New Member, also longtime lurker

[LegacyBanker]

I’ve come across this forum several times while googling questions about brewing and thought maybe it was time to join.

I live in South Carolina and started brewing during the pandemic with some guys in the neighborhood. We got an anvil 10.5 and some big mouth bubblers and an Inkbird with freezer. Now my anvil doesn’t heat up as fast as it used to and I find myself taking all day to brew a 5 gallon batch & clean up after, so I’m at an inflection point where I either have to get some new equipment or re-think how I do this hobby.

I’m thinking about getting a secondhand kettle and burner and using that to heat my strike water and also for the boil phase, while still mashing in the Anvil for that nice consistent temperature,Thoughts?

I also have been using an old garage fridge converted into a kegerator, but it leaks water from the top to the bottom on the inside and I’m concerned how long it might last; would love to find a shorter wider kegerator with a third tap .I’m roughly
60 miles from Columbia and also Greenwood, also 10 miles from Augusta, if anyone has one to sell.

Also, thinking about trying to grow some hops this year since my buddy is going to Oregon and will come back with some rhizomes. When’s the best time to plant?

 

[JohnSand]

Welcome aboard!
Check your zone for hops planting, my Cascades have been growing for years, I forget when I planted. You won't get the best yield the first year anyway.
I use either a propane burner with a cooler mash tun or my Brewzilla electric. The Brewzilla also heats slowly, and I have thought of doing the boil on gas, but I don't want to haul out all of my equipment. The best thing about the electric is that it's one light piece.
My kegerator is a 4.4 cu ft fridge that I converted. There's a whole section on DIY in our forum.