Equipment list needed

I've brewed several batches of partial extract and now I'd like to try some all grain brewing. I'd really rather not spend more than $100 or so upgrading my equipment, so I'm looking for a list of items I need to buy to make an all grain batch. Also, I plan to stick with 5 gal batches.

Here is what I have:

30 qt turkey fryer (Al, from walmart. I realize SS is prefered, but this was pretty cheap at $37).
5 gal primary
5 gal carboy
grain bag (which I guess I don't need anymore)
Plastic spoon
Hydrometer
Thermometer (digital, usually used for cooking meat.. does this work for beer?)
Racking cane/tubing
20 qt enamel kettle


What I think I need to go to all grain:
Mash Tun (I'm planning on buying an igloo/rubbermaid 7 gal water cooler)
False bottom
Tubing
Spigot


What I don't know is what I need to convert the cooler to a mash tun.
I know about the false bottom, but what about the spigot and hoses?
Do I need another pot to heat the ~5 gals for sparging water?
What are mashing paddles used for if you are using a sparging arm?
Can I just collect the sweet wort in my 20qt kettle and heat the 5gals of sparging water in the turkey fryer?

Any advice is welcome. I've read the howtobrew.com site but I'm still a bit unclear on how the various options work out. I would like to do a single infusion mash and avoid decoction.

Search this forum for mash tun/cooler conversion - there's some great info already here.

Your kettles are about the minimum sizes required. A larger boil kettle (7 gallons or more) would be a wise investment - then you can use the 30 qt kettle for heating sparge water.

Mash paddles are for stirring, sparge arms are for sprinkling water evenly over the grain bed. You can use a big spoon for a mash paddle, and you don't need a sparge arm if you batch sparge.

As for your meat thermometer, it depends on the scale and its accuracy, and I'd recommend cleaning/sanitizing it thoroughly. If it doesn't have a scale in degrees, it's worthless...but I'd try mashing somewhere around the "medium" to "medium well" range...

Yuri_Rage said:

Search this forum for mash tun/cooler conversion - there's some great info already here.

Your kettles are about the minimum sizes required. A larger boil kettle (7 gallons or more) would be a wise investment - then you can use the 30 qt kettle for heating sparge water.

Mash paddles are for stirring, sparge arms are for sprinkling water evenly over the grain bed. You can use a big spoon for a mash paddle, and you don't need a sparge arm if you batch sparge.

As for your meat thermometer, it depends on the scale and its accuracy, and I'd recommend cleaning/sanitizing it thoroughly. If it doesn't have a scale in degrees, it's worthless...but I'd try mashing somewhere around the "medium" to "medium well" range...

Click to expand...

I'll try to search more around this site for more info on mash tun/cooler conversions.

The thermometer measures actual degrees, and ranges from 32 to 212, I think. I might even be accurate to 0.1 degrees, but I'd have to check.

I'm pretty particular about sanitizing, so I'm not worried about the thermometer being used once I cool the wort.

chillHayze - That is a great site! Thanks for pointing it out. I guess I'll be doing batch sparging and think about using a rectangular cooler instead of a round one.