Recommended Equipment

I know in a perfect world 3 converted kegs would be best. But, I also have already purchased 5 gal & 4 gal kettles, a 5 gal round mash/lauter tun, 6 gal bottling bucket, 5 & 6 gal carboys (glass). I'm going into AG brewing, i can get my hands on a few converted kegs, but can I get by with just one or two of these? My random thoughts; 1) I can still use my 5 gal cooler as a MLT, get a second one as a HLT, and then use a keg as the boiling kettle. 2) I can use 1 keg as a MLT, another one as a Kettle, then use my 5 gal cooler for a HLT. 3) go buy a 10 gal round cooler as a MLT, 5 gal cooler as my HLT, keg as a kettle. Lord, i'm giving myself a headache

Option 3 looks like your best bet. The 5 gallon cooler isn't going to help much with your AG batches.

Parker36 said:

Option 3 looks like your best bet. The 5 gallon cooler isn't going to help much with your AG batches.

Click to expand...

I'll second that

A 5 gallon cooler as a HLT? Are you going electric heating? What I did until getting to kegs was this.
Get a ten gallon cooler & 1 keg.

Use the keg as your HLT, heating the water up on that. Do your mash and collect the runnings into what ever will hold them.

Once all the runnings are collected, put your keg on a burner and pour your runnings into that.

Then use your keg HLT as a keggle.

That's what my roomate and I did till we got flush with equipment.

3 is what I would go with.

Clutchdude... Aha! We'll call that option 4, which I must say I like very much

You might as well know it right now. You will find yourself experimenting with different configurations of brewing equipment and what frequently looks good on paper doesn't work so well in practice. You skills will outgrow some of your equipment and you will be forced to replace it with something better or bigger or both. It never ends, so don't let it get your down this early in the game. One of the things I enjoy most in this hobby is playing with and designing various gadgets to brew with. It's a creative hobby. Don't stress over it, just do it and improvise as you go until you cannot go further without some new piece of equipment. Your techniques will undoubtedly change and probably improve as you crawl deeper into the abyss of home brewing. Fasten your seat belt and your wallet! You are doomed.