noob all grain setup questions

only done a few batches of extract and wanted feedback on a cheap all grain setup.

equipment I have
- wort chiller
- stir plate and flask
- 6.5 and 5 gallon carboys
- 3 gallon stock pot
- autosiphon, hygro, and some other small things that came with starter kit.
- darkstar burner

I was purchasing the following as my

HOT LIQUOR- 5 gallon round igloo(I currently have, have to buy a ball valve)?
MASH TUN-10 gallon igloo with false bottom and ball valve (thinking of buying from northern brewer)
BOIL KETTLE- either 15 gallon ss kettle with no ball valve and will use autosiphon into carboys, or should I spend the 300 bucks to get the the northernbrewer kettle with ball valve and thermostat.


i'm thinking of doing this on the cheap, cause If I do get serious I may "go big" after 15 batches or so.

but really looking for feedback on
1. is a regular steel pot with siphon ok for boil kettle or am I really getting a lot more out of one with a valve and thermo. I do realized I could use this for a hot liquor tank later if my system gets bigger

2. do I go with a 10 gallon cooler mash tun for $160 or is the ss pot option for 400 that much better

TIA

 

I would but the 10 gallon igloo beverage cooler from amazon.. They are often there for less than $50 new.. add a $30 false bottom and $10 for the ballvalve and fitting and your good on you mash tun.. no need to pay someone else $50 for the 5 minutes worth of assy.
10 gallon mt is needed for even 5 gallon batches of bigger beers like barley wines or imperial stouts.

also 15 gallon kettles are great for 10 gallon brewes but totally not needed or ideal if your only doing 5 gallon brews..

these pumps also work awesome for $20 .. Ive been using them for years.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Solar-H...091385?hash=item41a1b86879:g:fZgAAOSwUdlWcAOl

these 24v versions are even better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251768710886?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Thanks for the feedback, after reading a bunch on the forums in the past 24 hours i'm thinking of revising my setup to this

16 gallon stock pot with valve, bayou classic $127 (non tri ply)
16 brew kettle with false bottom, bayou classic $ 230 (tri ply)
3 gallon existing aluminum pot as hot liquor tank, plan to batch sparge. maybe use an existing 5 gallon igloo instead.

this gives me steel pots that I can heat up directly or possible use with a herms/rims system in the future? it seems about the same pricing as the megapot 1.2 and 10 gallon igloo. 400 bucks including shipping and tax.

I guess my only question is the trip ply pot comes with the false bottom for mashing. wouldn't the tri ply be better as the boil kettle for the wort? i'm wondering if I can use the single ply for mash tun and tri ply for boil kettle by switching the false bottom from pot to pot.
or should I spend 100 bucks more and get both of them tri ply?

 

heres links for the two pots I'm looking at

16 gallon brew kettle with false bottom
http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/bayou-800-416.html

16 gallon kettle for boil pot
http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/bayou-1064.html

thanks again.

 

If you're looking to only do a few batches cheap, go for BIAB. Just get a big enough kettle and a big enough grain bag. You can use the gear you already have for dunk sparging if desired. No point buying unneeded equipment if you're already thinking about upgrading soon after.

 

If you want to go cheap look at a rectangular cooler without wheels 50-70 qts. Most cases a 50 works great but you may have to do 2 batch sparges but that can help with efficiency. I use a coleman extreme 50 qt. then rig it out with a ball valve from a hardware store and a nipple to get you through the cooler wall. I use 1/2 female cpvc to solvent fitting and a cpvc manifold cut with a hack saw for filtering. I think i have 70 dollars in my whole mash tun and get very good returns on my grain. I do not have any of my maifold glued as i can take it apart to clean it periodically. Just have to be careful to not knock it loose when mashing in.

 

I have the same kettles only I looked on amazon and found the open box deal kettles with the single ball valve for $125 shipped and the false bottoms are on ebay for about $32 shipped....(should save you $100 or so if you want..)

I use electric so no need for tri ply though...

 

i would highly recommend getting a kettle with at least a valve.It will help tremendously, and once you go valve, you never go back. And the thermometer is also a very nice thing to have

 

thanks for the feeback guys, I did end up going with the above two pots and ordering them thru amazon like suggested. they were cheaper and great return policy. thanks augie

also had another question. I got a stainless steel wort chiller. a friend says its much less efficient than copper and I should trade it back in for a copper one?

 

I have the non-triple ply Bayou (#1064). It's my only kettle (I BIAB) and it's done me good for over 2 years.