[bonjour]

Fred , Frigid and Rigid makes a 300qt cooler

I have fished on a boat that has one of these for YEARS, I can attest it is the best cooler on the planet........ bar none.

http://www.frigidrigid.com/index.html

Checked out the prices, ouch!!

[babalu87]

Oh they are expensive , no doubt but for someone with the cash I'll reiterate as to the quality of these coolers.
My buddys is at least 15 years old and holds ice like it did when new.

[dzlater]

When I started all grain I did about 10 brews where I batch sparged.
Decided to give fly sparing a try and thought it was easier ( I am not sure why ), so I stuck with it.
20 brews later I decide to give the batch sparge another chance.
 I like it. 
When I batch sparged the first time I was doing  three runnings
from the mashtun, this time I just mashed, added water for mash out, drained
added the rest of the water and drained again , simple.
Though it does feel like cheating .

[denny]

Though it does feel like cheating .

I've heard people say that before and for the life of me I can't figure out why simplifying the process makes it seem less valid.  To me, easier means smarter!

[micsager]

When I started all grain I did about 10 brews where I batch sparged.
Decided to give fly sparing a try and thought it was easier ( I am not sure why ), so I stuck with it.
20 brews later I decide to give the batch sparge another chance.
 I like it. 
When I batch sparged the first time I was doing  three runnings
from the mashtun, this time I just mashed, added water for mash out, drained
added the rest of the water and drained again , simple.
Though it does feel like cheating .

This is what I do now.  I used to do a HERMS.  If this is cheating, I don't want to follow the rules. 

[kerneldustjacket]

My "group-brewing" friends and I recently started using this 150 quart (37.5 gallons) cooler I bought for $150.00 -- shipping included -- from Gander Mountain. As an added plus, it fits snugly on my folding scaffolding!
What you can't see from this side is that it is held in place with bungee cords...gotta play it safe -- and not lose any precious brew.
Those are 10 gallon round coolers stacked next to it. We refer to it as "The Coffin," because it's a model that has a two section lid.
It worked great as the mash/lauter tun for a 40 gallon batch of weizen...but I doubt I would use it for a one-man batch of brew (10 - 12 gallons or so) But, it's not such a horrible price to pay if your looking to do a large batch...and as others have mentioned, what a heck of a parti-gyle brew session one of these could do!

[cheba420]

I've only been AG brewing since the beginning of the year but I've batch sparged every time. I get pretty good results and it seems a lot easier and faster than fly sparging.

[dcrawlins]

I see nothing wrong with batch sparging but doesn't fly sparging give a clearer wort?  I guess if you wait 30 min or so before drawing off a batch sparge the results might be the same.

[denny]

I see nothing wrong with batch sparging but doesn't fly sparging give a clearer wort?  I guess if you wait 30 min or so before drawing off a batch sparge the results might be the same.

There's no difference in wort clarity between the 2 methods and there's no reason to do an extended wait before drawing off the wort.  And I've also found that unless a lack of clarity in the runoff os due to poor conversion or something like that, runoff clarity makes no difference to finished beer clarity or flavor.