance, Bob
This place rocks

 

[ChefRex]

So............what size cooler do you use????

 

[BrewerBear]

I use a ten gallon Igloo cooler.

 

[GrogNerd]

I do 5-gallon 1.060 beers in a 70-qt cooler with no problem. well, there was a problem with excess headspace and would lose 3° over the course of a mash, but now I put a layer of aluminum foil over the grains and don't lose any heat.

poke holes in the foil when I recirculate the vorlauf, helps keep from disturbing the bed

HOW BIG a tun you need is discussed here, with math and other fun stuff!

mine does have the "gully" and I think the 52-qt does also. it's part of the deadspace, so not a good thing. but only like ⅜ of a quart, not all that much

 

[ChefRex]

Grog nerd, thanks for the info and the link, i think it's what i wanted.

 

[ardonthorn5]

i'm wondering what cooler to get as well ... currently use a round 10 gallon cooler for 5 gallon batches. currently in the process of upgrading to 10 gallon batches.

 

[GrogNerd]

i'm wondering what cooler to get as well ... currently use a round 10 gallon cooler for 5 gallon batches. currently in the process of upgrading to 10 gallon batches.

lots of good info at that thread I linked, including how to determine how big a beer (batch size & OG) you can mash in what you already have, and how big a cooler you would need to brew any given batch size & OG

 

[JonathanS]

I have the 52 quart Coleman cooler and am able to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches easily. Used a diy copper manifold.

Low gravity batches, like 5 gal of starter 1.040 wort, means a somewhat shallow grain bed and you have to be careful when sparging. I built a simple stationary water sprinkler sparge arm out of copper pipe.

 

[ardonthorn5]

I'm going to check that link out when I get home. I might go with a cooler int the 70 quart range.

 

[Homercidal]

I use a 10 gallon rectangular cooler and it's great for 5 gallon batches. If I went 10 gallons, it can do lower gravity beers, but it would take some process tweaks to brew a RIS or other high gravity beer.

The problem is if you go bigger to do those 10 gallon batches, you will likely not get good temperature stability in smaller batches, due to lack of thermal mass. Likewise, if you go too small, you have to modify the usual process in order to do large or high gravity batches.

You can either hit the middle mark, or buy one large and one small cooler and use whichever one you need at the time. I'd recommend the 10 gallon size or thereabouts. You can mash thick and heavy for large beers, and you can even do 10 gallon batches of most beers just fine.