AG with inadequate tools..

So I did my first AG batch last night. It was the Common Room ESB from the recipe section.

I only have a 5 gallon cooler, and I went to LHBS to try to procure a cooler conversion kit, only to learn they only hand keg conversion kits.. Not wanting to put off my brew, I went ahead and got my grain, and went home.

I put a nylog bag in my cooler, and started heating my water. Now, I have an electric stove, and a poor one at that. So I have to use 2 pots on 2 different burners to acheive a 5+ gallon boil. So I sparged twice, taking the runnings from the mash and the first sparge (4 gal) and putting them in the bigger pot, and putting the running from the second sparge (2 gal) into the smaller pot. To drain, I just shoved a 3/8" tubing into the standard cooler spout.

At boil, I divided up my hops by putting 2 parts in to the large pot, 1 part into the small pot for every hop addition.

I cooled both pots in different sides of the sink. I aerrated the big pot first by pouring back and forth between the pot and the fermenter. Then I aerrated the second pot's wort by pouring back and forth between the two pots, and then into the fermenter. Pitched with half a cup of slurry from the previous brew, and let it sit.

Here's to hoping it comes out all right! I think next time I do an AG batch I'll do a smaller batch size (maybe 2.5 or 3 gal).

Oh, and I got 71% efficiency

sounds good, you made it work but sounds like a lot of hassle. You could scale down to 2.5 gallons but thats no fun. Invest in a turkey fryer and you wont regret it. Ask a friend, or family member or search craigslist, there all over the place.

Feels good to do a jury-rigged AG doesnt it? I did my first one last weekend with the added benefit of having a 10 gallon pot that I insulated and am able to get 6 gallons to a boil on my stove. Used my extra bottling bucket as a lauter with this setup:

http://img15.imageshack.us/i/sdc10154by.jpg/
http://img215.imageshack.us/i/sdc10155v.jpg/

Congratz.....These things are even more fun later. Just grab youself a false bottom and a hose clamp and you're done.