Rice Hulls?

I wouldn't expect any problems, but if you do get stuck, you can always add some rice hulls, stir, and start vorlauf/lautering again. IOW, keep some around as insurance.

 

I wouldn't expect problems either with that amount of grist in that size cooler, but if you have the ricehulls, 2 or 3 good handfulls should do the trick. I get free rice hulls so I tend to use them quite a bit.

Oxygen, lots of yeast, and cool start on the ferment...good luck and cheers

 

I would be surprised if you can get a 9% beer with 18.5lbs of malts with some dark grains without the addition of sugar. Good luck!

 

I've had good luck using rice hulls, using with oats or with a larger grain bill. I've got a smaller mash tun than you which therefore requires me to mash a little thinner. I've always viewed rice hulls as a may as well. Additionally, in Gordon Strong's Brewing Better Beer, he makes mention that he finds that rice hulls help keep a more consistent temp throughout the mash volume. I’ve been to lazy to substantiate his finding through measurement. End of the day for your specific case, I'd toss a 0.5# in.

 

18.25 lbs), and am mashing it in the standard 10-gal Igloo cooler

Not crying wolf, but with a mash out and rice hulls you are really pushing the limits of a 10 gallon'er. Suggest you run your numbers here before you start the strike water:
http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

 

@PortLargo he could pull part of the volume out of the mash (min to reach mashout temp), heat to boil and then add back for the mashout. That way he can max volume keeping the mash as thin as he can. That's what I'd do with an imperial, who cares about the small color / caramelization. Did 18# in an 8 gallon tun for my Wee Heavy this way. His 18# in a 10 gallon tun would give a mash thickness about 1.58 this way by my calculation.

 

he could pull part of the volume out of the mash

Absolutely, and your technique is a good one. Just suggest he run the numbers before adding the water . . .

 

If you multiply your normal 60 minute boil-off amount (assuming that's your normal) by 1.5, you won't be far off...

 

Half-pound or so of rice hulls @ ~$1 /# is cheap insurance.
Kinda like Metamucil®.

 

When I use rice hulls, I mix them evenly with the crushed grains. If you use them as a bed on the bottom (if you could even keep them there), you could get wort stuck in the grain that never even makes it to the rice hulls.

 

Use Meshing Straining Bag inside your Igloo cooler(mash tun), if you get stuck or slow sparge, gently pull up the bag with the grain an "1 and let go.
It's also simplify clean up the cooler and dumping/composting the grain.

Good lock.

 

No mess whatsoever, I know you can get Meshing Straining Bag custom made for rectangle cooler too.