Suitable as a mash tun?

[PaleAle]

I have come across one of these which is s/s and holds about 28litres.

It is an ex army catering vessel has anyone else used these as a mash tun or even HWT

I plan to house it in a plastic box and insulate

It even has an inner lid inside the outer sealing lid

 

[Wez]

Wow, yes i'd use that, get a q-max punch to make sticking holes in it easy a good fitting box around it with some insulation and you have a TUN.

Nice :thumb:

 

[jamesb]

Nah. Rubbish. Tell you what, I'll take it off your hands for the scrap value. :wink:

 

[jamesb]

Nah. Rubbish. Tell you what, I'll take it off your hands for the scrap value. :wink:

 

[Wez]

So good you said it twice :thumb:

 

[corby_brewer]

dont listen to JB ill give you 2 goats and a sheep for it :thumb:

 

[Wez]

Ewe owe me a sheep DS

 

[Vossy1]

I did have a good look at ex army catering gear a while back. Once you start looking at larger volumes they aren't as cheap as new Chinese stuff. Having said that the army stuff is far more robust. Nice find :thumb:

 

[PaleAle]

Well I've produced my first ever Mash Tun which is a bit rough and ready but after a trial run using hot water only (60 degrees) it lost 0.8 degrees in an hour without pre heating first so I reckon it will do the trick. :pray:

Am I right in thinking with grain in it should hold temperature even better

Heres a couple of pics as I know you are fond of them :grin:

The next one shows my first ever wort chiller. I left the trial water in overnight in the garage and it only lost 8 degrees :grin:

 

[Wez]

All looks great, tidy work :thumb:

 

[tubby_shaw]

Looking good to me :thumb:
When do you pop your cherry ?

 

[PaleAle]

I was trying to get an IPA bottled ready for Xmas but from reading HBF that means I needed to start last week

Still finishing boiler but bought 5KW burner this week.

Also trying to find a good IPA recipe - Old empire clone would be good or maybe a ruby like Hob Goblin, any thoughts

 

[llannige]

Liking it so far.Keep up the good work. :thumb:

 

[bolty]

The grain will help keep the heat in. :thumb:

There is a really good Hobgoblin clone on Home Brew Talk by Orfy. I did it as my first AG here

You can really tell it's my first one... Everything laid out neatly like that... Not like that now! :lol:

 

[robsan77]

Hi,
I am new to this forum and the world of all grain but I am hoping that this wil be a source of great learning for me.

Just wondering about this mash tun and its given me an idea?.. Instead of the insulation, would it be possible to use hot water with an element and a copper tube for cooling as a way to maintain a steady temp? Would you be able to use such an idea instead of circulating the wort through a heat exchanger?

kind regards

Rob

 

[Vossy1]

Very tidy work PaleAle :thumb: As bolty has said, a mash is more stable than water regards temps, 0.8 deg loss with water is very good, so your your mashes will be even better :clap:

Hi,
I am new to this forum and the world of all grain but I am hoping that this wil be a source of great learning for me.

Welcome to the forum Rob :thumb:

Just wondering about this mash tun and its given me an idea?.. Instead of the insulation, would it be possible to use hot water with an element and a copper tube for cooling as a way to maintain a steady temp? Would you be able to use such an idea instead of circulating the wort through a heat exchanger?

Regards your question above it's not really possible to compare your idea to a HERMS or RIMS.
H/R systems constantly recirculate the runnings from the mash to the mash, to maintain a stable temperature throughout the mash bed. Your idea would only apply heat to the areas of the mash in contact with the mash tun walls. If you constantly stirred the mash it would be possible to distribute the heat, but it's not really a good idea to disturb the mash bed once doughed in. You would also be better off pumping the water around the outer walls of the mash tun, again to distribute the heat from the element and to avoid 'hot spots' in the mash.

Personally IIWY, I'd use simpler kit to begin your brewing, and not try and tackle a HERMS. If you do decide to go a HERMS/RIMS/other route, we will be hear to support you though, so fire away with the questions :thumb:

 

[robsan77]

thanks vossy, i see what you mean.