Does anybody have any recommendations for type of cooler and size to get? Preference on vertical or horizontal?
Thanks!
BLUE :) I have a 70qt Coleman Extreme and love it.
70 qt BLUE Coleman
Here’s the website I used to set mine up years ago.
The rectangular coolers are much more economical. Coleman has sizes from 52 qt all the way up to 150 qt that can fit most any homebrew batch size. You can build a manifold if you want to fly sparge in one, but I suggest starting out with batch sparging since it’s an easier build.
I have a two gallon cooler I use for most of my three gallon and smaller batches. I have a round ten gallon cooler for bigger batches. I got the ten gallon cooler because people kept saying I would want to be able to brew bigger and bigger batches. I didn’t. It’s fine that I have the capacity to mash a large batch but the problem is on smaller batches where the cooler is half full it loses temperature faster than a more full mash tun.
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I use the Igloo 5-Gallon round cooler. It’s easy to replace the spout with a ball valve and I built a false bottom out of CPVC. I was really nervous about how flimsy the interior of some of the rectangular coolers were because I didn’t want something that was going to leech out anything toxic during mashing. The Igloo is BPA free and I haven’t had any issues with capacity (even on higher gravity Belgians and Imperials), but if you want more capacity or are running 10-gallon batches Igloo makes a 10-gallon version.
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FWIW, all coolers I know of are made with HDPE and they’re all BPA free.
I don’t doubt that most modern coolers are BPA free (especially the nicer marine & Extreme ones), but some of the cheaper coolers I looked at ($20 range) just seemed super thin and sketchy. I guess if it isn’t a matter of leaching it could affect the temperature regulation. That’s good to know though Denny, because I’m close to upgrading for being able to handle larger batches.
Several months back I moved from a 5-gallon round cooler to a 9-gallon rectangular Coleman Xtreme (blue 
) for my small batches, which are generally in the 2.5 - 3.5 gal range. The reason it works is I’m not sparging (part of a general effort to streamline the brewing day, plus I’m liking the results). But it seems for someone doing typical 5-gallon batches and sparging, 70 qt seems typical. 5-gallon feels like a squeeze.
I use a 40 quart igloo marine rectangular - with a slight adaptation of the Dennybraid (copper elbow with silicone sleeve and SS dryer lint filter) - but I made one drastic move to improve my efficiency - my cooler is WHITE!!! (I know - sacrilege). I hope my Bo Pils turns out okay. 
Apparently you didn’t enjoy the sack of grain that magically appeared in your blue cooler every 4 or 5 brews. 
Is that what happens with those blue ones? My LHBS said I should be happy with my efficiency improving from 42% to 51% - hey, it’s a majority!
I use a 9 gallon and it’s good for 5 gallon batches up to about 1.080, but then it gets tight.
Yeah, that’s the magic! 52%? You may want to look into crushing those grains a bit finer.
I use a Coleman rectangle cooler. Works good and is easy to stir grain. Got all parts at Lowes. Make sure to get silicone hose to drain wort from LHBS. Lowes doesn’t carry it.
What do you guys think of the Coleman xtreme marine 70 quart cooler? I seem to be finding better deals on that one right now and is supposed to be (at least according to Coleman and some reviewers) a higher quality cooler than the Coleman xtreme.
My cooler is an old red coleman from the 1990’s that was sitting in the garage for 20 years…Holds temperature perfect…