Chapman 15 Gallon ThermoBarrel Stainless Steel Mash Tun

I upgraded my setup from a 10gal cooler MT to this 15gal Chapman. I must say that this bad boy held my temp at 150 for 90 min without dropping 1 degree on my first run. I had my RIMS ready to go because I didn’t have the faith but never had to hook it up. Wasn’t planning on a 90 min mash but ran to the store and got held up. Low and behold it was right where I left it. I thought the thermometer got stuck b/c it honestly didn’t move a hair. Opened it up at the end and confirmed with my digitial and it might have gone up 0.1 degree if that’s possible. I was very close to purchasing the Ss 20gal insulated MT but read many reviews about issues holding temp. I figured since I had a RIMS system what’s the point paying a premium over a kettle. Then I found this at nearly half the price. I don’t know how it held the temp like that; maybe the clamps on the lid. Also installed a Blichmann autosparge in the predrilled port which worked great with the lid on. Plenty of head space to spare but not brewing really high gravity. I would have gone with the 20gal just for insurance if it came with a false bottom but prob overkill. Only thing I changed was a more solid/stiff tubing for the false bottom to prevent a stuck sparge due to the other review (thank you). Also, I ended up drilling out the upper port to fit my autosparge before I realized they included the necessary hardware to make it fit. No matter. Instructions are lacking but hardly necessary. Very happy with my purchase.

I've had this tun a year and it has stood up well to repeated use. The 4 stars is mostly for cosmetics. It is not the prettiest mash tun I've seen but it works well. If I could I'd give it actually a 4.6 It has performed flawlessly. What I like most is the fact that it holds temperature well. In an hour 2F loss is typical. It has a recirculation bulkhead if desired but I've not used that feature since it hold heat so well.

Product arrived with a large dent on the lid and dents along the bottom. waited 2 months can live with dents along bottom but would like the lid replaced without waiting another 2 months. Please contact me at business number 702-863-1689.

We needed a larger mash tun for a barrel-aged beer.The stainless finish is so much easier to clean than our old "Gatorade" plastic coolers.Plus, scratches in the plastic were beginning to allow bad stuff to grow in the crevices.The thermometer is great if your water line is above it. If not, the reading will not be accurate of course.

Really nice looking mash tun, Its pretty rugged, the insulation is thick, probably nearly an inch thick. The lid fits snugly but the latches don't line up perfect. An issue the company says they are addressing In future models. Assembly was easy and fast with the youtube video. You have to thread in the thermometer, plug, valve and place the false bottom inside. That is it. 10 minutes if you are slow. I have the 15 gallon version. It held within 2 degrees with only. a five gallon batch being made. worked well. had a little grain come though during lauter. maybe need to Vorlauf more. I drained through a hop spider so it wasn't a problem. Really nice, shiny looking stainless. My plastic stuff is in the closet. this is on display on the shelf.

A note right at the start, I have yet to use this piece of equipment and I ended up sending it back due to cosmetic (and then some) damage upon arrival. I have been looking to move away from using my plastic cooler as a mash tun. Although, there is no conclusive evidence out there that using a plastic cooler *could* cause harm I decided to move away from using it just in case (remember when BPA wasn't a big deal?). This mash tun seems to hit the mark for everything I would need to get a good mash and all done in stainless steel. I was excited to get it but was disappointed that when I opened the package the tun was banged up pretty well. The thermometer was bent against the barrel, one of the clips were pushed in enough so that it hardly clipped on to the lid, and then there were two dents just below the handle. Normally cosmetic stuff doesn't bug me but I think this was a bit beyond cosmetic. Amazon was compliant and had UPS pick up the original mash tun at the house and I should be receiving the new one today or tomorrow. I will plan on posting a review when I test out the new one... as long as it is not banged up too.

I've done three batches of 100% all grain with this mash tun. First batch was 5 gallon for a test run. I do suggest pre warm your mash tun "no direct heat" I did not do this and had a large temp drop due to my errors. I had never done a solo all grain batch. I still achieved about 75% efficiency. The second batch I did I pre warmed the mash tun with 180 degree water for 20 mins and mashed in with 175 degree water worked perfect held 153-154 for 90 miniutes and never went below my target temp this batch got 82% effenicy also my OG higher than previous batches with my old setup and same recipe. Third batch I followed the same as the second and archived 82.5% efficiency on a 60 min mash. I had a few problems with missing fittings but Mr Chapman corrected the issue and made things right. This mash tun is worth the investment, I just wish I got the 20 gallon mash tun and not the 15! I have two more 10 gallon batches ready to brew and this takes the guess work on if my temp is going to fluctuat during a mash I can worry about other stuff. I do suggest the false bottom in the setup over the tube. By far this is the best investment in my brewing setup! I have a few more brews before it will cover its cost and know it's true efficiency but it shouldn't be very long. Most recipes I use came out in the past 5-5.5 abv but the last two have been at 6.0 abv so hopefully I can cut back on grains soon!

You need to find a better way to pack it for shipping. It's awesome and works great it just got ding up a little During shipping