help with first all grain system, what are my options

Okay so I am preparing to go all grain (not for till summer though). I know I need to get a new brew kettle, and a mash tun (cooler conversion. I will use a cheap kettle from foodservicewarehouse.com for a hot liquor tank probably.

I do not want to get complex with using a pump, and I am only going to do 5 gallon bathes. I know that I will need a propane tank set up however. Does anyone have pictures of something similar to this/tips on how to make it happen?

get a turkey fryer setup and a coleman xtreme cooler. If you search for coleman on here or google im sure you will find plenty on how to make it happen. Be ready to spend some money. I would consider getting a keggle right away. They are awesome, why was $50 bucks on a 7.5 gallon or 6 gallon pot then spend 150 on a keggle later?

Without a pump you will need to use gravity which means positioning the mash tun above your boil kettle or some kind of vessel to collect the runoff. Then you need to decide whether to go with batch sparging or fly sparging. Batch sparging is the simplest and probably the most popular way to go. Fly sparging will again require using gravity to deliver the sparge water to the mash tun and this means that the HLT will need to be above the mash tun. If you sketch this out using the actual heights of the burner, boil kettle, mash tun and HLT you will soon discover that things can get very tall, very fast.
The batch sparge setup would be a two tier configuration and the fly sparge a three tier. Elevating the HLT for fly sparging is rather inconvenient as you need to get a lot of hot water into it somehow or heat the water after you fill the HLT. Hoisting buckets of scalding hot water up to the HLT will usually require a ladder unless you are very, very tall. This is not only a major PIA, but obviously it can also be hazardous. You can rig up the HLT with a burner under it to heat the water, but this will usually add even more height. Electrically heating the water in the HLT is another option that may be a better choice than using a burner, but then you either need 220v juice or a lot of patience as a 110v element will require considerable time to heat the water. Once you consider all this, a pump may begin to look mighty appealing. A pump need not add a lot of complexity to your system. Might even reduce the complexity some depending on how you use it. I can't help with pictures, but I'm sure someone can. There are a number of threads running that show systems similar to what you are looking for. My advice would be to go with a simple batch sparging arrangement and upgrade from there if and when you get the desire. That would be the least expensive way to go and the beer will likely be as good as any. Much depends on how much of a gadget freak you are. Some of cannot resist doing it the hard way. Me included.

Great source of info on this topic http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/, Denny is a well known brewer who frequents all the online sites and provides great info and recipes, inspiration etc.

My first AG session used a lot of what he shows.

Couldn't I just have a single tier system just pour the mashing water from the HLT with my body/hands? I'm a young guy, the physical aspect isn't what I'm concerned with. I just don't know enough about pumps/engineering behind it.

I mean, all the HLT is used for is heating up the mash/sparge water. Does it really matter how it is positioned?

birdman200 said:

Couldn't I just have a single tier system just pour the mashing water from the HLT with my body/hands? I'm a young guy, the physical aspect isn't what I'm concerned with. I just don't know enough about pumps/engineering behind it.

I mean, all the HLT is used for is heating up the mash/sparge water. Does it really matter how it is positioned?

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Yes. You can pour it in, if you're batch sparging. Or you can raise it up a bit and use gravity to fly sparge.

You can drain the MLT by gravity, by putting the boil kettle on the ground and then lifting it up to the burner when you're ready to boil.

It's easier to have different levels, though. I made my own "sculpture" in several ways. Here's one:


Another one was outside, putting my burner on the ground with the brewpot on it, the MLT on the picnic table, and my coffee table ontop of my picnic table for the third level.

The point of a stand/sculpture is to make it easier.

Okay I see. I really am trying to do this as cheaply as possibly. I know I need a burner for the HLT, and a burner for the brew kettle. I guess for other people pumps/electrical systems are the most efficient way of doing it.

If you are going for low cost, search "brew in a bag" or "BIAB"

birdman200 said:

Okay I see. I really am trying to do this as cheaply as possibly. I know I need a burner for the HLT, and a burner for the brew kettle. I guess for other people pumps/electrical systems are the most efficient way of doing it.

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I got by with 1 burner, 1 kettle and no stand for a long time. It just requires a lot of heavy lifting. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. It wasn't the best way, but here's how I did things before upgrading:

1) heat the strike water in the kettle, place the kettle on a sturdy work table.
2) drain into MLT, mash-in.
3) towards end of mash start heating the sparge water in kettle.
4) lift the MLT onto the the table, drain into spare bucket, place on ground.
5) lift kettle onto table and drain sparge water into MLT.
6) place kettle on burner, add 1st runnings, light burner.
7) lift MLT onto table, drain into kettle.
8) after boil, lift kettle onto table and whirlpool.
9) drain kettle through chiller into fermenter.

To JuanMoore,
Yeah something like this is what I was thinking. It is unrealistic to have/need a brew stand/system when I am first starting out with all grain - as I said before I am still in college and definitely in shape, lifting some heavy pots is not a big deal haha.

No heavy lifting required, as Denny does, get a 1 gallon plastic rubbermaid pitcher and move your sparge water a gallon at a time like bailing out a row boat...hah. Very easy and you can measure as you go. Why anyone would bother pumping 2-3 gallons??? Work smart not hard young gun. I have done this for a while now and it works incredibly well and sooooo simple.

Here's an interesting take on a simple set-up for getting into AG brewing. The Cajun electric is available on Amazon for $120 w/free shipping. The video's pretty well done.
http://www.professionaldeepfryer.org/demo-all-grain-brew-with-an-electric-fryer.html

A "system" can be really simple. This was a fly sparge rig.
Usually I do this outside, but it was kind of cold that day. I do the boil outside with a cheap home depot turkey fryer.

Getting your "system" together is really a pretty simple and not too expensive process. It's all the little bells and whistles that make it more user friendly and slowly hike up costs and complication. But who here doesn't like to buy new brew gear? haha

You have the option of just dropping the money on a complete set up from one of the numerous online vendors or slowly putting it together yourself. In the end...costs probably won't be that much different. But there is some satisfation of "building it yourself" for some people. I went the route of slowly accumulating, a cooler here...brew pot there...valve here...false bottom there..etc. Whatever way works for you is best.

Just get your basics...cooler with valve and false bottom, a good brew pot and burner, some tubing and a thermometer. Then as you brew you will figure out what extras you want and what will make your brew day go faster and easier. IE...a chiller, a pump, a kettle valve, a site glass...the list will go on and on. haha