I bought a keggle - what are my options?

So, I got a little ahead of myself last year and bought a keggle before I knew anything about all grain brewing. It was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up, since I knew I wanted to eventually wean myself off the extracts. So, the day has come, I am ready for all grain ... but, what exactly did I purchase last year? What Are my options?

My assessment ...
- It's a 15.5 gallon keggle.
- I has a sight glass for seeing how many gallons of liquid are in the keg.
- The sight glass has a temperature gauge built.
- one valve below, one valve up to.
- false bottom

Now what? ...
- it has a false bottom, so is it best used as a mash tun?
- what is the top valve used for?
- why would there be a sight glass for a mash tun?
- is the bottom 1 inch plug for an electric heating element? If so, why is there only one ... one i not enough for boiling 10 gallons of water, right?
- what are my all grain options with this piece of hardware.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

a keggle is very, very versitle. You could use it for a HLT, MLT, or kettle.

I use mine for BIAB and love it, love it, love it

top valve normally used for recirculating during the mash, or even in an HLT to prevent stratification of heat.

1" plug could be used for lots of stuff, including an electric element.

I use my keggle for biab as well. having a false bottom is actually great because it will lift the grain and bag off of the bottom of the keg so that you can direct fire during the mash. If you are biab you can also buy a pump and recirculate the wort between the lower ball valve and upper ball valve to help maintain temps as well. The sight glass then comes into play once you start to boil when the grain is pulled.

I agree with prymal .. It's a great machine - you could also use it as a single vessel cooler system, that's what I currently use for 10 g batches, and hope to convert to electric soon !

It has some sexy welds, what did you pay for it ??

we use three keggles in our system. Started out with gas, but converted to electric 240VAC elements about 10 months ago (AWESOME). 1 is the boil kettle, 1 is the Hot Liquor Tank (HLT), and 1 is the mash tun. We have a march pump and a bunch of quick disconnects (QD's). We built our own counter-flow chiller, and use it in conjunction with our old immersion chiller to QUICKLY get the beer from 212 to 70. We brew 13.5-14-gallon batches and split three ways. (gotta be vigilant 'til after hot break, but like to push our luck )

The plug needs to be 1 1/4 inch for a heating element
but one element is more than enough if you use a 5500 watt 240 volt element
you can find out alot about E brewing by searching the electric brewery

You will also be surprised how well the heat is maintained in a keg during mash. I bought three and just recently did my first AG. Was very happy how well it went and sure they will last a lifetime of usage.

It seems the false bottom is set a bit higher than some other keggles I have seen. It looks to be designed in this manner to have everything set up above the obstructions (temp gauge, drainage valve, 1 1/4" plug) for easy stirring. This is nice, but it looks like it may make 5 gallon batches impossible. I poured 5 gallons of water in the keggle to see how it looked; and it ended up that the water is only a two inched above the false bottom.

Am I correct in assuming that this is not an acceptable amount of water contact for a 5 gallon recipes? It looks like it may be suited more for 10 gallon recipes ... ?
If so, I may just end up removing the false bottom and using it as a boiling keg (for 5 gallon batches), or make sure I only use it for 10 gallon mashes.

Also, this keggle did not include a dip tube. Any suggestions on where to buy one, or which one to use? Should I get one that stops at the side, or one that goes to the middle?

BIAB is tempting for 5 gallon batches, but I would assume 10 gallon batches are tough due to the weight of all the wet grain.

Thanks!

remember you are going to need 6+ gallons pre-boil

KIAKillerXJ said:

remember you are going to need 6+ gallons pre-boil

Click to expand...

Still though, like I said, with five gallons of water in the keggle, only 2" sticks up above the false bottom. Add another gallon of water and there is still a lot of water under the false bottom. Add the grains and I assume that it would be come a thick unstirrable mess since half of the water is unaccessible underneath the false bottom. Or am I wrong? I have never done an all grain beer, so I am a bit clueless. I just want to make sure I understand all of this correctly so I don't buy unnecessary equipment.

I guess most people that use Keggles do 10 gallon batches, not 5?

I use a keggle and have done both 5 and ten gallon batches. I do five these days, because I can brew more often and it makes my brew day more managable and relaxed. I can understand wanting to do ten if you are brewing with a friend and splitting the batch, though.

I do BIAB almost exclusively these days. I have done ten gallon batches with a bag (24 pounds of grain, dry weight) and the issue for me wasn't the weight of the bag or the strength of the bag, but getting the bag out of the narrower opening of a keggle. With the larger grain bill, it can take a little coaxing to ease the bag through. If you make a bag that tapers from the middle to the bottom so that the grain can settle into more of a cone, it will be easier.

Make sure your keggle doesn't have any sharp burrs in the opening that could snag the bag (yours looks really nice and this is probably not a concern).

I brew under an overhang to which I can tie a rope to hang my brew bag and let it drain. I would definitely recommend coming up with something like this for anyone using this method, as it is much easier than holding the bag up while it drains. I don't squeeze my brew bag as I don't want to stress the seams. Some people figure something out with a step ladder...

If you don't sew and don't know anyone who does, I make brew bags and have a design specifically for keggles. Congratulations on moving towards all grain!

Brew in a Bag - Brew In a Bag - Home

It really sounds like your keggle was set up for use as a boil kettle. The screen(false bottom) up that high would allow for whole leaf hops to be added but yet keep them away from your accessories.

You are correct in thinking that mashing in this would not allow for enough hot water to be in contact with the grains above the "bottom". Can you modify the height of it?