What are your "can't live without" equipment items?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Travestian

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
494
Reaction score
59
Location
Charleston
There are tuns (pun intended) of great gizmos and gadgets out there for us home brewers to have fun with. Some serve a very vital purpose. Some pieces serve more of a "nice to have" type role.

Other than what you absolutely have to have to brew beer with, what are some things you own that you just can't live without?

Show us some pics!

My favorite thing I've purchased/made to date is the brew stand I built. Don't ever want to live without it!

20130506_144242.jpg
 
An Autosiphon is required.

A thermapen would probably be another have to have, if I could cough up the $$$ for one.
 
As for the post above, yes to both. Bottling would be ridiculous without an autosiphon, and a good thermometer (Thermapen is the best) is a necessity, and particulary for all-grain. I also regard a refractometer as necessary for all-grain, and (saving cheapest for last) a bottling wand. I can't believe some people try to bottle without one....probably why some people end up kegging.
 
Never owned an auto-siphon. I use a carboy cap and just need to create pressure to get the beer out.

My can't-do-without-tool? A length of 3/8" tubing that has a garden hose fitting at the end, and attaches to the laundry room faucet. That way I can fill/rinse/etc carboys while they are on the floor.

MC
 
Malted Barley available for purchase in 50+lb bags. Without that I would probably be real effed. Everything else I think I could manage on my own.
 
Thermoworks makes cheaper thermos than the pen, I have two and they're super for a fraction of the cost.

Stirplate / flask, O2 injector and lagering fridge. Without great fermentation, you can't make fantastic beer.
 
Thermoworks makes cheaper thermos than the pen, I have two and they're super for a fraction of the cost.

Stirplate / flask, O2 injector and lagering fridge. Without great fermentation, you can't make fantastic beer.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but what model from thermowork do u recommend?
 
I don't mean to hijack this thread but what model from thermowork do u recommend?

Part of the idea of the thread was to get some good recommendations for people who are looking for that next great thing to buy. So with that said...

What model from thermowork do you recommend? :mug:
 
All my carboys have brew haulers (plastic straps with handles) on them... I don't think
I could lift a full carboy safely without them.
 
I just bought a refractometer, and although it's not like I'm going to throw out the hydrometer, I will probably next-to-never use it again. 3 drops of liquid vs several ounces needed to take a gravity reading, auto temperature correction, easier-to-read numbers. It's no contest.

My immersion chiller is another gadget that I would not brew without now. No way would I go back to using ice baths, especially now that I've got keggles. It was bad enough with the turkey fryer pot.

As others have mentioned: a good digital thermometer.

Another is the STC-1000-type temperature controller. That has made a WORLD of difference in the quality of my fermentation. Would not go back to any other method. No need for a chest freezer either. I just use a submersible fountain pump, a cooler, an immersion chiller, frozen water bottles and the controller to drive a controlled swamp cooler setup. I would prefer a chest freezer, but this is a cheaper and more compact method that works pretty well.
 
Another is the STC-1000-type temperature controller. That has made a WORLD of difference in the quality of my fermentation. Would not go back to any other method. No need for a chest freezer either. I just use a submersible fountain pump, a cooler, an immersion chiller, frozen water bottles and the controller to drive a controlled swamp cooler setup. I would prefer a chest freezer, but this is a cheaper and more compact method that works pretty well.

Could you go into a little more detail on this one? This might be a perfect upgrade for summer.
 
CliffMongoloid said:
Are thermapen's that good?

Thermapens are an awesome as a kitchen tool. I feel they are overkill for brewing tho. I own one for grilling, broiling, etc. so I use it in my brewery, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone spend that much money on a thermometer for their brewery. I have a pair of oven thermometers with temp alarms and timers that I use WAY more frequently for brewing than my thermapen. That said, it is a RIGHTEOUS instant read.
 
For me, weldless bulkheads/ball valves and silicone tubing. I could live without pouring a full pot of wort through a funnel into a fermenter ever again. (Ahh, the good ole partial boil extract days...)
 
logdrum said:
Here is the Thermoworks reasonably priced alternative to the Thermapen:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/rt600c.html

Fast, accurate & priced right!

I had one of those for my kitchen before I bought my thermapen. The thing really don't like about that particular thermometer is the temp readout is TINY. But, the price is much more realistic for home brewing. Cheers!
 
my 2 latest purchases that I wouldn't want to brew without again:
#1) stainless hop spider from stainless brewing. Keeps my wort clear, and no more clogging up the CFC, and
#2)blichman burner. Easily supports a full keg, and gets up to temps much quicker then my old turkey fryer burner, and I don't have to clean a bunch of soot of the bottom of the BK anymore.

1367090970434.jpg


1367090971756.jpg
 
Back
Top