Stainless Vs Plastic Mash Tun

[braziliain]

At Homebrew club this week, the guys were trying to talk me into be building a coolbox mash tun and ditching the bag. That ended up with me starting my endless research (like I do) and I came across this.

Exbeeriment here

Does having an all singing all dancing stainless mash tun make for better beer?

What are your experiences?

 

[johnbarleycorn]

Been using a converted cooler for years now with no problem....use a stainless fermenter in brew fridge without airlock, just the stainless lid on. Ss fermenter along with temp control has changed my brews beyond belief......the mashtun works well so until it springs a leak or something similar, I will keep using it. The plastic itself hasn't degraded noticeably at all, its still smooth....it ain't broke...Ive got no need to fix it.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

2 x 25li brewing buckets a 3mm drill and a tap.
Better than any cool box system

 

[aamcle]

Stainless is shiny but that's about it's only advantage. Great beer can be made in SS or in Plastic, skill makes more difference than how shiny your kit is.


aamcle

 

[chthon]

I use my 10l steam cooking pot for mashing, and I have built a filter set up with plastic food buckets from the chips shop ("frietkot" in Flemish sounds better). So, at my side it is the reverse. And fermentation is done also in a plastic bucket. Secondary can be glass or plastic, depends on the volume.

 

[monkeyboy79]

why bother with all the hassle and expense of building one, I seem to remember a perfectly excellent one for sale on this very forum :whistle:

 

[Fil]

Heat retention and insulation quality is key when mashing without any active heat input.

The thermopots used for the usual SS mashtun build ARE very good at retaining the mash temp However they do require a lot more preheating and a hike in strike temp too.

You can achieve similar and better heat retention without going stainless but if you start spending that sort of money on a donner cold box (afaik coleman extreme range are good but expensive.. keep ice solid for a week good.. ) you may as well go stainless

that isnt ment to imply you need to spend big to get good insulation, my initial cold box tun held a good temp with minimal insulation upgrading.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I loose 1oC over 1 hour with my set up, with just a quilt thrown over it. Never a blockage, stripped and cleaned in 2 mins