Converting to all grain

[warix]

I am getting all the items together that I need to convert to all grain. Today I picked up a 10 gallon igloo cooler, I scored it from my sister because she is moving to Arkansas. (it has the Lowes logo on it grrrr) I am trying to figure out which way to go for my false bottom. Should I go the stainless route? Or is the Phil's Phalse Bottom workable? What about the ball valve and fittings? I know stainless is the best way to go but my wallet is on a diet, so is Brass a good alternate way to go? I want to do it the right way but also at the lowest cost with out compromising operation. I know this is sounding like I want my cake and eat it, too. However I understand that quality tools make the job sweeter and that comes with a price.

Any suggestions from the group would be great!

 

[jfk69]

If dollars are tight, do a brass valve and use the braided sink hose to make your filter. A buddy of mine has his cooler set up like this and he makes some incredible beers.

 

[charliehorse]

The brass fittings function just like the stainless ones and they don't use lead in plumbing brass anymore, so that's fine. JFK69 is right about using a braided line. In fact, it's what the majority of people use anyway. The only 3 "gotta-haves" are a pot big enough to do a full boil, a heating element strong enough to bring 6.5 gallons of wort to a full boil (you could use your stove, but it'll take a while) and a way to cool it down quickly. In spite of what people will tell you, you can use an Aluminum pot, they are just harder to clean. Once they're seasoned, the Aluminum won't get into your beer. I picked up a single burner gas burner (billed as a fish fryer) from Bass Pro for about $30 when I made the move. You can fashion an immersion chiller out of copper pipe from the local big-big home improvement store and attach your hose fitting to it via a piece of vinyl tubing.

All these the "best solution"? Not really. Will they work? Absolutely! and you'll be making perfectly fine beer. As near as I can tell, there is no good reason to mortgage your house to build out your perfect brewing system before you brew your first batch. Go slow on the upgrades and you'll be fine.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Lots of ways to go for the lautering mechanism in the mash tun. As mentioned above, lots of folks get great results for cheap with braided hose. There's a few drawbacks to it - the hose can get crushed resulting in an epic stuck sparge, and it's terrible for fly sparging if you want to go that route, although shouldn't make an issue for batch sparging. You can also build your own manifold out of PVC or pipe or something. Which, if you design it right, can work just as well as a false bottom. Or, you can do what I did, save yourself the effort, and just buy a stainless false bottom. I've never had one issue with it.

 

[IslandLizard]

You can paint or cover up the logo with your brewery's or pet's name.

I am partial to using a slotted manifold instead of a SS braid, although both can and will work equally fine. Once you've hit the braid a few times with your mash paddle it starts to look very used. I made mine from cpvc tubing and couplers, $7 total. It takes a little more ingenuity to fit to a round bottom than a rectangular one.

 

[roger_tucker]

Once you've hit the braid a few times with your mash paddle it starts to look very used

I can attest to this. I just started all grain a few months ago. I did three batches and had to replace my braided hose. If it happens again I'm replacing it with a stainless false bottom.

 

[Felixio]

For a false bottom, I picked up a stainless steel pizza pan (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CFM7Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) drilled a large hole in the center for the fitting, then drilled 1/8" holes across the entire thing, 1/2" apart. I was inspired by another HBT thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-false-bottom-404000/)

 

[roger_tucker]

For a false bottom, I picked up a stainless steel pizza pan (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CFM7Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) drilled a large hole in the center for the fitting, then drilled 1/8" holes across the entire thing, 1/2" apart. I was inspired by another HBT thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-new-false-bottom-404000/)

Does it work well? Did you leave your braided hose on also? I looked at the other thread. I might try that. Would you mind posting a picture of yours?

 

[Dave46382]

This thread has some good info on converting your cooler ...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

 

[warix]

Thanks! There are a lot of great replies here! I can't wait to get started, I want to do my first AG in September.

 

[LLBrewer]

I mash in a bag on top of a SS false bottom and it works great. I wonder, though, if the false bottom is still necessary. Hmmm, might be worth an experiment.

 

[charliehorse]

You may want to keep the false bottom to help strain out hops.

 

[LLBrewer]

I try to not add hops to my mash tun. I haven't had a need to yet...

 

[peterj]

I can attest to this. I just started all grain a few months ago. I did three batches and had to replace my braided hose. If it happens again I'm replacing it with a stainless false bottom.

You had to replace it? I've had mine for almost 2 years now and it's working just fine. I try not to rip on it with the mash paddle, but I definitely stir pretty vigorously. It was getting a little crushed and stretched at one point and I started getting some stuck sparges, but I figured out I just need to straighten it back out and unstretch it a little if it starts looking bad. Haven't had a stuck sparge since.

 

[catdaddy66]

You had to replace it? I've had mine for almost 2 years now and it's working just fine. I try not to rip on it with the mash paddle, but I definitely stir pretty vigorously. It was getting a little crushed and stretched at one point and I started getting some stuck sparges, but I figured out I just need to straighten it back out and unstretch it a little if it starts looking bad. Haven't had a stuck sparge since.

I made a replacement SS braid after my original got malformed after 5-6 batches. In the new one I twirled a copper wire around a pencil to make a coil to slide in the braid. First batch worked perfectly and hasn't lost shape yet, though I was careful not to abuse it this time!


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[charliehorse]

I try to not add hops to my mash tun. I haven't had a need to yet...

I took this to mean that you were brewing in a bag. Are you using a kettle for a mash tun? If so, why wouldn't you boil in it? If not, why would you need a bag?

 

[KeninMN]

I plan on using a 10 gallon tall and round cooler with a stainless steel, weldless bulked fitting and ball valve as a mash tun, a quality, custom BIAB bag instead of a false bottom or braided tube, and a 7.5 gallon boiling kettle/burner combo I can get for $50 for brewing 5 gallon batches. Total cost for everything new: $155. I'll get the benefit of tighter mash temperature control without the need for an expensive larger kettle, or the jankiness of having to wrap a sleeping bag around the kettle to maintain mash temperature when the weather turns cold...

 

[Denny]

I am getting all the items together that I need to convert to all grain. Today I picked up a 10 gallon igloo cooler, I scored it from my sister because she is moving to Arkansas. (it has the Lowes logo on it grrrr) I am trying to figure out which way to go for my false bottom. Should I go the stainless route? Or is the Phil's Phalse Bottom workable? What about the ball valve and fittings? I know stainless is the best way to go but my wallet is on a diet, so is Brass a good alternate way to go? I want to do it the right way but also at the lowest cost with out compromising operation. I know this is sounding like I want my cake and eat it, too. However I understand that quality tools make the job sweeter and that comes with a price.

Any suggestions from the group would be great!

I have brewed 458 batches, including some award winners, with the setup here...www.dennybrew.com

 

[Denny]

I can attest to this. I just started all grain a few months ago. I did three batches and had to replace my braided hose. If it happens again I'm replacing it with a stainless false bottom.

I've been using the same braid for 16 years and 458 batches. You just need to get the right braid.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I am getting all the items together that I need to convert to all grain. Today I picked up a 10 gallon igloo cooler, I scored it from my sister because she is moving to Arkansas. (it has the Lowes logo on it grrrr) I am trying to figure out which way to go for my false bottom. Should I go the stainless route? Or is the Phil's Phalse Bottom workable? What about the ball valve and fittings? I know stainless is the best way to go but my wallet is on a diet, so is Brass a good alternate way to go? I want to do it the right way but also at the lowest cost with out compromising operation. I know this is sounding like I want my cake and eat it, too. However I understand that quality tools make the job sweeter and that comes with a price.

Any suggestions from the group would be great!

I'm assuming that this is a cylindrical cooler, yeah? Most "Lowes" coolers are cylindrical, I think.

Personally, I think that cylindrical coolers work best with fly sparging and rectangular coolers work best with batch sparging. I also think that cylindrical coolers work best with a false bottom and rectangular coolers work best with a manifold. I think that SS braids are just horrible and should be avoided, because I've had too many stuck sparges with them. I don't have a lot of science to back this up, just my own personal experiences.

But you're on a budget, so you don't want "ideal." You want "best bang for your buck."

Okay. I'd go with a brass 1/2" ball valve and other brass fittings. I'd make an exagonal (six-sided) or octagonal (eight-sided) manifold out of 1/2" CPVC tubing and fittings. Like this:

But instead of using a rigid piece of CPVC to connect it to the valve assembly, I'd use a piece of 1/2" silicon hose. It's less likely to get knocked off.

It's important to use CPVC instead of PVC since PVC is not designed for hot water. I think it's only designed for waste water, to be honest, but don't quote me on that.

Anyway...I'd take a drill and a pretty small drill bit (1/16" or 3/32") and drill a whole mess of holes in the tubing (but not the fittings). Make two rows of holes in the lower half of each piece of tubing, about 15° away from where the tubing would touch the bottom of the cooler. Make a row of holes on each side of that line.

I'd try fly sparging first to see if that works well for you. And then try batch sparging if you're not happy with fly sparging.

 

[Denny]

I think that SS braids are just horrible and should be avoided, because I've had too many stuck sparges with them. I don't have a lot of science to back this up, just my own personal experiences

As I've said, I've used the same braid for 16+ years and 458 batches. I've never had a stuck runoff in all that time. I think if you had chosen a different braid you would have been fine. Lasco brand part number 10-0121 or 10-0321 is what you need.

 

[charliehorse]

Denny have you slowed down brewing? I figure that by now, you'd have gotten more than 458 batches.

 

[Denny]

Denny have you slowed down brewing? I figure that by now, you'd have gotten more than 458 batches.

Yeah, it's been busy with the book. It's been two months since I've brewed. But I'm planning on brewing 2 batches this week.

 

[roger_tucker]

I made a replacement SS braid after my original got malformed after 5-6 batches. In the new one I twirled a copper wire around a pencil to make a coil to slide in the braid. First batch worked perfectly and hasn't lost shape yet, though I was careful not to abuse it this time!

Yep, I made a few batches and when I went to clean the mash tun I noticed the braid had come apart at the seam.

 

[Denny]

Yep, I made a few batches and when I went to clean the mash tun I noticed the braid had come apart at the seam.

Bad braid. See my recommendation above.

 

[charliehorse]

there shouldn't be a seam in your braid. Get the Stainless Steel connection hoses at your local big-box home improvement center and there is not seam.