Questions on buying gear

I want to bump up to AG soon...or at least BIAB, but it's a little intimidating.

I'm looking at equipment on craigslist and I just wanted to get the opinions of some of the more seasoned brewers here. Should I just dive in and buy a converted 15.5 gal keg? Also, I don't want to rush out and spend a ton of money on stuff that I may or may not need. There's a difference between equipment that's necessary and equipment that's convenient, or cool.

I found a guy selling quite a bit of gear. Any of this look like a steal?

Faucet/shank/tailpiece/handle (3 complete sets ready for the kegorator or keezer build) - $35 each
1000ml flask for making starters (x2) - $7 ea
Keggle mash tun (15 gallon) with false bottom and SS ball lock - $125
Sanke keg - straight sided - $45 (great cheap SS fermentor)
Hoff-Stevens Keg 15 Gallon - $25
Golden Gate keg and the taps/valves for cask ale - $100
Phils Rotating Sparge Arm - $10
Bottle Capper x2 - $6 each
Hoshizaki Water Filter System (0.5 micron) - $130
Mechanical Scale 10# max - $10
Triple beam scale - $15
5 gallon cornie keg shell - $10 - needs lid and gas/bev fittings
Sanke Keg Coupler - $20

The false bottom on the keggle is cool, but I know I don't need one with it.

I found another listing selling a converted keg with a drain/sparge valve, sight glass, and mounted thermometer for $150 (negotiable). Have you guys found that there are features that you'd rather have? i.e. a false bottom vs. a mounted therm?

Just don't want to waste too much money up front.

There are lots of different types of mash tuns (not to mention BiaB). Whether you use a cooler, keggle, manifold or false bottom depends a lot on YOUR processes and system. I can tell you that my keggle & manifold work great for me, but that does not mean it will be what you want.
That said, the keggle w/ false bottom & ball valve for $125 is not a bad deal.

ICWiener said:

There's a difference between equipment that's necessary and equipment that's convenient, or cool.

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What language is this in?

Whether you use a cooler, keggle, manifold or false bottom depends a lot on YOUR processes and system.

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Yeah. I figured as much. I just want to see what more experienced brewers have to say. I'm trying to estimate whether or not it's worth it to jump right into the more expensive gear up front.

What language is this in?

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Thanks pal. Super helpful.

I am making a keggle soon. I am working on the same change, extract to all grain, you are. It's about 135$ for all the components to take a keg (+30$) to a keggle (weldless at bargainfittings.com includes brewmometer, sightglass, ball valve to cam-lock with all connectors and five feet of high temp hose). I am gonna make a keggle then see where that takes me (BIAB?). But atleast then I can do full boils. I already have an immersion chiller, aerator and propane camp stove so the choice was pretty simple. I will have to make a mash tun (cooler) and a HLT (keggle #2) get a March pump and then I can go all grain making about ten gallon batches.

My two cents/experience. Good luck making choices...one guy had a real good idea though: determine what you want the outcome to be of purchases then determine criteria that qualifies "good" "ok" and "meh" in terms of that outcome. Assign a value to quantify that quality. Determine a few key to outcome characteristics and judge each product against them. Sum or multiply all values for each product and the highest ranking products should be purchased first. But if you are not sure of choices then that is a different problem.

Coroboto has it right, just go for it.

And, because you asked for my $.02. I personally would not pay $100+ for someone else to convert a keg for me. I am middle of the road as far as DIY goes. That said you should be able to pick up a keg for less than $40. Around here our local distributor sells dated and dented kegs (most people use them for docks in the lake and so on). You can buy your own angle grinder with cutting wheels at harbor freight for about $20 with coupon. Save the keg lid and make a false bottom. Add a weldless bulkhead and valve for $30. For $90 you have a great entry keggle with valve and false bottom. Plus you have the grinder for your future projects.

I picked up two fry stands around the holidays for $29 each at Cabellas. Get some bricks from Home Depot/ Lowes and put them on some old tables. You'll find a way to get the gravity feed you need.

All that said, just jump in. Get a brew buddy for your first batch and it is game on from there. I have won and placed in several competitions with my no frills set up.

Worst thing that could happen is your decide that keggles aren't for you and you sell them for $100, recovering all of your costs.

I just finished my keggle builds a few weeks ago, and tried mashing on a direct-fired MLT for the first time. Honestly, i can say it was quite a bit different, and took a little more attention than I anticipated. I had used a cooler with a braided hose MLT for about 2 years prior to making the switch to a keggle. $130 or so is a pretty fair price for the keggle with a false bottom. I think you DEFINITELY need a false bottom if you plan to do just straight all-grain not BIAB, so if you are going to mash in a keggle, go for that. You'll need some sort of manifold.
My 2 cents is, if you have the funds, why the hell not? I would say, if you have to scrounge for the money, or convince your SWMBO to get it, i'd just go out and get the pieces parts to make a cooler MLT. It will be much easier for you to start with and learn/control the process. Then down the road, if you want to make the jump to a single tier system, per se, or a 10 gal system, take a look for a keggle again.

My AG system is slowly evolving. If you start with a propane burner and a keggle with a spigot (a lot cheaper if you can DIY) you can add a thermometer and/or sight gauge at any time later - no reason for a false bottom on this. If money's tight you can start BIAB with this setup until you can afford a cooler MLT. With an MLT and Keggle BK you can boil larger pots of water on your stovetop for your HLT until you can get another keggle....Don't get in a hurry and have fun

Yep... as the other guy said start with the basics when moving into grain-brewing.


If you do not already have a 10 to 15-gallon pot to boil start there. If you have the space or have the place, get yourself a decent propane burner to put underneath the pot.

It makes things a million times easier to have a pot with a spigot on it. It also makes it a million times more easier to have a pot with a sight-glass. I might also recommend a decent stainless-steel immersion chiller. They are not quite as good as conducting heat as copper but they are pretty-much care-free. Second thought, get two stainless-steel imersion chillers because you live in Sacramento and you might want to put one in a bucket of ice-water to pre-chill your not-so-chill chill-water... unlike my 38-degree tap water.

Going with BIAB for a while is the way to go... that is how I and many of the others started grain brewing.

Second thought, get two stainless-steel imersion chillers because you live in Sacramento and you might want to put one in a bucket of ice-water to pre-chill your not-so-chill chill-water... unlike my 38-degree tap water.

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Haha...Hey man, we get cold tap water...in winter. I do have a copper chiller, I can get my wort cooled down in about 20-25 min on average. But yeah, summers are brutal around here.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think I might just wait. I had an epiphany last night: I did this exact same thing way back when I was a DJ. I wasn't great at it, just decent. So in order to get better I went out and bought and bought and bought until I had a world class set-up. So then I was an average DJ with an amazing rig. I didn't get better with great equipment, only with hours and hours of practice.

I think at this point I'm just gonna practice my brewing techniques, learn to BIAB (since I can do that without significant upgrades), focus on fermentation temp control (I think that's my weakest link), and then move up to the big leagues later on down the road.

Sounds like a good plan. You can add items over time and be at the jumping off point before you realize it. I have always been a search around and save a buck kind of guy and it has brought me some very good deals over the years. Most recently caught a sale at wally worl on a burner and kettle. Not stainless but big enough to do full boil 5 gallon batches. 29 bucks is way better than 34, so I just bide my time and wait till a great deal comes along. As long as you are not in a hurry you can save mad money on your stuff and have cash to build a sculpture that is efficient for you. The money saved will make the difference on mild steel versus stainless when I get around to building a sculpture. Just my .02 FWIW.
Bob

I have always been a search around and save a buck kind of guy and it has brought me some very good deals over the years.

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I'm like that most of the time, but sometimes I get fired up and just go balls to the wall.

But you're absolutely right. Patience can net you some crazy savings. I just posted on HBT a garage sale score that I hit this past weekend....3 carboys (5, 6, 6.5 gal), bottle tree, vinator, carboy cap, hydrometer, flask, spoon, and a bottle of campden tabs for $25!! It was great.

This sounds like a good plan. You will be amazed at the difference in your beer after concentrating on pitching rates and temperature control. As you continue to brew, you will find out what will make your brewing easier/more enjoyable, and upgrade as is needed.