Sparging with no new equipment.

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RuddurBall

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So after doing partial mash and extraxt batches, I am getting a propane burner and keggle for Christmas (I hope). I would like to try an all grain batch soon, but I got the dreaded "this hobby is pretty expensive" from the SWMBO. So what is the best way for me to sprage using just these materials that I already have?

Keggle
5 gallon pot (my current boil kettle)
10+ gallon Rubbermaid cooler (no spout) that I can't convert, and must still be useable.

My total budget for any solution has to be $10 or under. I'm not attached to any sparging method, I just want it to work.
 
yeah, BIAB is your answer here. You can do mash-in-a-bag sorta thing. I was planning to do same until I buy dedicated cooler and build copper manifold for it. Tomorrow I will do my first BIAB brew, the only problem with your set up you definatelly need larger pot. There is no way you can get away with 5 gal pot. I reccomend 10 gal atleast.
 
A grain bag can be had for about what you want to spend.

Heat strike water in your kettle, transfer to your cooler. Add the bag and then the grain, stirring as you add grain. Let sit, and heat sparge water in your kettle. Do a "dunk and stir sparge" in the kettle.

Add the mash water back into the sparge water and bring to boil.

You won't be able to do 5 gal batches like this, as you need some room for the volume that you will boil off and to prevent boil over. 3 gallon batches would be ideal, maybe 4 if you wanted to "f" with it a lot.

This is how I brew, 5 to 6 gal batches with a 5 gal cooler and an 8 1/2 gal pot.
 
Awesome. This was perfect. So as soon as Christmas rolls around I will convert my keg and start doing All grains, Thanks HBT!
 
Just put a ball valve and stainless steel filter from a plumbing supply line on the cooler and batch sparge. The cooler will still be very usable, in fact I'd argue that's it even more usable! I upgraded to all grain with exactly the same equipment you did. I'm about 15 batches in and it's still working like a dream. Better yet, I figure I'm saving about 30-40 dollars a batch (compared to buying commercial beer) so the equipment is paid off at this point.
 
The way I'd do this is to make yourself a big grain bag like the Aussie's BIAB. Mash in the cooler. Midway through the mash, heat up the rest of your water in the keg. When it's time to sparge, lift the bag out of the cooler and dunk it into the keg, stir the grain well, lift that bag and let it drip for a while. Remove the bag, pour the wort from the cooler into the keg and boil.

From a volume calculation perspective, the water in the keg would be treated as a single batch sparge.
 
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