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Author Topic: General mash tun advice  (Read 8913 times)

Offline glitterbug

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General mash tun advice
« on: November 20, 2009, 03:47:02 pm »
I have a burner and a kettle. Now all I need is a mash tun and I will ready for all grain.  :)

I've read denny's instructions and it seems dead simple. Are there any tricks or tips you wished you had known before building one?
A witty saying proves nothing - Voltaire

Offline BrewingRover

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2009, 03:51:56 pm »
I have a burner and a kettle. Now all I need is a mash tun and I will ready for all grain.  :)

I've read denny's instructions and it seems dead simple. Are there any tricks or tips you wished you had known before building one?
Home Depot doesn't sell stainless steel braids ;D
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.

Offline mtbrewer

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2009, 04:16:44 pm »
Get one big enough to do ten gallon batches.

Offline Hokerer

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2009, 07:21:24 pm »
The cooler should be blue, of course
Joe

Offline deepsouth

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2009, 08:57:13 pm »
damn, i just bought the 10 gallon AGS from northernbrewer and it comes with red coolers.....  am i doomed to make s***ty beer?
Hoppy Homebrewers of South Mississippi (est. 2009)

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bottled:     white house honey ale

Offline pashusa

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2009, 09:47:14 pm »

damn, i just bought the 10 gallon AGS from northernbrewer and it comes with red coolers.....  am i doomed to make s***ty beer?
No matter what you do your beer will taste like Miller Lite.
I wasn't even in town that day, I swear.

Offline bluesman

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2009, 09:50:37 pm »
What size batches do you plan on making?

I would get a Coleman Extreme with a stainless braid to start with...they're reasonably priced and very practical.
Ron Price

Offline slimsparty

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2009, 09:53:29 pm »
Quote
No matter what you do your beer will taste like Miller Lite.

I didn't know it tasted like anything.  It is like gatorade with barley.

Offline rep

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2009, 06:02:50 am »
What size batches do you plan on making?

I would get a Coleman Extreme with a stainless braid to start with...they're reasonably priced and very practical.

I am currently seeing them for $39.00 at Walmart to $44.00 at Fleet Farm.

As you build your brewery always look to the future so you do not end up buying twice.
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Offline denny

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2009, 09:47:42 am »
I have a burner and a kettle. Now all I need is a mash tun and I will ready for all grain.  :)

I've read denny's instructions and it seems dead simple. Are there any tricks or tips you wished you had known before building one?

It is dead simple...if it wasn't, I couldn't do it!  My tip would be to make sure you get a cooler with a drain hole near the bottom.  Some are a couple inches off the bottom.  I use a cheapo Rubbermaid 12 qt. cooler.  If I was to do it again, I'd go for a 70 qt.  And coolers that have names like "Extreme" or "MaxCold" retain heat no better than my cheapo.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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Offline uisgue

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2009, 09:54:54 am »
One of the advantages of the Coleman Extreme (70 qt., anyway) is that it has a trough/groove slightly lower than the bottom level that allows maximum drainage.  The 70 qt. is also large enough to do reasonably big 10 gallon batches.
Doug Hickey
Crescent City, CA
Symposia Brew Corps

Offline denny

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2009, 10:25:03 am »
That's the perfect kind of cooler design, Doug.  I'm waiting for my current cooler to disintegrate, then I'm gonna get one of those.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Offline woody

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2009, 11:20:07 am »
One of the advantages of the Coleman Extreme (70 qt., anyway) is that it has a trough/groove slightly lower than the bottom level that allows maximum drainage.  The 70 qt. is also large enough to do reasonably big 10 gallon batches.
+1 to the 70qt coleman!   gotta love the channel for the drain.   Plus it can do 10 gallon batches.   When I went all grain, I bought a small cooler (5 gallon I think?) did 3 or 4 batches then bought the 70 qt so I could do 10 gallons.   Should have done it in the first place....
I believe in a society with a ruling class.   Cause I rule

Offline wilypig

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #13 on: November 23, 2009, 07:20:34 am »
I have an Igloo cube cooler 60 qt that I built a copper slotted manifold for. The drain is about and 1.5 inches above the bottom  but I work around that with having all the fittings going to the outlet soldered to allow for a siphon to be set up with the manifold. All other fittings are slip fit to allow for a complete break down for cleaning. I also feel that having an outer ring and inner run of the manifold allows for better efficiencies. I generally see efficiencies in the 80 to 88% range with no issues of stuck runoff. I built 2 similar systems for friends with rectangular coolers with great results. One of the systems is used almost exclusively to make wheat beer with no issues of stuck runoff. I don't know how to get a photo on the forum or I would post one as a reference.
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Offline jrskjei

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Re: General mash tun advice
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2009, 08:16:52 am »
What are people's experience with using 10 gallon Rubbermaid water coolers?  What is the maximun capacity for those coolers?  I have figured that about 24lb of grain with a ratio of 1.33 qt/lb is about the max, but some discussion I have read seem to indicate that more can be used (with a lower water to grain ratio, I would assume).  I've never maxed it out, but I plan on doing so soon.