Rookie level questions here, but you can't learn if you don't ask. Friend of mine (it's true) is converting to all grain and is going to convert a cooler. I'm not ready to convert just yet, but information will be useful for me as well. Thinking the round cooler type conversions unless there's good reason o go rectangular. So that is one question - and advaaneg to one over the other in terms of shape? Is there a rule of thumb for the right size cooler? He does five gallon batches, and has done a few styles with extracts and specialty grains. I know he's done a sweet milk stout, a pale ale, and a couple other styles I missed tasting. Not sure what he's thinking for his first attempt - pretty sure he doesn't either. Too small is an obvious problem, but what about too big? I can see the "headspace" in an oversized cooler possibly causing some extra heat loss, but that is all I can think of as a downside. Thanks!
I tried to go the cheap route when first starting all grain, and just used the rectangular cooler my folks had. I had problems maintaining the heat, getting enough sugars out of the wort, and keeping the grain particles out of the wort. Finally just got the 10gal round cooler from Home Depot, the concave metal false bottom from my local HBS, some silicon tube and a few fittings. After putting this thing together I noticed a stark improvement in every area: heat retention, ability to stir my grains during dough-in, sugar extraction, cleanup, everything. I do 5gal batches, and I generally have about 15lbs of grain (not sure if this is normal or excessive). I still have about 4" of headspace which allows me to mix it up without creating a mess. I can't give you anything more scientific, but this is what I experienced FWIW. Cheers!
I recently (in the last year) upgraded from a 48qt to a 72qt cooler, I have not noticed any real difference in heat loss. One potential drawback to a large cooler is a real shallow grain bed for smaller beers. Depending on where the outlet is, you may end up leaving a lot of wort, relative to the total amount, in the cooler. The obvious benefit to a large cooler is you have space for any brew you imagine (within reason).
Wow...holy typos in the OP...sorry for that. Thanks for the replies thus far - will send along the thoughts to my buddy here. It almost sounds like you can't really err on the side of "too big" here - the bed depth on the rectangular was something I hadn't thought about, and that could be a slight disadvantage for the rectangular cooler if the grain bill is "light". Good point on yield loss there, @wspscott. Ten gallons looks like the minimum for a round cooler though - eight to ten pounds of grain plus the water isn't all that far off from the fifteen, @riTLce , and as long as it hold the heat I don't think it matters. Sounds like that isn't much of an issue based on experience with the two sizes of rectangular coolers. On the other hand, if you can build one, you can build 'em all and coolers aren't ridiculously expensive. If you do it with the right fittings, could swap from one to the other without too much hassle. Has anybody thought about combining BIAB with a more traditional cooler mash tun process? I've thought about this kind of approach with the round cooler - put a paint filter (or other type of bag to match the size) in the cooler and suspend it just off the bottom. That takes advantage of the insulation, and couldn't a batch sparge be done right in the bag? Then you wouldn't have to tinker with the cooler conversion at all. I guess you couldn't regulate flow if you just use the cooler spigot, but is that an important consideration if you are batch sparging? I could see potential for getting this stuck, but rice hulls could be used. Off track from the original question about getting the size "right", but I've thought it as kind of a logical combination of methods. Maybe a dumb idea, but no sure.
Good info above. Run a couple recipe totals for malt through this calc http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml to know for sure.
Thanks for the link - easy calculator there. I haven't done all grain, but when I've done specialty grains, I have a hard time equating the weight and volume for the grain - that little "will it fit" down the bottom is sweet!
Heat loss into the dead space above the mash can be reduced by covering the mash in a rectangular tun with a length of thick aluminum foil or a stainless steel lid in a round tun.
@scurvy311 - the calculator page works, but the links to Ken Schwartz's page appear to be dead? Know if those pages still exist?
Lol. Try downloading Netscape 3.0. Honestly. I've never tried anything on that page except for the "Can I mash it?". I use BrewCipher for calculating.
Fair enough - I found links everywhere for Schwartz's material, but none of them function. I did find this version of the calculator: http://www.haandbryg.dk/mashcalc.html Basically the same thing, but adds a couple extra things. My friend has his answer with the calculator - says he is happy but it's hard to tell for sure. We're both good to go.
