So I'm gonna go all grain

[3rdto1st]

The girlfriend got me a nice propane burner for xmas, and after my last batch, it has inspired me to go AG. I have an 8 gal kettle, so all I really need is a mash tun. I'm wondering what you all think of the big round coolers like the MoreBeer ones. How long do they last? How much grain do they hold? How much deadspace? etc. Also, keep in mind I only make beers above 1.065, can I fit grain and water in there for my 5gal batches?

[ocluke]

You can find the info here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/how-muc ... er-144643/.

Looks like 24 lbs of grain at 1.25qt/lb.

[brahn]

I've had good luck using the Can I Mash It calculator here:

http://rackers.org/calcs.shtml/

[bwarbiany]

Having owned a 5 gallon, a 10 gallon, and a 15.5 gallon mash tun, I can say that your general rule of 12# per 5 gallons is a good rule of thumb. The mash gets a bit thick at that rate -- I prefer to go up to about 1.5 quarts per pound of grain.

But 24# in a 5 gal batch gets you up to a gravity of 1.126 max (this a beersmith estimate assuming 72% efficiency)... I'm assuming you don't make too many beers up in that range.

[3rdto1st]

well, my first planned all grain brew is gonna be shooting for 1.109 MWAHAHAHAHA. Anyway, I am going to buy Scott K's old cooler and go for it

[lexuschris]

Congrats on going AG!

My 10-gal Rubbermaid round orange cooler/mashtun has gotten me up to #19 of grain, but just barely and with a really thick mash. On big beers like that my usual 70% effic. drops to 60% or lower. That is pretty typical with a big beer from what I read.

You also may need to creative with your sparge water additions...

Also, you can always use a 3# bag of DME as a kicker at the end of the boil to get those last few points in your quest to 1.100+ OG

Have fun!
--LexusChris

p.s. I use a false bottom and usually compute a .25 gal headspace..