Just call me Bob the builder; AG setup done.

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Willsellout

Willsellout

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After much thought on what I wanted and much reading your posts on "how to", I finished my AG stuff today. I found a 5 gal gott cooler at wal mart for 15 bucks so I bought it and then went to the plumber supply to get stuff for the bulkhead. I am testing for temp consistency and leaks as we speak, so far so good although it does leak a little if I push up or down on the valve, but only a little. I think I can deal with it. I am going back to wal mart to pick up another cooler for my hlt today and then I'm done!
I made my wort chiller yesterday with 40' of 1/2" copper tubing and garden hose attachments, it was way easier than I thought. This along with my new 10 gallon brew kettle and I am all set for all grain. I will be brewing my last extract/PM this next weekend. Next brew will be AG...not sure what I'm going to brew but it will probably be something simple like an amber ale; no frills. All in all I think I spent around 250.00 bucks for everything I needed to go AG.

That's it, thanks for all of your help and the many threads started about converting coolers and making wort chillers etc...



Dan
 
Congratz man! Welcome to the AG world.

My MLT leaked a drop every 30 seconds when I first put it together... I went ahead and did my first mash anyway. After that mash, I guess the pressure and the heat sealed it because it doesn't leak at all anymore.
 
Awesome, now all you need is a 50# bag of 2-row. They only run around $35-$40! Welcome to less expensive and equal quality brewing.

(Some may argue that AG is higher quality and I may not disagree)...
 
knipknup said:
Awesome, now all you need is a 50# bag of 2-row. They only run around $35-$40! Welcome to less expensive and equal quality brewing.

(Some may argue that AG is higher quality and I may not disagree)...
Click to expand...

I was brewing quality beers doing extract but I always felt it was a little limited and formulating recipes with extract was damn expensive so I always stuck to kits. With AG, it's inexpensive and you have the freedom of doing your own thing without paying 60 bucks for ingredients. Now i have to start harvesting my yeasties so that I can cut that cost too...one thing at a time though:mug:


Cheers!

Dan
 
seefresh said:
Congratz man! Welcome to the AG world.

My MLT leaked a drop every 30 seconds when I first put it together... I went ahead and did my first mash anyway. After that mash, I guess the pressure and the heat sealed it because it doesn't leak at all anymore.
Click to expand...
I finished my test and it held the temp for an hour and a half, I preheated it as well so I'm sure that helped. It didn't leak at all, only when I pushed the bulkhead around did it leak...I can deal with that, although I would like to make the bulkhead less "squishy" and more rigid so it wouldn't leak. I will see what I can come up with. I also used the stainless braid for my filter and I will see how that works.



Dan
 
Willsellout said:
I finished my test and it held the temp for an hour and a half, I preheated it as well so I'm sure that helped. It didn't leak at all, only when I pushed the bulkhead around did it leak...I can deal with that, although I would like to make the bulkhead less "squishy" and more rigid so it wouldn't leak. I will see what I can come up with. I also used the stainless braid for my filter and I will see how that works.



Dan
Click to expand...
You'll find that the grain holds temp very well. I've seen my MT hold temp for over an hour at exactly 156 degrees. The key is make sure your grains are inside room temp so you don't loose initial heat when striking.

Note, even if your valve only leaks a small amount intermittently, place a couple layers of paper towels under the spot. That stuff is sticky and once it drips down, it manages to work its way here and there.
 
evanmars said:
And grow your own hops!
Click to expand...

I can get you some fresh ones around here in the fall. I'm going to grow some myself, but it takes a couple years for them to get established - but my friend who lives up in Savoy, and my wife's friend who lives on a farm in NY, have tons of hops growing at their places.
 
My mom is a Master Gardener and a big fan of my home brews. She is already telling me what kind of hops would grow best around here. She also has some friends who grow them for decoration:confused: .
 
evanmars said:
My mom is a Master Gardener and a big fan of my home brews. She is already telling me what kind of hops would grow best around here. She also has some friends who grow them for decoration:confused: .
Click to expand...

I was planning on Cascades; I've heard they are pretty hardy, and they're so mofo tasty... :D Can you check with her on whether they would be a good choice?
 
postpics.gif
 
Willsellout said:
Now i have to start harvesting my yeasties so that I can cut that cost too...one thing at a time though:mug:
Dan
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar boat, I'll be doing my first AG tomorrow (too much snow to do it last week)... But really, re-using yeasts is soooooo easy... Do you make starters before you pitch now? Because harvesting is basically as easy as that (or easier)...
And anywhere on "the OR coast" should be able to grow hops no problem; I mean it's no Willamette Valley, but still....
 
Oh yeah, make best pic as small as possible! Darn atomic chains get the spotlight...
 
Excellent stuff! Thanks for posting your pics. What size and brand is that kettle?
 
Tony said:
Excellent stuff! Thanks for posting your pics. What size and brand is that kettle?
Click to expand...


No problem, I just had to resize them to post. The kettle is from Beer Beer and more beer; it's their 40 quart ss model. I think it was 125.00 or so. The thing is huge, and it's wide and squat, not tall and skinny which is nice. Now I need to cut out notches in the lid for the wort chiller and I'll be done. Doing everything myself saved me a ton of money. Probably around 75 bucks altogether vs. buying everything pre made and it was so much easier than I thought it would be. Although I did kink the wort chiller and have to cut about a foot off, that's why they inlet and outlet are on opposite sides.



Dan
 

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