All grain setup help

I have decided to convert and build an all grain setup, I would like some suggestions, I have no intention of ever doing more than 5 gallon batches as I would like to brew different brews more often. Will 7.5 gallon brewpots be large enough? Any suggestions on all aspects would be extremely helpful as well, what would you all have done different? Should I do a hlt or will a cooler setup be just as well? I won't even ask for advice on stainless vs alluminum. thanks in advance
edit, I should have mentioned that I was thinking of a 3 tier propane setup.

Joining the dark side eh? A 7.5 gallon pot can be big enough, I use one but you have to watch for boil overs all the time. Coolers are a nice way to keep the cost down while getting the performance that we all are looking for. Some people will tell you to get a bulkhead and a ball valve and all that jazz. All you really need is a drilled stopper like used on a carboy but make sure it fits in the whole of the cooler, a 4" piece of 3/8 OD copper tube, a stainless braid from a toilet supply line, and 6 feet of 3/8 ID siphon tubing. Stick the copper tube into the rubber bung, slide the braid over the tube on the inside of the cooler(might want to clamp down with SS tube clamp) and attach the siphon tube to the other end of the copper tube.

Edit: You might want another vessel(bottling bucket is good for this) to hold the sparge water when draining the MLT.

Here is a link with pics to show what I'm talking about http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

NewBrewer25 said:

I have decided to convert and build an all grain setup, I would like some suggestions, I have no intention of ever doing more than 5 gallon batches as I would like to brew different brews more often. Will 7.5 gallon brewpots be large enough? Any suggestions on all aspects would be extremely helpful as well, what would you all have done different? Should I do a hlt or will a cooler setup be just as well? I won't even ask for advice on stainless vs alluminum. thanks in advance
edit, I should have mentioned that I was thinking of a 3 tier propane setup.

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I have an 8 gallon pot and it's JUST barely big enough for full boils. I'd think that a 7.5 would be a HUGE PITA.

7.5 is too small IMHO.

Here's why:

I have a 9 gal. pot and about 1 gal. is below the bulkhead/ballvalve also I need about 2 gal head space. That leaves me with 6 gal. that I can easily get into the mash tun.

I tried to make a true New Castle ale clone recently and the first batch of beer requires mashing with 8 gal. then boiling for 2 hours down to 5 gal.

7.5 gal. would be too small to do all that in one batch.

You can do it but you'll increase your hassle factor, limit the beers you can brew, and you'll have to watch that pot like a hawk to keep if from boiling over.

My former supervisor had a saying: Buy cheap and Buy Twice

rdwj said:

I have an 8 gallon pot and it's JUST barely big enough for full boils. I'd think that a 7.5 would be a HUGE PITA.

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I have an 8 gallon pot too and I always boil 7 gallons down to 5.5 without an issue because I use a spray bottle when it first begins to boil and when I add hops.

Here's 7 gallons starting to boil.

I've said it before but it really depends on how skinny/tall the pot is. In a 30qt (7.5g) turkey fryer, the slim profile usually leaves quite a bit (in height) of headspace. I was able to do a 6.5g boil in it with a couple close call boil overs (outside who cares). The problem is, the runnings toward the end were still about 1.015 meaning I could have eeked another 2 quarts though to get more sugar out but my pot just couldn't take anymore. Can't wait to get a burner for my keggle.

I have been using 32 qts for a while, I jusst purchased a 15.5 gallon Sankey for $10, no more boilovers when I run off 7 gallons of wort...

Pol

Ok I found some 8.5 gallon pots, now should I go heated lauter tun or cooler style

I do the coolers, this is why. I used to heat a kettle, but I was CONSTANTLY heating it and adjusting it and mixing the mash to assimilate temps. With my 10 gallon coolers, it is easy to calculate a strike or infusion water temp for the ammount of grain I am utilizing, put the lid on it, and it will lose maybe 1 degree every hour or two? It is just alot easier IMHO and it allows you to maintain a much more precise temp.

Pol

pros and cons from personal experience anybody?

I prefer having my 3 tier Sanke setup. Being able to heat my tun is nice and with my new setup I don't have to lift any hot water at all. In my opinion a 3 tier would be the way to go, but if you go through that much trouble, you might as well bump up to 10gal capacity......

CON to the cooler, you cannot direclty add heat, only through water infusions. PRO, you really never have to add heat since there is basially -0- heat loss during the mash. Pro to the cooler, less propane, less attention must be paid to temps during the mash process (more time to do other things during a busy brew day) and again, IMHO more precise temp control. Once it is set at 152F... go drink and watch tv, come back in an hour, it is still at precisely 152F, maybe 151... ooooh!

Pol

I agree, go with the cooler. My mash/lauter tun is a 15 gallon kettle, but I've adapted some old carpet (faced inwards) to act as insulation. A preinsulated container for small batches will work fine.

Also, go with a bigger boil kettle. I used to have a 10 gallon kettle for my first AG setup, and it was just about right. . . I had a couple of boilovers even with that though.

Cooler.

It's easy.

I agree about the cooler--it's simple and can be done quite inexpensively. If you decide you want to tinker with a heated MLT later, then go for it.

EDIT: I also agree that in the long run you'd be happier with a bigger brew pot, although 7.5 gals will certainly work.

Plus look at brewman's posts.
You can use a cooler as a heated mash tun.

Get (2) 10 GALLON coolers for say $45 each, install ball valves on each for $15, and if you want a through the wall digital therm for $20 each. I did this just recently for the afore mentioned prices and it is a very easy to use, maintain and manage system.

Pol

The DIY section has alot of helpful input and pics on here for your use too. Lowes seems to be the hardware of choice as well.

Pol

Another fairly cheap and easy method of mashing is to use a five-gallon pot for the mash tun and keep it warm in the oven (for insulation only). Then transfer the wort/grist to a lauter tun made of two nested five-gal buckets. It would be really easy to to step mashes and mashouts with this method, and five-gallon batches shouldn't be a problem.

That reminds me of another PRO to the coolers... during your lautering process, which can take from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, that added insualtion keeps your mash temps high so that all of that sugar you converted, runs easily. Buckets and kettles lose alot of heat, just touch the outer walls, they are HOT. Touch a cooler outer wall and it will be room temperature, you dont lose all of that heat during the mash, lautering, or any other phase.

Pol

Also, remember that any transfers of your wort or mash when it is hot, could introduce some hot side aeration, I used to use that process and took out all of the hassle of the transfers from mash tun to lautering bucket and heating the mash over the propane burner, with the simple use of one cooler for all of it.

Pol