mash tun size

[clarkeuk]

hi all
I usually do 5 gallon biab brews but am going to b getting a mash tun to up grade my set up and would like to do some 10 gallon brews as well and have been looking at a 45 litter and 56 liter insulated mash tun for the job in hand my questions are thus
#1 can the tun b too big for a 5 gallon batch [ too big to keep a steady temp ]
#2do you have to fully fill with hot water first to warm up the tun before the mash
cheers

 

[Dutto]

hi all
I usually do 5 gallon biab brews but am going to b getting a mash tun to up grade my set up and would like to do some 10 gallon brews as well and have been looking at a 45 litter and 56 liter insulated mash tun for the job in hand my questions are thus
#1 can the tun b too big for a 5 gallon batch [ too big to keep a steady temp ]
#2do you have to fully fill with hot water first to warm up the tun before the mash
cheers

Hmmm! A bit of "How long is a piece of string?" question.

It all depends on which type and size of Mash Tun you get.

For a heated Mash Tun (i.e. one with an element in it or one capable of being placed on a gas burner) then I see no hardship with varying the volume of grain to be mashed. because it can be heated if required.

However, for a Mash Tun like my own (a 32 litre cool-box) I wouldn't expect it to keep the heat with only a small amount of grain and it's correspondingly small amount of strike water.

Ditto to the second part of the OP. If the Mash Tun can be heated then there should be no need to pre-heat it before bringing the Strike Water up to temperature but for one's similar to my own I pour at least five litres of boiling water into it to pre-heat it before starting a mash.

Hope this helps. :thumb:

 

[clarkeuk]

Thanks Dutto
What is the maximum amount of grain you could realistically mash in your tun and maximum size of brew
Cheers


Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Wabby]

I have a 40l tun and it holds 5kg if grain to just over half way. So I recon comfortably about 8kg with enough space to 'batch sparge'.

 

[Dads_Ale]

I have a 25 litre F/V as a mash tun and you can get about 7.5 kg of grain in at a push. No room to batch sparge as it is full to the brim but fly sparging has given me 40 litres final volume with a abv of 4.7%.
I assume you have a good size boiler and HLT as well to cope with a 10g brew.

 

[JohnnyR]

I bought a 50 litre insulated stockpot with the intention of making some high gravity beers, or just one day being able to make ten gallon batches if I needed to. The one brew I've done so far has involved about 5.5kg of grain and 15 or so litres of water. Strike temperature was 75 degrees which set the mash at 65 degrees, and it lost no temperature at all for an hour and a half, even with removing the lid every so often to stir it all around.

 

[Dutto]

Thanks Dutto
What is the maximum amount of grain you could realistically mash in your tun and maximum size of brew
Cheers


Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Most I've ever mashed is just over 4kg of malt and I didn't feel that I was running out of room.

You might find this calculator useful for sizing your Mash Tun.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/

I use a Wilco 25 litre FV as a boiler so my boil limitation is 23 litres. (Done outside 'cos it "spits" a bit during the boil!)