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You should build it just for the helluva it and have sous vide after brewing!

I originally had a false bottom in my cooler because it was cheap and it did work well, until I added a pump into the mix. Once I installed my pump it would get stuck every so often especially when I brewed stouts with rolled oats. Maybe a false bottom works well with other systems but it just...

There's pro's and con's to every system. The con to mine is that it does cost more than your paint strainer but I have more flexibility to make other styles with my system, I can control my temps more efficiently, and can do a step mash if I want among other things. Another pro with my system is...

If I used a false bottom it would be hard to recirculate without getting a stuck mash because the grains would compact. By using a basket I don't have to worry about stuck mashes and I can recirculate no problem and increase my efficiency at the same time.

I used the MIAB system for the second time yesterday and got 79% efficiency this time according to ibrewmaster.

Do you know if sewing machine oil would work also?

Just ran mine for the 3rd time today and no smell at all.

My Chugger did the same thing the first batch and was hot which is probably normal since its pumping hot wort. The smell became less noticeable on the second batch but still runs pretty hot. I'm assuming that the heat is burning off any oils or residues left over from the manufacturing process...

I actually run my pump for a few minutes and tilt the heat tube to get any air out. After that I turn the heater on and am ready to go.

I put the probe before the heating element because I think this would be a more accurate temp of the mash compared to temps after the heating element. If you put it after the element I think your actual mash temps would be off since the wort was just heated by the element.

That's not a bad idea and I'm sure that you might be able to but I would be leery about bringing wort to a boil in a plastic container such as this.

I contacted 3 plumbing supply stores around the Des Moines area and nobody carries stainless so I went with Amazon. I wish I could have found it cheaper but I was impatient.

It's funny that you mention wife approval because after 3 years of brewing my wife has never showed any interest. After building this, she now wants to brew her own Irish Blonde this weekend so how could I say no :)

I have a 10 gallon kettle, I just don't have a picture of it.

Here's my simple and compact setup. It's a perfect counter size and is a little over 17 inches wide.

I'm sure that would be just fine. I don't think there is a huge difference between 300 and 400.

I haven't had any issues with air inside the heater tube. I run the pump first and from what I can tell, all of the air is pushed out of the tube. It might be a little large to fit under the cooler but I haven't tried it. The screen size on mine 300 micron. I think that is a great size...

Yep, I think that would work just fine. Do you plan on making a temp controller?

I actually have a barb with a tube attached. I drilled holes and plugged one end so the grains mix within the basket. When I transfer to the kettle I just unscrew the connection on the lid and attach to my kettle. The stainless disc is actually a press, it helps me get as much of the good...

I'm still a rookie too so no worries! I haven't sparged with this set up yet because right now it's trial and error until I can find what works best. I might try to batch sparge next time and see if I can improve my efficiency even more, first time around I hit 85%. My thought is that since...