So I’ve been looking for an alternative to picnic coolers for 10+ gallon, batch sparging, and I think I’ve come up with a pretty good idea. (This is mostly directed at anyone that works in food services / bar industry.) How well do we think a bar/restaurant ice bin would be at holding temperature? Most of them are insulated stainless steel with a 1/2 drain on the bottom. I’m figuring I’d just have to fashion some kind of insulated lid, but that should be fairly easy. Any thoughts?
-Kevin
Why is that a better option than a 70 qt. cooler?
Unless it was free I would just go the cooler route
The idea of mashing in stainless steel instead of plastic definitely appeals to me, regardless if they call it “food-grade” or not. They used to call asbestos safe too. If it keeps ice cold, don’t know why it wouldn’t work. Same concept as a cooler. I’d say go for it if you can pick it up at a reasonable price.
I do a lot of work with restaurants. Are you referring to the ice bins below ice machines? Don’t those often have some sort of insulated plastic or pvc lining which contains the insulation?
they are usally plastic inside from what I have seen of them. I dont see how it would be any better than a cooler, more expensive, larger, and probably a lot more modifications to it
My thought would be “too heavy”. Plus it would take considerably more energy to get it up to temp.
My new mashtun idea is a goat stomach like they used to use to hold liquids. It would even provide extra enzymes for the first several batches. Great for those bock beers.
As for toxicity, what about the manganese, chromium and nickel in steel? If we’re going to be afraid of trace substances, lets give them all equal time. I think beer is probably most toxic but I’m willing to take that chance.
I was looking at an industrial autoclave (pressure cooker) the other day.
It had an electric coil in contact with liquid in the bottom, and a thermostat…I thought “Self-Regulating Mash Tun”. I think for the same or lesser price one could put a brew kettle on a hotplate and drop a thermostat inside.
As for the ice dispenser idea: I bet you would be better off insulating a metal pot for a similar end result.
+1. I guess it depends mostly on what you mean by “10+ gallon”. Coolers up to 150 qt are readily available and should accommodate almost any batch under 1 bbl or so.
