hey guys need help - (equipment purchase)

[daniel17319]

heres my short intro

im deployed to iraq i spend all my time reading about making beer and researching every aspect of it, i have 2 little boys and a wife so funds are limited, i have never brewed anything before in my life, im going all out im going to start will all grain i think starter kits and canned wort is garbage (not doggen on anyone) i wanna get started as soon as i get back.

heres the equipment i got so far, as well as questions on equipment i may need.

1) a vintage corona grain mill my mom is giving to me. i want to convert it to electric and mount it on a large wooden board, im guessing ill need some type of pulley system. what are your thoughts? anyone had expereince with this?

2) my wifey is looking for a keg for me i want a 15 gallon one i told her to not go above 40 bucks, so i will prolly have one when i get back, i have a welder lined up with a plasma torch to do whatever cutting and welding i need for free, hes are welder over here in iraq so we are friends.

3) i have a 70 qt mash tun cooler im shipping for free from here in iraq, it was free as well, its beat up and dirty but who cares. im going to go with copper tubing on this,, any thoughts about this method?

4) i also have a portable shower i plan on converting to a sparge arm, i got it for free over here, anyone got experience with this, maybe i put hot water in the portable shower the control the flow?

5) i also have an oxygen regulator and tank my sister gave to me along with rubber hoses to make blow off valve, so i can oxygenate the wort and yeast.

5) i got a hydrometer from eBay

6) i need thermomters for the whole brewing process mash tun, keggle. i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on this but do need reliable feedback.

7) i also need some fermentors, i want to do the all glass carboy route because that is just awesome to me. heres my questions on this, will carlo rossi glass gallon jugs work? and sense i live near the border does anyone know were to get carboys for cheap in el paso or anywhere else close, i don't care if they are Mexican carboys i know the quality issues.


8) cold room, i see al refrigerators on craigslist for 50 to 75 bucks all the time, is there any conversions to make these more suited for fermenting beer?

9) i plan on bottling in champagne bottles the cap style ones, were can i get a good caper for cheap?

10) i also need a scale for hops, someone told me on here postage scales they sell at office stores are accurate and cheap, any other cheap methods you know of? I found a scale for 12 dollars on the internet is that good price?

11) heat source, i know large turkey fryers are good, but they are still expensive, anyone made a heating unit and stand? whats the cheapest most efficient way to do this, i saw a kit that sold all the hoses and a large heating unit that could heat a water heater for 45 bucks i could make my own stand. what is your thoughts and recommendations for this? could i take the unit out of a broken water heater?

12) counterflow chiller, i plan on making this i have a torch for the sodder, i have seen people use heat resistant hose and people use non heat resistant hose. What is the answer to this? and could i hook this up to a ice vat for quicker wort chilling anyone know how to do this, or is it a good idea?

13) Hydrometer tube/vile, i see these on the net for like 20 bucks, i also seen large cylinder rose bud vase for around 2 4 bucks, any thoughts or ideas on this?



14) i plan on setting up my system so everything is gravity fed. whats the consensus on hoses and other misc equipment i need. i know i can get strainers and stuff from wal mart so im not worried about that.

15) i want to make my own stirring paddle what kind of wood should i use?

anyway thanks guys, i did my best to explain what i need. i know theres a million ways to skin a cat.

 

[FishinDave07]

First of all, thank you for your service :rockin:

1) a vintage corona grain mill my mom is giving to me. i want to convert it to electric and mount it on a large wooden board, im guessing ill need some type of pulley system. what are your thoughts? anyone had expereince with this?

I don't crush my own grain, but i know there is a lot of info in the "Equipment Forum" that you will find useful.

2) my wifey is looking for a keg for me i want a 15 gallon one i told her to not go above 40 bucks, so i will prolly have one when i get back, i have a welder lined up with a plasma torch to do whatever cutting and welding i need for free, hes are welder over here in iraq so we are friends.

I got one for $30 on craigslist. I used an angle grinder and it took me 5 minutes, but if you have access to a plasma cutter go for it!

3) i have a 70 qt mash tun cooler im shipping for free from here in iraq, it was free as well, its beat up and dirty but who cares. im going to go with copper tubing on this,, any thoughts about this method?

On, HBT there are a million and one ways to skin a cat . I use a SS circular braid and have had the best runoff with a 60/40 wheat/2-row grain bill! You could do a manifold, just check out the "DIY" section of the "Equipment Forum"

4) i also have a portable shower i plan on converting to a sparge arm, i got it for free over here, anyone got experience with this, maybe i put hot water in the portable shower the control the flow?

I double-batch sparge with a mash-out. For some reason fly sparging seems daunting to me and i don't want extra equipment. Check out the "All-Grain" and the "General Techniques" forum for more on fly-sparging

5) i also have an oxygen regulator and tank my sister gave to me along with rubber hoses to make blow off valve, so i can oxygenate the wort and yeast.

Absolutely! Give the wort a healthy dose of 02!

5) i got a hydrometer from eBay

Probably your most important tool and companion

6) i need thermomters for the whole brewing process mash tun, keggle. i dont want to spend an arm and a leg on this but do need reliable feedback.

I use one digital thermometer and move it between the tun, sparge water, etc. It can get annoying but i'm ok with it. I bought a $35 thermo from Bass Pro. I think its a Polder.

7) i also need some fermentors, i want to do the all glass carboy route because that is just awesome to me. heres my questions on this, will carlo rossi glass gallon jugs work? and sense i live near the border does anyone know were to get carboys for cheap in el paso or anywhere else close, i don't care if they are Mexican carboys i know the quality issues.

Seeing the process is cool, but i have 7 gallons Aqua-tainers, once again from Bass Pro. If i were to buy glass carboys, i wouldn't! I would buy Better Bottles because they don't shatter.

8) cold room, i see al refrigerators on craigslist for 50 to 75 bucks all the time, is there any conversions to make these more suited for fermenting beer?

You would need to override the thermostat. On AHS, NB, and B3 they sell thermostats, analog and digital between $30-$50

9) i plan on bottling in champagne bottles the cap style ones, were can i get a good caper for cheap?

I use the double wing capper or whatever its called. It works fine on beer bottles, but kinda gets funny on international beer bottles. I would ask a HBS about this one.

10) i also need a scale for hops, someone told me on here postage scales they sell at office stores are accurate and cheap, any other cheap methods you know of? I found a scale for 12 dollars on the internet is that good price?

I have an Escali scale from Amazon.com, i don't remember how much, but reasonable. It goes up to 11 pounds and can give me ounces for hops.

11) heat source, i know large turkey fryers are good, but they are still expensive, anyone made a heating unit and stand? whats the cheapest most efficient way to do this, i saw a kit that sold all the hoses and a large heating unit that could heat a water heater for 45 bucks i could make my own stand. what is your thoughts and recommendations for this? could i take the unit out of a broken water heater?

If you can build something, why not! I personally use the turkey fryer kit from Bass Pro (I guess its obvious that i work there ). and it comes with a 7 gallons aluminum stock pot, which is what i use for sparge water. My keggle sits nicely on it and heats up in no time.

12) counterflow chiller, i plan on making this i have a torch for the sodder, i have seen people use heat resistant hose and people use non heat resistant hose. What is the answer to this? and could i hook this up to a ice vat for quicker wort chilling anyone know how to do this, or is it a good idea?

I believe that a CFC is only as effective as per your ground water temp. I use an IC and float the keg in the pool. Before the pool, i would fill my mash tun with 7 pounds of ice and water and dump a home depot pond pump in there to recirc. the water.

13) Hydrometer tube/vile, i see these on the net for like 20 bucks, i also seen large cylinder rose bud vase for around 2 4 bucks, any thoughts or ideas on this?

I use the container the hydrometer came in. I also have a wine theif but rarely use it, because it is wider and you need to "steal" a larger sample.

14) i plan on setting up my system so everything is gravity fed. whats the consensus on hoses and other misc equipment i need. i know i can get strainers and stuff from wal mart so im not worried about that.

There's a name for them, but i forgot it. make sure they are heat-resistant and wont melt on you.

15) i want to make my own stirring paddle what kind of wood should i use?

I use a plastic one. check out the "DIY" forum for that one.

Hope that answers your Q's

Dave

 

[kanzimonson]

I love that you want to go all grain from the beginning but I'd recommend doing one extract batch to get an idea of the entire process. I did soooo much reading before I started and still felt like I was floundering around during my first (extract) batch.

Same thing with going to all grain - tried a few partial mash batches first and I'm really glad I did.

On the other hand, if you have a brewing buddy who's already doing all-grain, then you'll have enough guidance. It's just so overwhelming the first times through.

 

[daniel17319]

thats awesome bass pros lol thanks man, yah that defentely helped ill look into that stuff

 

[FishinDave07]

no problem Daniel, +1 to waht Kanzimonson said, if you can brew with a friend for extra guidance. One thing that helps is asking yourself "What can i do now?" when you have down time during the process that you could be doing other things to speed it up.

 

[yogensha]

I'll echo that an extra hand or two can help alot when you're first starting, and offer my hand if you need it. I'm up in Alamogordo, feel free to hit me up when you get back! There are some active members in El Paso as well, just do a forum search.

 

[Nova5]

Making your own paddle might not be worth it montary wise, but there is a certian sense of satisfaction of doing things yourself.

Lowes has a nice 35" paddle for all of 10 bucks.

 

[daniel17319]

thanks again guys everyone, im still learning ill be very knowleagabe by the time i get back, but no expereince, i may hit you up. my brother will be helping to but he has no interest of learning how things work he just wants to drink the final product, cant say i blame him.