I’m using a 5-gallon orange cooler at present. I’m thinking of moving to a rectangular Coleman Xtreme cooler (blue, of course)–probably when summer ends and the home improvement stores put things on sale. I routinely brew small batches for a variety of reasons (space, only beer drinker in home, etc.). I rarely brew above 7% ABV.
I’m thinking a 36-quart cooler would be plenty for my needs, and that anything larger might work against me (more surface space = more cooling). Thoughts?
The big reasons for eventually moving to a rectangular cooler are that it would be less awkward and to provide a more even (and more efficient?) mash bed.
Thats probably a really good idea for the size batches you want to do. If you use too large of a cooler and you’re doing smaller batches its harder to maintain a constant temperature of your mash. IMO… 72 quart coolers are too big for 5 gallon batches, they’re more suited for 10 gallon batches or really BIG beers like DIPA’s or RIS’s.
The 36-qt Xtreme is what I use all the time for my 5 gallon batches. Have gone as high as 1.080 without even coming close to running out of room. Go ahead and get the 36 and you’ll be good for you 3 gallon batches plus you’ll be covered if you want to do 5-gallons.