New Mash Tun

[Iantheyounger]

All

I am looking for a mash tun and would be grateful to hear other's experience. Does anyone have a recommendation up to about £50? Are picnic coolers much of a muchness? What size do people recommend? ( I generally do 25l brews but also the occasional 7.5l)

Thanks

Ian

[lord groan]

Not much of a muchness beware, most cheap coolboxes are twin walled with air between, the good ones are foamfilled. The air filled ones won't hold temperature at all for a mash. The foam filled ones are generally excellent.
Look for ones that boast 5day performance, Coleman xtreme, igloo maxcold, and thermos all do well insulated boxes but some not so good too.
I'm currently using a 1960's Coleman metal cased coolbox, it has polystyrene filling between the lining and metal skin. I built an external case for it from 25mm foam sheet and as long as I prewarm it my mash doesn't have any measurable heat loss over 90 mins. (I measure to an accuracy of 1 degree. My last homemade Mt lost around 2-3 degrees over 90mins.
Try and find one with a drain in the bottom, very useful for fitting a tap.