Getting close to doing my first AG batch... Got my mash tun just about ready, but I have one question. I've converted a rectangular 48Qt Coleman cooler by outfitting a brass ball valve and screen into the drain hole.
I bought one of the screens available at my LHBS instead of making a manifold or modifying a toilet hose. My issue is that the screen isn't resting on the bottom of my mash tun, it's level with the drain in the cooler. How much wort am I going to lose with a setup like this, or should I just plan on tilting the cooler / setting it on an incline? I'm also thinking about getting something to fill in the bottom volume of the cooler - styrofoam coated in plastic or maybe some marbles.
I may start out with some 3 gallon batches just to get the process down and possibly to brew in the house. At 3 gallons I'd be losing more percentage of the total volume than I would be if I were doing a 5 gallon batch.
I bought one of the screens available at my LHBS instead of making a manifold or modifying a toilet hose. My issue is that the screen isn't resting on the bottom of my mash tun, it's level with the drain in the cooler. How much wort am I going to lose with a setup like this, or should I just plan on tilting the cooler / setting it on an incline? I'm also thinking about getting something to fill in the bottom volume of the cooler - styrofoam coated in plastic or maybe some marbles.
I may start out with some 3 gallon batches just to get the process down and possibly to brew in the house. At 3 gallons I'd be losing more percentage of the total volume than I would be if I were doing a 5 gallon batch.
