New Mash Tun

[Chris Craig]

After last week's attempt at brewing a 40L IPA using 12.5 kg of grain in my Coleman 48qt cooler, I decided something slightly bigger was in order.  Aside from wanting something a bit bigger, my current tun was bowed a bit in the front from use.  This left a noticeable gap at the lid.  Bad for heat retention.

The new tun didn't need to be too much bigger.  I tend to mash thicker on bigger beers to boost efficiency.  I just needed a bit more room.  Amazon.ca started carrying these:

http://www.igloocoolers.com/Coolers/Marine/Marine-Ultra-54

$59 shipped isn't exactly the best price, but hey...this is Canada.

[DandyMason]

I think im close to due for another mash tun but I wouldn't mind switching to a kettle for mashing down the road.

Do you sparge twice? 13 kg of grain can sometimes push my limits usually on the sparge side, and I have a 72 qt.

Either way those look like really quality coolers

[Chris Craig]

I sparge twice, but I'll mash that much grain at 1qt/lb instead of the usual 1.25qt/lb.

[ECH]

For a mash tun for doing 5 gal recipes, are one of those 5 gallon drink coolers big enough for doing a mash?

I see a fair number of them (and tons of how to on YT) about them, but they are usually 10 gallon ones. Just wondering if a 5 gal would be big enough for only doing 5 gal batches. 

[Chris Craig]

Yes, they're big enough, but you won't be able to do a very big beer.  12-13 lbs max.

Most of us here use picnic coolers because they're cheaper, more readily available, and they hold more grain.  They are really easy to convert to a mash tun too.  Exact same process as the beverage coolers.