Help needed in my AG setup.

So I am collecting some stuff to make the jump to all grain. I am trying to do it on the cheap for now so I can see if it will work out for me. My pops had an old stainless steel table/bench behind his shop, so I snagged it and threw a piece of ply wood on top for now. Im going to cover it in linoleum or something more water proof. I also used some conduit I had to make a frame to hold my burner. I was thinking that It could be low, out of the wind and also will allow gravity draining from the MLT into the boil pot. I also got a freebie cooler but more on that in a minute. Im picking up another burner and 30qt pot with a drain to use for heating sparge water. That I will mount up on the top so it can drain into the MLT. I need to put it on wheels so I can move it easier and add a rack for holding the propane tank. My boil pot is one my granddad built. Its all stainless and is pretty damn big. Im not sure how big but the pot next to it is 8 gallons. I also got a free air tank, its rated for 4500lbs so if I fill it once, it should be good forever. I was going to set it up to aerate my wort.

I have a few questions though. The cooler I got has a drain, but its not the type that has the channel for no tilt draining so the drains about a half inch off the bottom. This is my question.

Can you tilt a MLT to help draining? If I tilt it I can drain all but a 1/4 gallon of the water in the cooler. If I have to leave it flat then I will lose a little over a half gallon. So after spargeing that will be 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon I wouldnt be able to get.

I am going to end up getting a different cooler eventually, or building one from a keg, but for now what should I do.

Here is the air tank.

SSRider said:

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Sweet bike man. And looks like you have a good start for the AG process. I'm not an AG-er yet but just wanted to comment on the bike :rockin:

I purchased a Coleman Cooler (white) with a removable drain. Took it to the local hardware store and had him fit it with brass values. My manifold made from copper pipe sits on the bottom and drain tube arcs slightly over the 3/8" tube into the drain hole. I have never noticed any wort left on the bottom of the cooler when I dump the grain. If there is it is marginal and can be made up for by sparging enough to get 5gal.

Nice set up. Looks like you lucked out with the table.

I think you have a really nice start there. You'll be fine tilting up the back end of the cooler to drain it.

How do you plan to transfer wort from the boiler to the fermenter? Do you have a pump, or will you lift-and-siphon?

jds said:

How do you plan to transfer wort from the boiler to the fermenter? Do you have a pump, or will you lift-and-siphon?

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This is the first ?? I had the second I saw the picture.

jds said:

I think you have a really nice start there. You'll be fine tilting up the back end of the cooler to drain it.

How do you plan to transfer wort from the boiler to the fermenter? Do you have a pump, or will you lift-and-siphon?

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For now I will only be doing 5 gallon batches, so while its not going to be light, I will lift it up and siphon it down. after reading a bit I am scrapping the air tank aeration idea and going to use a racking cain with a modified tube to aerate. Its not ideal since I have a bad back anyway, but I am in the design/collecting parts phase for a hybrid herms system. I got 2 kegs today and am getting another as well as a 6th barrel that will be used as my boil kettle and heat exchanger. Its going to take me a bit to put it all together as money permits, but It should be cool once its all together.

Right now my plan is to have a 1500 or 2000 watt 120v element for the HLT, and a 1500w 120v for the heat exchanger. I am still going to use gas to boil with. I would like to go all electric but I only have 30 amp service to the garage so no 240v for me. I am hoping that it will run the 2 elements with no problem. If it wont, I will have to install a 240 on the outside of the house and then can go all electric.