easiest way to step up to AG/bigger batches

untill now I have been brewing all my 5 gallon batches from the coopers kits and such. But I would like to move along in the hobby and try my luck with all grain. What would be the easiest way to step up? I would like to brew bigger batches as well, but have no idea what type of burner and pot combo I would use. Also, what to use as a Primary/secondary.

I was thinking I could easily pickup an old 7.5 gallon turkey fryer for short money. BUT would a normal turkey fryer burner be able to handle a 15 gallon 1/2 keggle If I upgrade down the road ?
Those of you guys using keggles, what type of burners are you using ?

How did you guys make the jump ? I am also on limited funds here, so budget a definate !

Figure out what you are going to do and then it will be a whole lot easier for someone to give you answers. Also, money and quality of equipment come in to play. Right now it's just too broad a question to easily answer.

If you buy a turkey cooker with a 7 gallon pot, that can get you full boils and well on your way, but you still need to figure out a mash tun and something to use for your sparge water. A 55,000 BTU burner will get you 5 gallon batches, not sure how well they do on 10's as I have never tried that. Once you get 5 gallon batches going, that might be the time to look at the next step.

yeah thats what I figured.... start out with 5 gallon AG. then step up to larger batches down the road. But I had wanted to start AG using the brew in a bag method, and this required quite a LARGE brew pot.

Doing a 5 gallon batch in a 7.5 gallon pot is doable, but definitely tricky because of the very real threat of boilovers. Get Fermcaps- trust me. They will save your arse and keep your precious wort from winding up on the ground rather than in the kettle.

Besides the pot and burner, you'll need an MLT and a means of chilling 5+ gallons of hot wort.

Like already said, you can do them in 7.5 gallon pots but you'll have to watch. I have an 8 gallon pot and would say it's the smallest you'd want to get for 5 gallon batches. I use my room mates turkey burner, no clue what the BTU output it, but it does struggle to get a large amount of water up to a boil. I had 7 gallons in my pot and it had to take an hour to start. I'm going out hunting for a larger burner this weekend so I hope to be better able to answer this question after Saturday if I get to brew.

As far as equipment goes, you can build a mash-tun out of a bottling bucket and another bucket with a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom. I've never done it but I'm sure someone else has. It'll also be cheap to do.

I went with the 10 gallon cooler route. There are instructions here to build them cheaply yourself. Converting a cooler to a mash tun - Home Brewing Wiki

If you're going to use the 'brew in a bag' method, then I'd recommend a 10 gallon pot. A 9 gallon at minimum.

You have to have all of your water and grain in there at once so you need a lot of room.

SILVER13ACK said:

If you're going to use the 'brew in a bag' method, then I'd recommend a 10 gallon pot. A 9 gallon at minimum.

You have to have all of your water and grain in there at once so you need a lot of room.

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I guess I'll hold out for a 1/2 keg locally. then turn it into a keggle. should I be able to brew 10 gallon BIB batches in the keggle ?What size burner would be the best for such a large capacity ? I know it takes up to an hour to boil such a large capacity. I would like to cut this time down a bit....

anyone have a link to some decent propane burners ?