I’m researching the heck out of setting up my all grain system (ever had a friend drive you nuts with overthinking, that’s me). On the dennybrew site it suggests a rectangular cooler. I had planned on going the route of rectangular cooler but found a 10 gallon round cooler pretty cheap. Here’s my question: Is there any benefit of a rectangular cooler over round one? The round one: 45 bucks, the rectangular one: 51 bucks. If the rectangular ones work better, I don’t mind plunking down the extra few bucks. Thoughts on this are appreciated.
I’m sure you will hear from Denny on this but here is my 2¢ Ten gallons is 40 quarts. You can find much larger rectangular coolers. It will be more difficult to stir the mash in a round one but other than that AFAIK they work the same for a MT. I had a round cooler MT years ago because Denny had not told us you could use a rectangular one yet :lol: Used one of those pizza pans with a million holes in it for a false bottom. The braid is a great idea though. I made one similar using CPVC pipe and stainless steel screen in a rectangular.
I think a square one is better yet. Ref: Igloo Ice Cube 48 quart. My efficiency rocks with this one but now I gave it to my son for his brewing. I have a 60 quart and a rectangular 120 quart. The 60 has much better efficiency, probably because the wort has a shorter route to get out in a square cooler.
Square cooler seems like the ticket. I found a 60Q square for 45 delivered. Only issue is that it doesn’t have a drain. I have to believe that a cooler is jus insulation sandwiched between the outer and inner skin. If this is the case drilling through would be no big deal whatsoever. Has anyone else drilled a spot for the drain instead of buying one with a drain already installed?
I’m researching the heck out of setting up my all grain system (ever had a friend drive you nuts with overthinking, that’s me). On the dennybrew site it suggests a rectangular cooler. I had planned on going the route of rectangular cooler but found a 10 gallon round cooler pretty cheap. Here’s my question: Is there any benefit of a rectangular cooler over round one? The round one: 45 bucks, the rectangular one: 51 bucks. If the rectangular ones work better, I don’t mind plunking down the extra few bucks. Thoughts on this are appreciated.[/quote]
Yes, there is. A rectangular cooler makes stirring easier. You also get more volume for your money. Around here, I can pick up a 70 qt. Coleman Extreme for about $35.
[quote=“MullerBrau”]I think a square one is better yet. Ref: Igloo Ice Cube 48 quart. My efficiency rocks with this one but now I gave it to my son for his brewing. I have a 60 quart and a rectangular 120 quart. The 60 has much better efficiency, probably because the wort has a shorter route to get out in a square cooler.
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Greg, I’m sorry, but that makes no sense, either in theory or practice. I use 48, 70, and 152 qt. coolers and my efficiency is tthe same if all other parameters are held constant.
If you batch sparge, there is no point to that. It can also make stirring more difficult. All the draining happens at the outlet, so as long as you’re batch sparging a 3" piece of braid works as well as that loop. The only advantage to the loop would be if you fly sparged.
If you batch sparge, there is no point to that. It can also make stirring more difficult. All the draining happens at the outlet, so as long as you’re batch sparging a 3" piece of braid works as well as that loop. The only advantage to the loop would be if you fly sparged.[/quote]I fly because it suits me better with the huge grain bills.
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“MullerBrau”]I think a square one is better yet. Ref: Igloo Ice Cube 48 quart. My efficiency rocks with this one but now I gave it to my son for his brewing. I have a 60 quart and a rectangular 120 quart. The 60 has much better efficiency, probably because the wort has a shorter route to get out in a square cooler.
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Greg, I’m sorry, but that makes no sense, either in theory or practice. I use 48, 70, and 152 qt. coolers and my efficiency is tthe same if all other parameters are held constant.[/quote]I only get about 65% on my 120 quart with 55-85# grain bills. 75-90% on the 60 quart.
If you batch sparge, there is no point to that. It can also make stirring more difficult. All the draining happens at the outlet, so as long as you’re batch sparging a 3" piece of braid works as well as that loop. The only advantage to the loop would be if you fly sparged.[/quote]I fly because it suits me better with the huge grain bills.[/quote]
I’d be inclined to attribute that to the larger grist bill rather than the cooler.[/quote]Without a doubt.[/quote]
So, just in case the OP is misunderstanding, the cooler size and shape really has nothing to do with efficiency. It’s more ease of use and cost effectiveness.
Please forgive my ignorance but I don’t understand how a rectangular cooler or a straight hose braid vs a loop would make easier. Also, since this will be my first all grain, I really don’t know at this point if batch or fly sparging will be my preferred method.
Any thoughts on this is appreciated.
[quote=“Misfit”]Please forgive my ignorance but I don’t understand how a rectangular cooler or a straight hose braid vs a loop would make easier. Also, since this will be my first all grain, I really don’t know at this point if batch or fly sparging will be my preferred method.
Any thoughts on this is appreciated.[/quote]
I’d advise you to start with batch sparging since it’s easier, takes less time and equipment, and produces beer as good as any other method. I have batch sparged 485 batches using the equipment on my web page and I still think it’s a great method to produce award winning beers.
I decided to stop overthinking and just buy the rectangular cooler. Paid 42.00 shipped to me from home depot. Now time to annoy everyone with other questions.
