Help me build out my brew system

I've been extract brewing for awhile now and want to step up to AG and maybe upgrade my system a bit.

I have a $200 budget and the following existing equipment:
Bottle capper, racking tubes, wine thief, 40 QT aluminum pot, glass carboy, ferment and bottling buckets, yada yada yada, standard Brewer's Best starter kit.

Obviously I need a mash tun, though researching on the internet gives me a bazillion options there. I think I need to move this show outdoors to relax the wife so I'm thinking a turkey fryer as well. Also want a wort chiller.

So the question I have it, if YOU had $200 bucks to blow on building up the starter kit, where would you start?

Thanks in advance folks!!

Mark

Coleman 70 qt cooler ($50)
Bayou sq14 burner ($50)
Wort chiller ($50-100+)
Use the extras on valve and manifold for mashtun

Are you setup to control your fermentation temperature? That is the first place I'd look to spend money to make my beer better. If you have good temp control already (maybe a consistent basement?) then +1 to what bjohnson29 said.

You can get a used chest freezer and a temp controller for under $200 easy.

what bjohnson said would be nice, but that's pushing the budget a bit.

You've listed about 100 bucks worth of stuff already, a fryer will add a min of 70 more, but come with a 30qt pot.
If your doing 5gal batches You can get by with a 5gal cooler ($20 or so) and you'll need another 20 for a manifold or slightly more for a faults bottom.

If you do go for a ferm tem control you can make one really cheap with a used A/C or refrigerator. It will be ugly but will work.

Thanks for the replies. I do have an old fridge I was thinking of trying to convert somehow for temp control fermentation. Right now I try to use a swamp cooler but I travel a decent amount for work and can't always get my schedule down.

So it sounds like I need to focus on getting a temp control situation down before worrying about AG brewing.

Any recommendations on good threads that involve converting an old fridge?

Thanks!

If you want to go the temp control route, all you need is a temp controller to override the internal thermostat (or follow the thread on hbt on how to modify the exisiting thermostat)

The temp controller will basically cut power to the fridge when it gets cold enough....if you wire yourself you can find them for under $50, or figure around $80 for a prewired version.

That said...I went all grain before I went with temp control...and was able to do it cheaply.

A 48qt cooler that costs $15 at walmart is what I used. I then added a valve, and my "manifold" was just the stainless steel braid from a water supply hose.

All told, I made my mash tun for under $50, and used that for a couple years doing the batch sparge method.

As for turkey fryer, if you felt like waiting, you can get them for ~$40 after thanksgiving when they go on clearance...but either way will give you another pot which will be handy for all grain.

Can't think of one thread to recommend, but there are always many in the DIY forum. If you don't care what it looks like you can make it really quite cheap. Basically you need a new thermostat and if you want it bigger; an insulated box.
Making a mash tun may be a good thing for you to start with, if you extract brewing, it's the only thing you really need to do AG. All the other stuff would be nice, but start small and grow.

Oh, a post was slipped in in front of mine. Sorry if my post repeated some of the same things.

bjohnson29 said:

Coleman 70 qt cooler ($50)
Bayou sq14 burner ($50)
Wort chiller ($50-100+)
Use the extras on valve and manifold for mashtun

Click to expand...

Considering that we're at the end of summer, I'd go this route. Should be plenty of sales on coolers & burners this time of year. If you're doing 5g batches a ~50qt cooler should be big enough. If you shop smart you might have enough left for a temp controller too.

Blichmann burner $135 (well worth the extra ching)
10 gallon cooler and mash tun conversion $60 bucks diy (home depot)
Wort Chiller $30-$40 diy


A litttle over 200 but well worth it, i actually make mash tuns for a company and have some extra ss nipples and such if ya wanna just pay for shipping i can hook ya up. I may even be able to hook ya up with a cpvc manifold as well

Why not go BIAB if you are on a budget. I sincerely doubt I will ever own a real mash tun.

Home depot has a 7.5 gal pot and burner for $60 currently. Grab a couple 5 gal nylon paint strainer bags while you're there.

Put strike water in pot, heat. Add grains in strainer bags and mash. Remove grains after mash and proceed with boil.

I take the grain bag and "sparge" it with a couple gallons of water and add to my pot since it's only 5.5 gal capacity.

Someone you know should have a cooler lying around that's never in use. Offer them some homebrew for it.(Free)
Go talk to local breweries and pubs about broken kegs.(possibly free)
Burner.($50)
Chiller($50)
Keggle Hardware($50)
Misc odds and end will probably finish off the rest. Dip tube, grate for burner, propane tank, manifold for MT, etc
20 Gallon rubbermaid tote from HD($7) Water bath for temp control. Requires a little more watching but cheap.

This is how I would and have attacked an AG brewing setup cheap.