Chapman 10 Gallon ThermoBarrel Stainless Steel Mash Tun

This tun is absolutely perfect. Held my temps exactly for 90 minutes and my efficiency was on par with my usual brew days. (78%) This will last me a lifetime and was worth every penny.

The heat retention is great with typically 1 degree or so loss in an hour. The issue I'm having is that I get stuck mashes almost every time I use it. These are problems I never saw with my converted cooler. The supplied nut that came with the elbow rested on the bottom of the tun so I suspected that may be the cause of the problem. I changed the nut and raised the pickup off the bottom and it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I may need to try a stainless braid as a last resort and ditch the false bottom.

Sooo excited that it arrived today. I’m like a kid on Christmas morning!! It looks better than I expected! I spent lots of hours researching stainless steel mash tuns and concluded that this is the best on the market! Out of the box first impressions... packaging: perfect... Assembly: no instructions... quick google search found a YouTube video from mfg that clearly explains assembly. Would be nice to have a note in the box informing me about the video... watch the video and it becomes intuitively obvious... couldn’t be easier! Would have been nice to know in advance that I needed Teflon Tape. Leak Test: 1 hour - full tank and NO leaks... Thermometer Test: Tap H2O temp was 100% accurate with no calibration. Will test at Mash Temp when I use it. I don’t expect an issue. Ok why the one star reduction? The first time I grabbed the handle on the lid to remove it I sliced open the palm of my hand. Yes there was blood and cussing involved... EVERY other part of the product was perfect and high quality except on mine, there are very sharp edges on the edges of the lid handle AND on one of the spot welds. This shouldn’t be a problem because I should be able to use an emery board or a file to smooth it out. That said it should have been QC’d before it was shipped... NOT a big deal and won’t effect functionality. A beer and a bandaid calmed me down... I still believe I made the right purchase decision. Can’t wait to use it!

Holds the tempature within 2 degrees after 90 minutes. Could have gotten a cheaper plastic mash tun but I'm not a fan of hot liquid in plastic. It's a one time purchase investment. It is performing perfectly.

I was looking forward to brewing with the Chapman 10 Gallon mash tun. Unfortunately I could not receive a good product. First and second mash tuns were received with dented lids, missing the false bottoms and associated hardware. Third replacement unit was sent which was a prior model that looked to have been returned by a previous person. It was missing ALL hardware (Ball valve, thermometer, false bottom and associated hardware).Mash tuns were shipped from Brewcraft USA. There seems to be a series quality control issue at Brewcraft and Chapman. I had even requested the third replacement unit be inspected prior to shipping. This obviously did not happen.I cannot recommend purchasing a Chapman mash tun unless you are willing to spend months trying to receive a good product. Spend the additional money buy and directly from SS Brewtech.

The ThermoBarrel arrived in excellent condition. It holds temperature much better than my old Igloo setup and is easier to clean. I am happy to be out of plastic and would strongly recommend this to anyone wanting to upgrade their mash setup.

The bulkhead fittings leak. I had to replace them. I would still buy it again because it is priced so reasonably and holds heat so well. If you have the tools and know how, it can be made to work.

I am very satisfied. Initial set up was not intuitive but I figured it out. Most importantly it maintains my grain temps close to 1degree loss over 60 minutes. It is easy to clean, and not too heavy.