60 qt aluminum pot with lid and insert

[NitrogenWidget]

picked the above up at wallmart for $64.
would like to move to biab from extract and was wondering if i should get a bag to fit the insert or get it out of there and get a bag for the pot.

eventually i plan to put an element in there for electric heating and thought it would be real easy to put some feet on the basket to keep everything off the element.

I've seen mixed results posted with using the included cages for biab.

my thoughts, being able to support the basket over the pot and pushing some kind of plunger into it sounds like a better way than squeezing the bag to get everything out.

but i could be wrong.

 

[jheinikel]

Get a bag for the pot. I have read a few articles about the insert being restrictive and causing some efficiency loss. Just get a bag for the pot and use some clamps to hold it. If you grain bag ends up too heavy, you can make a makeshift pulley. If you want a basket, look at a stainless mesh BIAB basket. They will set you back a couple hundred dollars though.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I would get a bag sized for the pot, that way you can use the basket or decide not to use the basket.

I prefer no basket as it is a full volume mash.

The ability to press down on the grain in the basket is not a great benefit imo vs just letting the grain drain for 20 minutes and not bothering to squeeze.

All this squeezing and pressing is overrated imo.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Thanks!
If I can get away without squeezing I'd prefer it.
What's an extra 20 or 30 mins. When it comes to this stuff?
I do think I still need to keep the bag off the element somehow so I'll look for some perforated aluminum at the hardware store or online to go over the element.

 

[BowAholic]

well I have a 42 quart and an 80 qt, both with baskets. My bags were made by wilserbrewer to fit my pots, but they fit the pot with the basket inside just as well. I always brew with the baskets in because it's so much easier for me to handle that way without setting up a rope and pulley. I just sit the basket on top of a rack, over the kettle, to drain. I have lots of nice racks after converting a few refrigerators to kegerators. I like the basket and like how it keeps the bags off of the bottom of the kettle where it gets very hot. My efficiency is always over 80%.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Thanks!
If I can get away without squeezing I'd prefer it.
What's an extra 20 or 30 mins. When it comes to this stuff?
I do think I still need to keep the bag off the element somehow so I'll look for some perforated aluminum at the hardware store or online to go over the element.

Letting the bag drain vs squeezing doesn't add any time as this is time bringing the wort from mash temp to boil.

You only need to keep the bag off the element if you intend t fire the element. With basic kettle insulation you shouldn't meet to run the element during the mash, unless of course you want to add control and a pump as well.

 

[BowAholic]

Letting the bag drain vs squeezing doesn't add any time as this is time bringing the wort from mash temp to boil.

You only need to keep the bag off the element if you intend t fire the element. With basic kettle insulation you shouldn't meet to run the element during the mash, unless of course you want to add control and a pump as well.

That is one of the main reasons that I used the basket. I have slowly raised to heat to 168* mashout temp, after the hour mash is complete, with the grains/bag in the kettle. I would pull the basket/grains as soon as I got to 168* and sit it on the rack above the kettle to drain while I was heating towards boil. It worked well.

 

[wilserbrewer]

That is one of the main reasons that I used the basket. I have slowly raised to heat to 168* mashout temp, after the hour mash is complete, with the grains/bag in the kettle. I would pull the basket/grains as soon as I got to 168* and sit it on the rack above the kettle to drain while I was heating towards boil. It worked well.

Curious, why do you raise to 168?

 

[BowAholic]

Curious, why do you raise to 168?

I know most BIAB brewers don't do a mashout, but I always have, and I figure the higher temp water might wash a little more out of the grain...