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What I don't like about the burner is that top lip that extends above the kettle. You would probably have to make some modifications if you wanted to use a larger pot. For what it's worth, the 3 turkey fryers I have I paid less than 30$ each at a store. I think they were on clearance...

I'm planning on rebuilding my ferm chamber this winter, and was hoping to get a collection of tips and "nice to haves" when planning it out. The basic design would be: Square or rectangular area in a garage that would hold x number of fermenters. Have heating (space heater) and cooling...

This is a tricky topic, and I do not believe you can generalize it in terms of "5 gallon buckets" or maybe even "Homer buckets". Who knows where the buckets come from at a California store vs one in Maine? Do they come from the same warehouse or distributor, or are they even the same material...

It doesn't really matter if it's wine or beer or anything, it's all about the pressure difference. It's true that during primary fermentation "air tight" storage isn't needed, or desired... however if you are aging a big beer (i.e. saison, barleywine) or wine or mead, and you are going to leave...

If you are doing full boils, I'd suggest 50' of 1/2" refer... it may be a bit big, but it will chill in no time, and future proof any move up to 10 gallon batches.

Assuming we are talking 5 gallons here, and no stir plate, I would skip the "step up" for 1.075-.90 and just do a 1 gallon starter. Adding a stir plate would make the starter size needed quite a bit smaller as well.

When you say "bad", how does it taste? You could get an infection at any point in the process (after the boil), so it's anyone's guess. About the only thing you can do is (next time) go through everything and make sure it gets sanitized.

It really depends on how badly scratched the buckets are. StarSan will work great on the surface of the bucket, but if there a lot of scratches, you may have a difficult time sanitizing it properly.

I used a 30qt alum pot for my BK for quite a while... it can be a pain, but it's certainly possible. I'm not a big fan of the 5gal round coolers, and think something larger (i.e. 48qt IceCube cooler) is a much better option. You can get them at Walmart for about $16.00. It's still a...

Only 80%, eh? :D I would say that 80%+ would be really good. Check out How to Brew - Appendix D - Building a Mash/Lauter Tun for some information on manifold design.

How much work are you willing to do on your own? You could very easily make a wood box out of some 2x4s and plywood to raise the burner up to the height you need. Even a sturdy table or a deck would work to give you the height you need to gravity feed. Your options are probably going to be...

Before you order online, do a price check with Lowes / Home Depot. Depending on what you get, and factoring in shipping, I've found the prices comparable if not cheaper at the store.

I paid about $12 for 3 queen size metal bed frames at garage sales. :)

mold is going to start if the tubing is dirty or has water trapped in it. Rather than rolling it up, hang the tubing up so it's as vertical as possible. If there is any water left, it should drip out. I have a coat hanger that I hang the tubing on so it can dry completely.

+1 This the way I did it for quite a while actually. Personally, I don't think the plexiglass case probably is going to really help all that much. You will want a work area with no air movement (i.e. no fans, kids/dogs/cats running around). I'm not sure if those little dorm fridges have...

Are you sure about those dimensions? 20Wx20D... are you really going to be able to fit 3 fermenters in there.. that seems kind of small, unless you are using cornys. As far as insulation, I'd use the 2" ridgid foam insulation. I'd also make sure that you are able to get a full fermenter in...

I agree, except with the "industrial strength cleaner" part... You may do more harm then good, as who knows what people might be able to obtain in regards to industrial cleansers. Make sure the part is rinsed well after it's done.. you can soak it in a boiling water/vinegar solution to clean...

Personally, my vote would be to use a bottle tree and a no rinse sanitizer. It only takes a few minutes to sanitize the batch of bottles, and you won't have any concerns with the heating / cooling cycles the bottles will go through in the dishwasher.

That actually made me chuckle... there are very few things that homebrewers agree on, 100% anyway. That's one of the benefits of being a homebrewer, I can do what I want. As I said earlier, there's no right or wrong answer, only opinions. :mug:

Ha... I'm in it to save money, and I'm still not convinced that you can't. This post being a good example, Sure you are going to have equipment costs, but over time... you are going start saving. It kills me everytime I have to spend 25-30$ for two 12-packs. :(