I'm considering all grain but I have two concerns
1. apartment (no space, tiny kitchen but do have outdoor patio)
2. poor college kid
I'm considering the cooler option but I do already have a plastic primary bucket and a bottling bucket so I could do as papazian suggests and drill holes in it to make a false bottom of sorts. Of course I'd have to but a new primary but hey.. it's a good time to upgrade to glass. The problem is, how then do I keep the mash at 150 for an hour? Could I just add hot water every so often and keep the lid on? Does anyone have any experience with this approach - the plastic ought to insulate fairly well but obviously not as well as a cooler. I could even try insulating the outer bucket. Is it worth trying? The buckets are 5 or 6 gallons, would this leave enough space for grain + water for a 5 gallon batch?
The other monetary concern is, of course, the kettle. Right now I have a 16 quart ceramic pot which is only big enough (and just barely) for a concentrated wort. Anyone know where I could find a large stainless kettle (preferably with spigot) for cheap? How bad is aluminum?
Basically, how can I get into all grain without dropping a cool grand on a 3 tier stainless keg setup?
Thanks
1. apartment (no space, tiny kitchen but do have outdoor patio)
2. poor college kid
I'm considering the cooler option but I do already have a plastic primary bucket and a bottling bucket so I could do as papazian suggests and drill holes in it to make a false bottom of sorts. Of course I'd have to but a new primary but hey.. it's a good time to upgrade to glass. The problem is, how then do I keep the mash at 150 for an hour? Could I just add hot water every so often and keep the lid on? Does anyone have any experience with this approach - the plastic ought to insulate fairly well but obviously not as well as a cooler. I could even try insulating the outer bucket. Is it worth trying? The buckets are 5 or 6 gallons, would this leave enough space for grain + water for a 5 gallon batch?
The other monetary concern is, of course, the kettle. Right now I have a 16 quart ceramic pot which is only big enough (and just barely) for a concentrated wort. Anyone know where I could find a large stainless kettle (preferably with spigot) for cheap? How bad is aluminum?
Basically, how can I get into all grain without dropping a cool grand on a 3 tier stainless keg setup?
Thanks