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[hedgerow pete]

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[Marshbrewer]

Ultimately, I suppose the main question is, do they hold temperature? Mine is made from a Thermos cool box, and I don't think it has any insulation in the lid, but it seems to hold temperature fine.

However, you've now got me thinking I should have a go at filling it with foam, lol.

[hedgerow pete]

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[vacant]

A tenner gets you a hot water cylinder jacket with pieces you can wrap around/over/under any suitable plastic storage container you have spare. I use one with my plastic boiler when mashing during BIAB.

[Hairybiker]

I used one for many many years and it used to keep to with in 2 deg over 90min. That was without any extra padding. I did however add a towel to the top to keep the heat in.

[LeeH]

The igloo coolers are very popular across the pond so I presume they are fully insulated.

Can be had on amazon uk the last time I looked.


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[hedgerow pete]

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[Kev888]

It has probably been 15-20years since I bought a new cool box for mashing in, but even then all the basic ones were exactly as you describe - only the flat sections had thin polystyrene insulation sheets between the walls, none of the corners and few of the lids had anything between them other than air. The other issue was that the stated capacity sometimes included head space in the lid, which of course couldn't be used by the mash.

They will do the job if you're on a budget, as many of us were/are, but not especially well. The premium ones can be better (not always), but as you say quite expensive. So yes, people have wrapped all sorts of things around them from temporary old duvets to sheet insulation covered lovingly in shiny stuff. The double-walled stainless thermopots have about 25mm of (PU?) foam between their walls, and so are quite popular. You'd be looking at around £100 delivered even for a 33L one, from a UK retailer, perhaps £15 more for the 50L, but maybe not bad value compared to premium plastic cool boxes.

I've generally been too tight for that, so have mainly used plain pots with DIY insulation in recent years. The main weakness (aside from having to insulate them) is that the lids tend not to seal very well, so you may still want to lag that bit (or tape/cling-film them up) when mashing - or cast a silicone seal or something like that. The other is that they take a bit more pre-heating than thin plastic, but thats easily compensated for. Some people are also daunted by cutting holes in stainless, though it isn't at all hard if you're familiar with that kind of thing it might involve buying a tool, or there are retailers who will do it for you at a small cost.

[orlando]

I went for an Igloo at first, now I have a thermopot. Should have started with it, stainless is forever, despite what Shirley sings.