Did my first batch.

And as John Palmer said, it was easier than I expected.

I have two extract batches under my belt and decided to make the jump. I bought a 10 gallon beverage cooler from Amazon for $40, put an octagonal cpvc manifold in the bottom and put a ball valve in according to FlyGuy's sticky.

I used a pre-crushed Irish Red Kit from Northern Brewer. Everything went well, I put my 3 gallons of strike water in and the temp stabilized at 156°, slightly high, added some ice. Hit 153°, so I went in the house to watch TV and drink beer with my assistant. Hit the 1 hour mark popped the top to have a look. I thought "boy the water looks pretty clear, I don't know if that worked."

Cracked the valve to vorlauf and the wort looked like apple cider: yes! I got 2 gallons of first runnings so 4.5 gallons went in for the sparge. Boiled like usual and threw it in the bucket. It is now happily bubbling away.

The only screw up: I never took an OG or FG reading, so I have no idea how efficient my setup is. Oh well, it should be beer in the end. Plus, it gives me reason to do another batch (like I need a reason). With one pot and one cooler I was able to brew 5 gallons in 3:45. But, I think I can cut that time down even more.

I typical get around 70 percent efficiency with the same type of set up.

did you use an immersion chiller? was this a kitchen brew or outside on a burner? That's fast. I'd like to say I can get it done in 4 hours but I don't have the money for a damn chiller right now, which is really hurting my time.

Yes, I've got a chiller. 50' x 3/8" copper that I made. This was in my garage using a 185,000 BTU burner. I've got a sink in my garage which helps. I also tapped into the cold supply line and added a 1/4 turn spigot.

I added an adapter so I can hook 3/8" vinyl tubing directly to it. Makes filling my kettle a snap and it connects directly to my chiller.

Excellent. I'm getting some parts for my e-kettle conversion this week and that will put me in the basement and out of the kitchen. Still, no chiller is adding an hour to my brew-day at least. Price of copper is prohibitive to me.

It's 3/8" OD copper (1/4" ID)?

Yes, it's 3/8" OD copper coil, but I'm sure the ID is larger than 1/4". It's pretty thin-walled. Lowe's P/N: 311863 is pretty close to what I bought.

I misspoke too, it is actually only 40' long. It's actually two 20' sections linked together. The 3/8" ID vinyl tubing slips over the copper and I use stainless hose clamps to keep it attached.