Pot Size

[Grumpy Hobbit]

Ok hi everyone.

My first post here so be gentle.

I have been reading all i can about all grain. After kits and messing about with different things like yeast hops (dry Hoping) and the like i have been drawn to the dark side :pray: .

After reading so much, one thing i am still trying to work out is pot size. I was thinking about shiny things, I can't even go shopping (when forced to), without thinking what i could use for brewing. Now looking at Nordic optical I was looking at a 60L Thermo box as a MT and 2 slightly bigger pots for HLT and Boiler. Now everything up to now has been done for a 5 gallon brew length, but I might want to move to 10 gallons.

So back to the original question, what size should the boiler and HLT be? Would the 60L MT be ok or not?

I don't want to have to buy it all again if i moved on to bigger things. :hmm:

 

[Vossy1]

I don't want to have to buy it all again if i moved on to bigger things.

Welcome GH :thumb:

In that case go for a 100ltr pot as a HLT and Copper, and the 80ltr thermo box for a mash tun.
If you can't be bothered modding the 80ltr tb (it has no tap fitted as standard) then get the 70ltr TB, as it has a tap fitted (which is **** but is easily replaced).

 

[jamesb]

I don't want to have to buy it all again if i moved on to bigger things.

Welcome GH :thumb:

In that case go for a 100ltr pot as a HLT and Copper, and the 80ltr thermo box for a mash tun.
If you can't be bothered modding the 80ltr tb (it has no tap fitted as standard) then get the 70ltr TB, as it has a tap fitted (which is **** but is easily replaced).

I was looking at those 80l thermoboxes. Do you reckon I'd have much of a problem with the unused space if I wanted to do say... 4kg/2.7l mash? I suppose I could always stick a shaped piece of foam in there to stop the air taking the heat away.

 

[Vossy1]

I was looking at those 80l thermoboxes. Do you reckon I'd have much of a problem with the unused space if I wanted to do say... 4kg/2.7l mash? I suppose I could always stick a shaped piece of foam in there to stop the air taking the heat away

TBH I don't know. From a heat loss perspective as long as the tun was well preheated I can't see it losing much heat over an hour.
The more important question would be, can you get a decent depth of grain bed, with only 4kg in the TB...I'm not so sure :hmm:

 

[Vossy1]

I forgot to add that I'm in the same position.
I have the 80ltr TB. I want to make some Durden Park recipes but certainly not 60ltrs of them...even if I did the MT is too small

Anyway I digress, a few folk use a bucket in bucket mash system with smaller volume recipes, and place them in a pre-heated larger TB for the duration of the mash :hmm:
It's either that or buy a smaller TB...which TBH I'll probably do.

 

[jamesb]

I'm in the position of wanting to upgrade to a 50l brewlength, but I also want to reliably do 25l gyles as well. I don't really want to shell out twice. Maybe the 70k would do. Perhaps I should look at the dimensions and work it out.

And buy more cornies anyway

 

[brewzone]

Anyway I digress, a few folk use a bucket in bucket mash system with smaller volume recipes, and place them in a pre-heated larger TB for the duration of the mash :hmm:

Now that is clever!

 

[Vossy1]

I'm in the position of wanting to upgrade to a 50l brewlength, but I also want to reliably do 25l gyles as well. I don't really want to shell out twice. Maybe the 70k would do. Perhaps I should look at the dimensions and work it out.

FWIW, jb I'm not sure about some conceived brewing wisdom.
I'm pretty sure that a thin mash 2-3" in depth would probably only lead to 2 problems.
One being the fact that the sugars would rinse from the grain really quickly...problem... :hmm: ..not so sure, but chanelling could be an issue.
and the other being the fact that the depth of the bed may not filter as much particulate as a deeper bed.

Batch sparging, I find the bed never truley filters as well on the second batch and thus floury particulate can get through.

 

[Aleman]

I use a 50L Sanke for most of my beers . . . if I brew a 25L batch I tend to use a lot more grain and be deliberately inefficient . . . no sparge brewing this keeps the MT fullish I have a 80L thermobox for bigger batches of Bigger beers. For the 20L batches I am going to brew in future I have a 24.5L Thermobox.

It is important to match the size of the mash tun to the size of the brew length you are brewing for reasons that Vossy outlined