What else do I need to switch to AG?

I have:

A 20qt kettle
A 36qt kettle
A wort chiller
A Mash/Lauter tun made from the Rubbermaid cylindrical cooler with the braided hose at the bottom. Made from the directions from a thread on here.
A wort chiller

Anything else that I need?

 

How big is the mash tun? Hopefully 10gallon?

Real handy things to have are:
thinset grout mixer to attach to a drill (power mash paddle).
0-32 brix refractometer
handheld thermometer
beersmith software (or similar)
grain mill
~8lb digital scale for grain
EXTRA BUCKETS!

 

I'd add a propane burner (if you haven't already got one) since doing it on your stove sucks. Only other thing I can think of is a length of high temp silicone tubing for your wort to flow from MLT to kettle (you can pour straight from the spigot, but the tubing will give you a better siphoning effect).

 

Maybe a wort chiller?

j/k...I'm guessing you have a heating device capable of doing full boils. I would just say make sure you have a nice long spoon\mash paddle for stirring the mash.

Good luck!

EDIT: and definitely a digital thermometer!

 

Yes, the mash tun is 10 gal. Just made it last night. I'm pretty proud of myself.

I have to do this on my stove for now. Just did a few tests and I can get a rolling boil not that long of a time. Brewing outdoors isn't an option for me.

The silicone tubing is a good mention. I'm assuming I can get some of that at Lowe's?

Mash spoon is another good item I don't have.

I have a digital thermometer but I think I need another one.

 

Not sure about Lowes' but I know Home Depot does NOT carry that stuff. I always get it online from a HB store or I like USPlastics.com because they can get most stuff to me next day when I order ground shipping.

 

skip the mash spoon and get yourself a drill and that thin set grout mixer. Much better!!

Be sure you can rolling boil like 7 gallons of water, and cool it down inside of 15 minutes. Propane really is the hot setup, but as long as your stove is up to snuff for that volume, you will be ok.

 

Why would you need silicone tubing rather than just the tubing from Lowe's? Temp issues?

 

Yeah I wish I could brew outdoors but right now I'm confined to the apt for brewing.

 

I would add, a very understanding SWMBO, as you will now be spending twice as much time brewing the same amout of beer.

 

I have been using the regular tubing from HD/Lowe's on my MLT for years with no problems. And the price premium on silicone tubing is substantial.

 

I use the braided hose from Lowes... doesn't crimp... works great.

 

I would be afraid of putting that thing too deep in the mash tun and doings a number on my SS braid...

It was my understanding that the regular tubing (the stuff used for siphoning and transferring) is only for up to 160 degrees and above that can leak chemicals from the plastic into the liquid being transferred...or something like that. Hopefully someone can chime in...

I used the regular stuff at first and between the apparent heat loss (the tubing gets HOT! which you dont get with the silicone) and the easy kinking at high temps I wanted to upgrade.

The price is quite a bit more but you buy it once and your done. Maybe were talking an extra $20? Not a big deal to me.

 

You don't need silicone tubing from MLT to BK....the vinyl tubing is good up to 180°F, and your runoff should never be hotter than that. Not to say that it's a bad idea, but it's not actually necessary.

 

Just an aside...

I started ag on my stove and the weight of the many batches of brewing caused the burner to lean to the center of the stove, pissing off the swmbo (but, she got a new stove out of it and I got a double propane burner too).

You may also want to think about how you are going to get rid of all that extra water vapor from the extended boiling; a window fan will work.