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I vote hacksaw, grinder, or dremel. But my goal is usable (but not necessarily pretty) equipment.

What is the fascination with SS? I have brass ball valves, a copper coil, and some aluminum kettles. I haven't died yet. Copper is cheaper, easier to work with, has better thermal properties,.and is a yeast nutrient to boot.

I don't want to come off like an ass or know it all but a safety should prevent the gun from going off, this includes *especially* accidental trigger pulls. Call me old fashioned but I prefer a gun that I can keep cocked and locked. A heavy double action trigger pull is no substitute for a...

This. I've yet to find a plastic gun that is comfortable in my hands. Glock, for all its reliability has got to be the worst. Like shooting with a 2x4. And no manual safety either.. Why you would put a safety on the trigger itself is beyond me. Buy a gun that fits your hand well and points...

The way I figure you want as much water volume to sparge with as possible with the batch sparge setup, so using some of that water for a mash out should result in less than optimal efficiency. For this reason I'd planned on taking a portion of the wort, boiling it, and adding it back to the...

I'd think 25 to 50 ft of copper would be fine. The diameter of the coil should match your pump so that it is not a restriction. You have two options which would impact the length of the coil. 1. You have a separate heart exchanger heated to a temp far above mash temps. It should be small to...

That's pretty cool. Is there a build thread you got going for that? I see the link for the motor but where'd you get the blade? I'd planned on just stirring the HLT occasionally with a paddle but that's definitely cool. I may go that route if I end up having to stir too frequently to avoid...

I brew in the garage. I expect the temp loss across vessels will vary at most 1-2 degrees. So maybe a 1 degree loss in the summer and 3 in the winter. I am in FL where winters are mild. It is inconsequential and, for me, not something I care one way or the other about. Honestly, after...

What you are suggesting (monitor temp of wort entering grainbed) introduces precisely the complexities you seek to avoid. Monitoring sparge temps becomes more complex as does the herms process. You end up heating one vessel based on observations of another point further down the system where...

You need the 1 inch nut with o ring seal for the element. Just drill the hole and thread the nut on. Wire it up however you need to. Use a gfci outlet or breaker. It's that easy. I have two heatsticks as well, I think they are more work than mounting in the kettle. Edit: the nut with o ring...

I am putting my herms system together now and have given a lot of thought to probe placement. I think you want it in the hlt, not in direct contact with the wort in the coil. The reason for this is the pid is heating the water in the hlt, set it at the target temp (adjusting for losses in...

It is much easier to pull using a vac hose on one of the nipples on the receiving carboy (assuming the receiving vessel is a carboy) than to push. I've been meaning to rig up a method to do the same suction method when transferring to a corny keg.

I haven't got my model 2352 up and running yet so caveat emptor.... But I have read the manual and I'm pretty sure that if you do have the pid set to manual at 1% then you shouldn't be boiling that quantity of water. Either you pid is defective or the wiring is incorrect. Or you aren't actually...

I bet you have the wiring wrong somehow. Like the pid isn't controlling the element. I'm no expert so caveat emptor, but it'd be nice to see how you have it wired up.

I had some smithwicks and thought it had an off-taste, soapyish-medicinal note. If we were voting for the worst craft/import/micro beer it just might get my vote. That, or one of those awful import pilsners like heineken, estrella damm, or stella that have that medicinal skunkyish flavor...

My kegs have an"in" and "out" stamped on the keg itself but you still need to keep the posts straight as they are not the same size and are not interchangeable. The gas side usually has either slits on the base where you put the wrench or the base has a weird flower like circular base. The...

I have one I never ever use. Reason why? I have a carboy with a cap. Even if I use a bucket for a primary I can easily siphon into the carboy. I simply put a vacuum hose loosely over one of the nipples on the carboy cap to generate a vacuum in the receiving vessel and the siphon will start...

I'm waiting on one. I may go center inlet high flow march 809 but I hear such good things about the chugger that I'm willing to wait. Hopefully the next batch comes in soon.

I'm trying to figure this wiring stuff out myself so take my advice with a grain of salt. I don't think you need more than one pid. You also don't have to have a temp sensor in the boil kettle. You simply need one to be hooked up somewhere (and it will be - in the rims tube). You then run the...

It's not that hard to drill a hole and thread a nut onto a hot water heater element. That said, this could be a good alternative but I'd worry about it being food safe. You can drink water from the water heater but the makers of the spa element aren't anticipating anyone drinking spa water...