I've got a 20 gallon Bayou Classic ss pot! Now what?!?

[Marc77]

My new all grain setup is getting closer to being able to brew on it. I've bought a 70 quart coleman "xtreme" cooler. I'm going to be making a copper manifold with a ball valve going out to complete my mash tun build.

This in turn will go into my brand new 82 quart Bayou Classic ss pot that I'm stoked to brew on. Now for my problem!!! What do I do with it?

Before you say pour wort in it and brew dummy here's my problem. I don't have a ball valve, thermometer or sight glass in it. I've determined that for now I'll have to forgo sight glass and thermometer and just throw a thermometer in the pot. I can't afford all that right now due to my pregnant wife loudly decrying that we have furniture and be able to afford things for our first child. Stupid kid..already wanting money!! I kid.

The other thing I've got is a 30 plate Duda diesel plate chiller. I've been reading and I know for 10 gallons of wort I'll "need" a ball valve and I'm pretty sure I'll be needing a dip tube. My question seems to be around the filtering before I go into the plate chiller.

If I use lil sparky's hop blocker do I still need to worry about filtering? What if I used a dip tube attached to a false bottom? What can I do to get to the point where I filter out all the junk that'll clog up my plate chiller?

I'm so close to FINALLY being able to brew again after a year and a half break. Help me get across the finish line HBT!!

Marc

 

[mytommygundont]

Go here, get a weldless bulkhead and screw your ball valve onto it. For a little over $25.00 (with shipping) you are set. Of course you wont have a dip tube for that price.

As for the filtering...False bottoms are for grain, don't think that one will block hop trub. Do the hop spider thing and you wont have to filter. But from my experience, your hop utilization is lowered with a hop spider.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Brew a batch of nice beer...move the late hop additions to flame out or hop stand and do a "no chill" in the kettle...pitch yeast the following morning / day when cool.

Problem solved!

 

[wilserbrewer]

This will also shorten the brew session allowing you more time to cater to the needs of pregnant SWIMBO.

2 birds 1 stone

 

[Bobby_M]

The unit on the bottom of this picture is the cheapest way to get a bulkhead and diptube in one piece for a low price. Bag all your hops and go ahead and run that chiller.

 

[Marc77]

The unit on the bottom of this picture is the cheapest way to get a bulkhead and diptube in one piece for a low price. Bag all your hops and go ahead and run that chiller.

Thanks Bobby_M!

I've been watching your youtube vid's for converting a kettle. This would be my first time modifying a kettle so I might end up having someone make the holes. Don't want to spend $ and ruin a pot that I can no longer use at all because I made a hole too big.

 

[Marc77]

The unit on the bottom of this picture is the cheapest way to get a bulkhead and diptube in one piece for a low price. Bag all your hops and go ahead and run that chiller.

Bobby, sent you a question on your site about what compression fitting I'd need for your 1/2 SS tee to the $17 NPC thermo. Wanna attach that to my plate chiller with a Type A camlock disconnect. Is there anything else other than those 4 parts? I wouldn't use the Type B camlock because that build will be specific to my plate chiller....for now.

 

[Jayhem]

I brew the same way at the moment! I have a 20 gallon SS kettle that I routinely do 11 gallon batches in. Because it is so heavy with that much wort in it I brew using my Bayou burner on my wooden deck. I heat my strike/sparge water in the kettle, transfer it to my mash tun which sits on a table above the kettle using a large sauce pan as a ladle. Once the mash is done I lauter into two 5-gallon kettles as I add sparge water from the 20 gallon kettle.

Once the last sparge water is added to the tun I start filling up the 20 gallon kettle with wort and let her rip!

Cool with a copper coil in the kettle and then transfer to fermenters using a siphon.

It's not ideal but it works! Next step for me is to build a tiered brew sculpture so I don't have to work so hard!