Advice on buying equipment

[Surly]

Remember...Craig's list is your friend.

I use carboys and always move them using a brew hauler.

Also, I never, ever attempt to set a carboy down on cement. I always set it onto a piece of plywood, or, insulating foam.

 

[subliminalurge]

Also, I never, ever attempt to set a carboy down on cement. I always set it onto a piece of plywood, or, insulating foam.

Hmm... I set carboys down on concrete all the time, it's one of my methods of temp control. That giant slab of concrete that makes up the basement floor works as a great heatsink. Any sort of insulator would defeat the purpose of setting all the way down on the floor when I have a perfectly good bench that it could sit on. I will admit that I'm very careful and extremely nervous every time I do it. I've read the horror stories about carboy shrapnel and what it can do.

And then there's the fact that the years are beginning to creep up on me. A few more years down the road and I'm sure my back will tell me that carrying full carboys around in my hands is one more activity that is no longer an option.... But for the moment I can still pull it off.

 

[cayergeau]

I have a cheapo Proctor-Silex 30 qt. SS pot from Cooking.com. Paid $40 delivered, on sale.....of course that was 4 years ago. But I do full boils, and under no circumstances would I go smaller than 30 qt.

do you do full boils because youre using all malt? or are you boiling that all for the malt extract? ive been doing malt extract because it's easier, and i've been only boiling about two gallons at most in my pot which is about 30 quarts

 

[dfess1]

do you do full boils because youre using all malt? or are you boiling that all for the malt extract? ive been doing malt extract because it's easier, and i've been only boiling about two gallons at most in my pot which is about 30 quarts

my malt extract brews got MUCH better doing a full boil than a partial.

 

[cayergeau]

my malt extract brews got MUCH better doing a full boil than a partial.

so you boil the full five gallons? what does that change about the resulting wort/beer? and how long does that take to get it to a boil?

 

[H-ost]

so you boil the full five gallons? what does that change about the resulting wort/beer? and how long does that take to get it to a boil?

I haven't heard that a partial boil vs a full boil grants any taste difference. If it does my only guess as to why would be (assuming you're topping off with the same water you boil with) that your top off water wasn't boiled and you might get some flavors from the chlorine. That is also assuming that you use simple tap water like plenty of people do.

 

[cayergeau]

I do use the same water to top it off with that I use to boil. Hmmm, maybe something to consider later on once I'm not on a rather small stovetop.

 

[day_trippr]

I haven't heard that a partial boil vs a full boil grants any taste difference. If it does my only guess as to why would be (assuming you're topping off with the same water you boil with) that your top off water wasn't boiled and you might get some flavors from the chlorine. That is also assuming that you use simple tap water like plenty of people do.

Nah, that ain't it. The difference between partial boil and full boil is boiling the higher gravity wort of the former causes increased caramelization...

Cheers!

 

[Juan Grande]

If you've ever had glass carboy break at your feet you'll never even consider using one again. I had 5 and sold the remaining 4 the next day after it happened to me. I went to BetterBottle and have had great results.

 

[Mermaid]

Amazon.com has great deals on brew kettles. I just picked up this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYUA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It's solid - far more solid than the bargain SS 20 qt I had been using.

I also picked up a patio burner from them as well, also good price for that.

I've found that Target tends to be a bit overpriced for the stuff they offer. YMMV - I realize that I'm showing up to this thread pretty late.

 

[bengerman]

Nah, that ain't it. The difference between partial boil and full boil is boiling the higher gravity wort of the former causes increased caramelization...

Cheers!

that, and lower hop utilization in the smaller boil.

 

[day_trippr]

that, and lower hop utilization in the smaller boil.

That's true as well...

Cheers!

 

[cayergeau]

Nah, that ain't it. The difference between partial boil and full boil is boiling the higher gravity wort of the former causes increased caramelization...

Cheers!

Does that mean that the sugars that would otherwise have been fermentable are no longer available for that? If that's the case, how big of a difference is there in the available fermentable sugar level? I certainly wouldn't mind having a higher alcohol content...