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I would just take some HD aluminum foil and cover the back half of the kettle directing the steam forward and away from the microwave. Also a small day 6” desktop fan could keep the air moving in the vicinity of the kettle top and ease condensation on the microwave. Seems the low intensity...

Check w: Bobby M at brewhardware.com He will likely have what you need.... Rather than a bolt, a more elegant solution is a weld less threaded bulkhead and a plug...but Bobby will know better...

With batch sparge you can empty the tun as fast as you like....without sticking the mash...if it drains, let er rip... Channeling is an issue w fly sparging, not with batch sparging as you should be stirring a few times anyhow.... Channeling and batch sparge doesn’t exist. Channeling is fresh...

To what % accuracy did you measure all weights and volumes? Efficiency #’s are only as accurate as the data gathered :) Not trying to be accusatory, but it is very easy to miss measurements by a few percent...do that twice and actual efficiency could be 5-6 % off or more. With 100% conversion...

Wrapping some aluminum foil about the lower end of the site tube should deter enough heat to prevent boiling in the fitting.

If you want a little project, you can clean up that old kettle with sandpaper. Start with a coarse grit and work down to a finer grit. Takes some elbow grease but results are pretty good. I’ve cleaned up a few old alum pots this way. Wet dry paper works best with a bit of water to lube...

Not difficult at all if you use the correct low speed drill. Many many have done this using a drill w good results.

FWIW as part of the discussion, the HF D handle 1/2” drill is another viable option. Max RPM is 900, but it has a whopping 9 amp motor so it still does pretty well at lower rpm. I use one to turn the kegco 3 roller....a few years ago it was only $35 less 20% so almost free lol. I also have...

Max Speed for HF 1/2” Heavy Duty Spade Handle Drill is 550 RPM, without load. Under load guessing 1/2 that.... Lots of people use these without a separate reducing speed controller and are happy. Edit....just realized the OP is intending to drive the Kegco 3 roller mill, I have one and it is...

I second what CodeSection said...the low speed high torque drill is what you want. It will out perform a higher speed drill slowed down w a controller as it is slowed down w gears, giving full power and torque at low rpm.

That looks like the one I made lol With a powerful slower speed 1/2” drill it will produce plenty of nicely crushed grain at a reasonable pace, and you’ll likely never be able to wear it out....cast iron is hard stuff :) Just guessing from the grain pieces in the bucket, and the gap on the...

You also don’t have to limit yourself to beer 1 and beer 2, or first and second runnings. You can make extra first runnings, and add some of that to the second runnings to bump gravity of the second runnings. Blending the runnings to tailor gravity. For even greater efficiency, one could...

I like this :) Perfect also takes forever to perfect....

My guess would be that leaving the pump off during mash in and then waiting several minutes allows for substantial conversion, recirculating sugar solution rather than sticky starches is much easier. Just a guess, not a recirc guy just intrigued how many love to do it :)

Even in a large room, the warm steam will immediately rise to the ceiling and may condensate. In my largish basement, I use a small fan to blow upward over the kettle pointed at the ceiling to mix the room air with the kettle steam, then another fan blowing out an open window. Moving the...

Glad this works for you! But I would imagine your giving up a fair amount of kettle volume to mash volume.... A bag isn’t a FB, and droops down to a teardrop shape. Anyways glad this works for you, easier imo to heat gently and stir...jmo

My guess is the scorching is actually burnt trub on the kettle bottom. Occasional stirring as you ramp to boil should eliminate this. Oops ... just realized I am merely confirming your suspicions:)

I would be a little cautious holding temps with an induction burner. I repaired a bag for a fellow that burned a couple holes in his bag with an induction burner. Bottom line imo, any direct heated mash needs to be stirred, at least occasionally to distribute the heat.... Ymmv

A five gallon cooler is plenty large enough and I wouldn’t consider going larger. Mash with approx water to get 60% pre boil volume and then batch sparge with the amount your boil kettle is short... This is very simple and eliminates trying to calculate your total water, instead you are...

Off topic, but I’m pretty sure Jack Schmidling also designed and marketed the “Whirlygig” rotating sparge arm for fly sparging. I saw one in use at a group brew at Bobby M’s house years ago and thought it a little silly....what did I know, I was a follower of Denny w/ the fast and cheap batch...