As a Gatorade cooler masher, I am limited to 28 pounds of malt at a very thin (1 qt) mash (= less than desirable efficiency) in the 10 gal cooler. In an effort to go larger (more importantly thinner mashes) I was looking at the various larger volume stainless and aluminum pots available (e.g. Blichmann, Megapots) but wonder about their insulating capabilities. Are they are capable of maintaining consistent mash bed temps for 1 hr?
Not unless you heat them during the mash or insulate them.
I use an 8.5 gal for small beers, 15 gal for bigger, or no sparge. I made slip on insulation out of the wife’s old yoga mats. If it’s below 60° out and I mash for 90 min, I add low flame usually once for ~5 min to keep the temp up.
Why don’t you just go to a larger cooler? Still be cheaper than a pot
Pots are great if you can insulate, recirculate or heat directly. If not, yeah the big 70qt. coolers work great. And contrary to popular opinion on this forum the green ones perform fantastically. 