I’ve moved to a minimal sparge method using room temp water instead of having a separate HLT & have enjoyed having one less vessel to deal with. It’s amazing how simpler brew day is when you’ve got a dedicated bench for your gear.
My wife bought me a 1 gallon all-grain kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop for Christmas. I did 2 of their kits then moved up to 2.5 gallon batches before quickly upgrading to 5 gallon batches.
Here’s mine using the thermal take fan from Amazon. Unfortunately, the throttle is no longer working and I can’t diagnose why. Oh well, time for a new build.