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bhegarty · 01-14-2009, 01:54 AM

Noob here.

I'm looking to see if anyone has a good link/instructions and/or pros/con for using a 10 gallon SS kettle with thermometer and spigot as a mash/lauter tun, then for the boiling of the wort.

Thanks for the replies.

The Pol · 01-14-2009, 01:59 AM

Dunno about a source... but you will have some difficulty.

#1 Mashing in the kettle is a good idea
#2 Where is your sparge water coming from, and what are you draining the mash tun (kettle) into?
#3 You have to clean the kettle prior to boiling the wort
#4 You have to transfer the wort back to the kettle

It can be done, but you will get tired of it fast I think.

bhegarty · 01-14-2009, 02:03 AM

Thanks for the reponse.

Sparge water will be coming from another 3-4 gallon(approx) SS kettle.
Mash tun will be draining into the plastic primary which has a spigot.
Sparge will be draining into the same plastic primary with spigot.
Wort will be trnasfered back to 10 gallon SS kettle via primary spigot.

Primary then gets sanitized for later use.

The Pol · 01-14-2009, 02:06 AM

Okay... how large is your plastic primary? I ask, because you will run off about 6.5 gallons of wort for a 5 gallon batch of beer prior to the boil.

Your HLT kettle, the larger the better... the smaller it is, the more water you will have to use to mash with. Maybe not a problem, but it will make for a thinner mash than is customary. (still good beer)

Generally in a 5 gallon batch I need about 8-9 gallons of water total. If your HLT for the sparge water is only 4 gallons, you will have to mash with 4-5 gallons of water. That is 16-20 quarts of water. For a 8-10 pound grain bill you are looking at 2 quarts/pound, not by choice, but necessity.

bhegarty · 01-14-2009, 02:15 AM

The plastic primary is 6.5 gallons.

I have a polarware 10 gallon brew kettle with 4 inch thermometer and spigot. I was thinking that I could buy a false bottom and bazooka screen and use it as a mash/lauter tun and use various buckets (primary and other buckets) to collect the wort before returning it to the brew kettle.

Thoughts?

The Pol · 01-14-2009, 02:17 AM

Like I said, it is possible... you will have to mash with copious ammounts of water due to your lack of HLT volume. You will have to clean the kettle prior to the boil... you CAN do it, it WILL work, but Id think youd get tired of it.

bhegarty · 01-14-2009, 02:24 AM

Thank you for reponding.

So it can be done, but it sounds like it is going to be a pain in the a**.

I guess I have to invest in a MLT and use the kettle as a HLT to keep life simple.

The Pol · 01-14-2009, 02:29 AM

It will be much harder to brew AG this way, than it would be if you had a dedicated HLT, MLT and boil kettle. But yes you can do it

bhegarty · 01-14-2009, 02:41 AM

Thanks Again

fratermus · 01-14-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhegarty

I'm looking to see if anyone has a good link/instructions and/or pros/con for using a 10 gallon SS kettle with thermometer and spigot as a mash/lauter tun, then for the boiling of the wort.

The main upside (other than using minimal equipment) would come from the ability to do a multi-rest infusion (ie, stepping up the heat) without having to add more water. Based on the input from others I don't know if this is a compelling reason or not.