Feedback on AG setup

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mattmcl

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I've got the following equipment in mind for an AG setup and I'd like some feedback. My budget right now is $0, as I've been laid off for three months.

Kettle and burner: 10 gal., burner is great. This part is fine.
MLT: 10 gal. cooler (I own this already) with fine mesh bag completely lining inside (I did a BIAB batch and have the bag already made). Cooler has a spigot already.
Liquor tank: 5 gal. brewpot.

My plan is to heat the mash water in the 5 gal pot, transfer to cooler and mash. Then heat sparge water in 5 gal pot and batch sparge using a pitcher and plate to diffuse. Then transfer to 10 gal pot and boil away.

My questions are:

Will 5 gal of sparge water be enough for most recipes?
Will the bag, made of polyester curtain material, work well in the MLT?

Thanks!
 
I have no idea about the bag, I did the 10 gallon cooler conversion so no need for a bag. 5 gallons of sparge water is a bit low but it shouldn't be a problem just sparge twice. While your waiting for one to drain the water can be heating up for the second.

My question for you is do you have some way of holding the spigot open because that will wear your thumb out quickly if not.
 
5 gallons of sparge water should be plenty. Most 5 gallon batches require 7 - 9 gallons of water total. Your grain absorbs some and then you boil off about 1 or 1.5 gallons.
 
do you have some way of holding the spigot open

Yeah, that's one of the little things I need to fix. My bottling bucket has a lever spigot, with any luck it will fit the cooler. If not, I can take the spring out of the cooler's spigot and rig up something to hold the tubing higher than the cooler until I'm ready to transfer.
 
someone posted pictures of how they hold their cooler spigot open, and mash like you describe. I think his user name is something like MikeRLynch. I'll see if I can dig it up.

Here's his website blog: Bacchus' Notebook: MacGuyver Brewing

You can see in the pictures how he has it rigged up. It seems like it works great for him!
 
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