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Ciaran12s

Ciaran12s

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Hi all,

I'm fairly new and doing kits exclusively at the minute with very minor tweaks like dry hops/adding honey instead of sugar.

I do plan on building everything required for all grain brewing over the next few months. I'm not in any rush to get everything finished and operational and budget isn't a major constraint but I do like the idea of mucking about and doing it all myself.

I was thinking of beginning with a mash tun which I can use for mini mashing my kits initially. The obvious choice is a cool box unless anyone can suggest something more fitting?
The question then is what size to go for? Although it will be mini mash initially I want to make it so that I can do a standard 23 litre once everything is complete. So for a 23litre wort, what would you recommend as a mash tun capacity? I do plan on fitting a double bottom as well.

Thanks for your help
 
Ciaran12s said:
Hi all,



I'm fairly new and doing kits exclusively at the minute with very minor tweaks like dry hops/adding honey instead of sugar.



I do plan on building everything required for all grain brewing over the next few months. I'm not in any rush to get everything finished and operational and budget isn't a major constraint but I do like the idea of mucking about and doing it all myself.



I was thinking of beginning with a mash tun which I can use for mini mashing my kits initially. The obvious choice is a cool box unless anyone can suggest something more fitting?

The question then is what size to go for? Although it will be mini mash initially I want to make it so that I can do a standard 23 litre once everything is complete. So for a 23litre wort, what would you recommend as a mash tun capacity? I do plan on fitting a double bottom as well.



Thanks for your help
Click to expand...



I think building your own kit is great fun and really satisfying. When I started out I used two plastic buckets (one inside the other with holes drilled inside it as a false bottom) and covered in shiny bubble wrap to insulate. Apart from the large dead space it was brilliant and lasted years. I still have it in the shed and would happily use it again if I needed to. That's probably your cheapest option but if you're looking to spend a bit more then an igloo cool box or even a thermopot are worth considering.

Good luck with your build!
 
For 23 litres I'd recommend a 30-35 litre cool box. That will leave enough headroom for the larger malt bill recipes, and also allows you to do up to 25 litres if you wanted. Coolboxes make great mashtuns and I was using one for a bit. Obviously it depends on the coolbox you go for as some brands are better at insulating than others, but if you plan on adding extra insulation I guess it's not too important.
 
If you don't want to make beers over 5% a 20l mash tun is fine 30-35l would allow you to make right up to barley wine strength.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone!

The two bucket idea is quite intriguing but I have come across a 35litre cool box for not too many bucks so I think I'll go with that.
 
The 2 buckets idea looks very simple and cost effective, plus if you can find slightly larger buckets you can make slightly larger brews. But you need to drill a lot of holes a certain distance from each other and they need to be the right size. It sounds like a lot of work to me :S
 
Hi n welcome ,

good advice above.. top end diy tuns cam be fabricated from thermapots 30l + a bit more of an involved build needing a few tools like a belt sander and angle grinder to grind down 1/2" ss pipe fittings to sit within the base void.
some specialist suppliers also sell kits for the job.. like homebrewbuilder and angel homebrew the malt miller and powel homebrew iirc..
the german ebay.fr sellers of SS thermopots and catering sized stock pots will sell direct via paypal to uk customers email them for a quote.

tho you dont need shiny stainless steel brewkit, it wont necessarily brew any better beer than a PP bucket or mango barrel brewery, might cost a bit more tho and last a lifetime ;)
 
Thanks for the advice all. I've priced up the various options and a cool box with tank connector, valve, copper tube and homemade bazooka is coming in under 40 quid and that's 35 litres maybe minus 2 or 3 with the lid. I think I'll give that a bash then look in to constructing some form of boiler a little further down the line!
 
Mash Tun from 32 litre Cool Box!

Tubing not soldered to ease cleaning. Holes at 1.5mm diameter (I think). Tap from B&Q. Holds Mash Temperature to within two degrees in an hour.

Better to have too large than too small, 'cos you may want to try "Mash Without Sparging" sometime.

Enjoy! :thumb:

Mash Tun.jpg
 
good fortune with the tun build, my #1 tip is to fit your drain fitting so it seals against the inner skin alone, make a larger access hole in the outer skin, so you can fit to the inner skin and make a good seal. you can fill the void with a few layers of silicone sealant or decorators caulk once fitted,,
 
I wouldn't lose too much sleep over differences in insulation with any coolbox you get. I do BIAB so I'm mashing in my boiler - single skin stainless steel with a half inch thick camping carrymat fastened round it for insulation. It loses about 2 degrees max. over an hour. To be honest I'm more than a bit surprised.
 
Cwrw666 said:
I wouldn't lose too much sleep over differences in insulation with any coolbox you get. I do BIAB so I'm mashing in my boiler - single skin stainless steel with a half inch thick camping carrymat fastened round it for insulation. It loses about 2 degrees max. over an hour. To be honest I'm more than a bit surprised.
Click to expand...

From what I've read it's the thermal mass of all the grain and water that keeps itself warm. I've done overnight mashes for 11 hours using just towels and blankets around my pot an only lost about 11C (iirc)
 
Dutto said:
Totally off topic so sorry ... :doh:

... but my mind flashed to The Full Monty and a man sat with clingfilm wrapped around his potbelly! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

I also used a couple of those shiny space blankets (anything to get some shiny into the brewday :mrgreen:). I'm not sure whether they did anything though
 
upgrading the thin polystyrene ceiling tile insulation found in many cold boxes is a doddle just add some bubblewrap, tinfoil, and or mylar (£shop space blankets) to fill some of the voids even cling film will help if you capture pockets of air between wraps.

while a 2c or more drop wont bother some brewers why put up with it if you dont need to :) with a good pre warm and the correct strike temp (71c always worked for me with a coldbox tun) you should remain within 1c of your post mash in temp.
As long as you fill the lid void too that is ;)
 
Great advice all. Final bits in the post so hopefully get her together at the weekend. I'll post some pics if it goes well.
How necessary would you say a double bottom Is? Does it just make it handier for cleaning out?
I probably will end up making One, haven't looked too far in to it yet and will likely do without for a brew or two. There's always BIAB as well I suppose.

In terms of mini mashing to boost kits instead of sugar, is it vital that the mini wort gets boiled for an hour with various hop additions etc?
I am just messing about at the minute and it's a wee idea I've had. I am dry hopping most brews now and I think I'll venture towards giving hop teas a bash for the next brew which is a coppers Canadian blond.
 
Fil said:
upgrading the thin polystyrene ceiling tile insulation found in many cold boxes is a doddle just add some bubblewrap, tinfoil, and or mylar (�£shop space blankets) to fill some of the voids even cling film will help if you capture pockets of air between wraps.

while a 2c or more drop wont bother some brewers why put up with it if you dont need to :) with a good pre warm and the correct strike temp (71c always worked for me with a coldbox tun) you should remain within 1c of your post mash in temp.
As long as you fill the lid void too that is ;)
Click to expand...

I removed mine and filled with expanding foam which has turned out to be fantastic insulator.

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxMjAw/z/RL4AAOSw2iNZY4oa/$_58.JPG
 

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