Cool box for mashing

[samnorfolk]

Ive got a 46 litre coolbox that has a tap on the bottom, if i were to use this for mashing in could i just fit a piece of gauze over the hole on the inside so when releasing the wort the grist would stay behind

 

[MCJones87]

You can certainly use a cool box as a mash tun very effectively - in fact most home brew stores sell cool boxes converted with a ball valve tap and a bazooka or false floor to separate the grain from the wort.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Deluxe_Insulated_Mash_Tun.html#.VfvH2XmFN9A

I'm not sure how effective a piece of gauze would be though, but the theory is the same as the one in the link... If you already have a tap attached that means there is already a hole - you could just replace that with a ball valve and a bazooka (also sold through that site in component parts) and away you go!

 

[ProjectBeer]

+1 to the bazooka screen - that's what I'm planning on fitting to my coolbox in October

 

[ManseMasher]

Bazooka screens work well, or there is the home-made filter using copper pipe, if you are that way inclined!

 

[dweb]

I'm still at the biab stage but have a 24l cool box ready to convert. How much wort could I extract from it?

 

[ManseMasher]

I'm still at the biab stage but have a 24l cool box ready to convert. How much wort could I extract from it?

At the top of the page, in 'calculators' there is one for working out batch sparging. With that size coolbox you should be good for a grain bill of around 5kg, and a water to grain ratio of 2.5 litres to 1kg of grain. You could easily get a 23l brew. Have you worked out your coolbox deadspace yet? Or if you can't because you haven't converted it yet, it's an important figure to know.

 

[dweb]

Thanks. I think I'll go ahead and convert it anyway and try the calculator.