Crappy Argos!

[crookedeyeboy]

Im using a useless £16 cool box from Argos for my mash tun and its losing 4 degrees over 90 mins. Im going to insulate the lid as thats where all the heat is going but I just wondered in a nutshell how will those 4 degrees affect the beer?

[WishboneBrewery]

ASDA were selling their Coolboxes for a £5 a bit back, I think £7 being the regular price! They might need better insulation though, my own Thermos Coolbox does a pretty good job without any extra insulation When I can be bothered I'll maybe fill its air-gaps between the polystyrene and the Lid with expanding foam, though I just put a coat on the top to keep it cosy at the moment

[woodworm]

i usually stand mine on a blanket (cold tiled floor) then fold another small blanket over the lid then wrap the whole thing in a duvet better safe than sorry. I usually loose 1 or 2 degrees

[adodman]

I use red plastic covered boiler lagging from Wickes as insulation, only cost me a fiver and ended up with enough to insulate my stainless steel burco boiler HLT, my coolbox mashtun made with an Argos coolbox, and my old burco boiler that I use as a copper.

Only problems I've found is keeping it all free of spiders and the like when it is out of use in the garage, they soon scuttle out though once the heat is on...lol, and also it difficult to keep the perimeter of the mash tun clean of splashes. What I do though is wipe the upper part down with a concentrated bleach solution before use and leave it to stand for 15mins or so whilst I get my other kit together,then wipe it off.

Seems to work alright, I usually end up with a 1-2 degree loss over a one and half hour mash.

The beer tastes well when I drink it so it can't be that bad