My Brewing Equipment- Critiquing welcome.

I am in the process of purchasing all of my brewing equipment, but wanted to run past it all of you first. I plan to do a handful of extract brews and then move on (if i feel comfortable at that point in time). Also, I have access to a mini-fridge that might work for kegging (I'm hoping for 2 taps), so I plan on going straight into it. I'm thinking of doing glass carboys for primary and secondary fermenting, or primary in carboys, secondary in cornies.

Feel Free to add anything i miss or let me know if I'm completely mistaken on something i'm looking at getting.
EDIT: I already have Palmer's "How to Brew" Book.
(Note, I'm not necessarily going to buy the exact ones shown in the link, as i have a local store i would like to support, just showing ideas.)

Equipment:
8 Gallon Brew pot
Propane Burner
2 or 4- Glass Caboys for primary and secondary fermenting
2 or 4 cornelius kegs for secondary and kegging
Dual Tap System (fittings/CO2)- havent picked 1 yet, need to figure out if i have to buy a mini-fridge or not.
Airlocks
Hydrometer
Carboy Brush
Auto-siphon and tubing
Sanitizer

I personally prefer fermenting in plastic buckets opposed to glass carboys. Easier to carry and clean, no risk of trips to the ER from mishandling, and they are super cheap (I pay $15 per). Bottom line is that it all comes down to personal preference and what your budget can hold. I would suggest at least a 10 gallon pot. I use an 8 gallon one and it works, but I have to watch my boil really close. I don't see any kind of temperature control for your fermentation and you will want to use a "swamp cooler" at the very least. Basically a large tub half-full of water that you rotate bottles of ice or use an aquarium heater to maintain proper temps. Everything else looks good! The DIY section has lots of kegorator builds so give that a look for ideas.

OClairBrew said:

I personally prefer fermenting in plastic buckets opposed to glass carboys. Easier to carry and clean, no risk of trips to the ER from mishandling, and they are super cheap (I pay $15 per). Bottom line is that it all comes down to personal preference and what your budget can hold. I would suggest at least a 10 gallon pot. I use an 8 gallon one and it works, but I have to watch my boil really close. I don't see any kind of temperature control for your fermentation and you will want to use a "swamp cooler" at the very least. Basically a large tub half-full of water that you rotate bottles of ice or use an aquarium heater to maintain proper temps. Everything else looks good! The DIY section has lots of kegorator builds so give that a look for ideas.

Click to expand...

I assume there are no disadvantages of going bigger for the brew pot? If not, i can upgrade to a ten gallon no problem.

As for the carboys, i want to watch it ferment/i like the look of them so the added cost isn't a huge deal for me (I'll also purchase the carboy straps, to make for easier handling).

Thanks!

The only disadvantage to the larger pot is that it takes more room to store it. Carboy straps are a great idea, milk crates are even better. Welcome to the hobsession!

OClairBrew said:

I personally prefer fermenting in plastic buckets opposed to glass carboys. Easier to carry and clean, no risk of trips to the ER from mishandling, and they are super cheap (I pay $15 per). Bottom line is that it all comes down to personal preference and what your budget can hold. I would suggest at least a 10 gallon pot. I use an 8 gallon one and it works, but I have to watch my boil really close. I don't see any kind of temperature control for your fermentation and you will want to use a "swamp cooler" at the very least. Basically a large tub half-full of water that you rotate bottles of ice or use an aquarium heater to maintain proper temps. Everything else looks good! The DIY section has lots of kegorator builds so give that a look for ideas.

Click to expand...

+1 on these comments. Plastic is much easier/cheaper and less dangerous but if you have a need for a secondary later on, they are great to have. Also, I may even go to a 12-15 gallon if you can afford it later on for the bigger brews or a BIAB.

Thanks for all of the feedback..

As i have the itch (and its always nice to have been bottles of your homebrew!) I've decided to put a finalized list, so i can purchase it at some point tomorrow. Random questions,

Kit (contains 2-5 Gallon Glass Carboys, 6.5 Gallon Plastic Fermenter, 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot, 4 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser, 2 Universal Carboy Bungs, 2 Airlocks, 8 Inch Funnel, Hydrometer, Bottle Brush, Carboy Brush, Black Beauty Bottle Capper, Bottle Caps, 2 Liquid Crystal Thermometers, Bottle Filler, Fermtech AutoSiphon, Siphon Tubing and Shutoff clamp) Question- Will the 5 gallon be too small for a secondary?
Extra Fermenting Bucket
15 Gallon SS BrewPort
21 Inch SS Spoon
Propane Burner (15x15, my brewpot has a diameter of 19. Will this be an issue?)
Immersion Chiller
2 carboy hallers (cloth straps)

Does it look like i missed anything?

Does it look like i missed anything?

Click to expand...

Ingredients

hedbutter said:

Thanks for all of the feedback..

As i have the itch (and its always nice to have been bottles of your homebrew!) I've decided to put a finalized list, so i can purchase it at some point tomorrow. Random questions,

Kit (contains 2-5 Gallon Glass Carboys, 6.5 Gallon Plastic Fermenter, 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot, 4 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser, 2 Universal Carboy Bungs, 2 Airlocks, 8 Inch Funnel, Hydrometer, Bottle Brush, Carboy Brush, Black Beauty Bottle Capper, Bottle Caps, 2 Liquid Crystal Thermometers, Bottle Filler, Fermtech AutoSiphon, Siphon Tubing and Shutoff clamp) Question- Will the 5 gallon be too small for a secondary?
Extra Fermenting Bucket
15 Gallon SS BrewPort
21 Inch SS Spoon
Propane Burner (15x15, my brewpot has a diameter of 19. Will this be an issue?)
Immersion Chiller
2 carboy hallers (cloth straps)

Does it look like i missed anything?

Click to expand...

Wort Chiller (if you're doing full boils)
I like 6.5g carboys for primary, but a bucket is fine. I find I need at least two primaries.
A 5g carboy is fine for secondary, but I hardly ever use a secondary any more.

-a.

EvilDeadAsh said:

Ingredients

Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, i'm going to stop by my local brewstore sometime this week and see what they recommend.

Just placed my orders to Midwest supply and amazon (their price for carboy carries couldn't be beat). It's looking like everything will be here between Friday and the following Tuesday. That means i can brew in 2 weekends!

Thanks for all of the suggestions and help.