All Grain question

I am thinking about trying my hand at all grain. I have everything i need to do extract and have done 4 brews. So if I read it right all i need for all grain is another pot to heat sparge water, and a mash tun (cooler with filtered spigot)

Is this basically what I need for a beginner all grain brew?

More or less, but that's only where it begins. I would add some type of chiller for the basics.

assuming you're like me, you might need a bigger pot as well. i only have a 16 qt (4 gal) pot. the amount of grain required will take up a lot of space that you don't have to account for when doing extract. i just watched my first all grain batch on sunday. i believe he used an 8 gal pot.

if you have the ability, see if there is someone in your area (possibly on this forum) that might be willing to let you see them do an all grain. people had told me how much more time consuming it was, but you really get a feel for it when you are there doing it.

this is not to discourage you, but to inform you. personally (this is MY opinion, so don't everybody get PO'd), I don't see myself doing all grain for a long time. it took us 7 hrs to brew approx five gallons. i recognize that it was not probably the most streamlined brewing process, but it gave me an idea of the time commitment required. for my inexperience, i don't think the time is worth it for me. i did learn a lot and will probably see how others go, but at this point in my brewing "career", it's not for me. however, if you do all grain and don't like it, you can always use that gear for extract and partial mash.

Yes, that is all you need. Depending on your pot size, you will probably have to make smaller batches, or dilute at the end (which isnt favorable b/c it waters down the flavor). You could also try BIAB.

It takes me 4 hours from starting the mash to finishing cleaning up everything. When you get comfortable with the process there is also plenty of downtown to do other things.

I bet it would be done a lot faster if I had access to a hose too

If you want to get your feet wet without a lot of investment, do a search on "Brew in a Bag" all grain brewing. If you have a large enough pot to work with all it takes is a couple of nylon paint strainer bags and a way to fine crush or grind your grains. I only had a 20 qt pot to work with so I went with half size batches to see if I would like all grain. Since then I've bought 40 pounds of base malt and a 30 qt turkey fryer so I can do larger batches but my initial investment in addition to what I already had for doing extract was the 2 paint strainer bags and I only got 2 because they come two to a package.

I did a partial mash on Saturday. You might want to try that because it only took about an hour longer than an extract batch, and you don't need any new equipment.

do a search on here for BIAB brew in a bag, it is the easiest way to get into all grain, then once you understand the concept without spending a lot of money you can gradually get the other equipment needed. Thats how I got started. Good luck!!!

I currently have a 30 quart pot a 12 quart pot and an old cooler. I also have a wort chiller that works well.

Would my 12qt be enough for my sparge water if I started the mash in my large cooler? I read that you only need 2-3 gallons of sparge water or enough to give you 6-6.5 gallons of wort