All Grain Brewing Equipment

[Coach_Hogleg]

I've been lurking on this board for a while, so be kind to the first time poster. I am in the process of gaining my all grain supplies. But get confused over exactly what I need (in terms of fittings, tubing, o rings, etc etc) and where to find or order these supplies.

I haven't come across any threads that specifically lay out for a newbie what will be needed. My wife's goal is as cheap as possible. My goal is do it right the first time but can't spend a ton of money. I would like to use the quick disconnects but not sure the best way to go about ordering and best place to order. I'm really needing help outfitting the weldless fitting etc.

Ultimately my setup will be a 10 gallon cooler for my MT and two kegs for the HLT and boiling pot. I would like the kegs to be equipped the same and look identical in features.

My last question and somewhat different: Is there any type of strainer, screen, hop stopper at the bottom of most boiling pots within systems like this.

Sorry so long and thanks for any help.

 

[stageseven]

Here's a very easy walkthrough for making the cooler mash tun from the wiki. There's instructions and a parts list for both round and rectangular coolers. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/i...p_10_or_5_gallon_MLT_with_a_Rubbermaid_Cooler

I'm not sure on the other parts, I just use a regular aluminum kettle that does double duty as HLT and boil kettle. I know there are some vendors online that sell kits for conversion, http://www.brewhardware.com/ is one of them, I'm sure there are others. I personally would go with a sight glass/thermometer in at least one kettle and ball valves in both of them. Maybe someone who has the setup you're looking for can chime in on what they use and how they do it.

For your last question, I think what you're looking for is a false bottom. A lot of people use them, so I imagine there's a pre-manufactured one you can get easily.

 

[Malticulous]

There are quite a few different ways to do it. The bare basics are a MLT and a kettle big enough for full boils. BIAB is a simple as it gets.

Here is a list of some of what I use:
Grain Mill and scale
Coleman extreme 52 qt MLT
60 qt Boil Kettle, 30 qt HLT and a 20 qt for HLT and decoctions. Also a 1 qt SS pot for scooping water, decoctions and vorlauf.
A singe modified turkey fryer for boil and heating water
50 ft chiller

I don't have ball valves or pumps. Those would make it easier along with a second burner. Some brewers use only a single boil kettle and runoff into a bucket. Others keep hot water in a cooler.

 

[ILuvIPA]

As indicated by the previous responses, there are lots of options. That's why you won't find a master list for a complete AG system. Not clear if you are brewing extract now & moving to AG or if you are a new brewer just starting out. Either way my advice would be start small & upgrade rather than building the ultimate system from the start. Adding/upgrading is easier to pass the "SWMBO budget test" and also avoids purchases that you later regret.

If you are already brewing extract/stove top. Check out Death Brewer's BIB method for a cost effective venture into grain (search BIB.) If you are new to brewing, check out Palmer's "How to Brew" for a basic equipment overview. Here's a link to the on-line version but see if your library has a copy. A LOT more info in the hardcopy version. http://www.howtobrew.com/ You might also check out the stickies at the top of the AG page.

As to your last question, Blichman makes a hop stopper and there are a few other versions out there. And as mentioned there are also false bottoms (used in the mash tun.) In the boil kettle I just use a dip tube with the end set slightly above the normal level of the kettle sludge. (I use pellet hops which turn to sludge in the boil. If you let the kettle rest after the chiller, the hop sludge & break material settle to the bottom.)

 

[Coach_Hogleg]

Thanks to all for the responses, to answer a few of your questions. Yes I'm an extract brewer currently, wanting to get in the all grain business. I appreciate all of the advice so far. I'm kind of looking at this journey as a year long process with purchases like pump and supplies for counterflow along the way. I guess I just don't want to buy valves/fittings/etc then have to replace based on a bad purchase when I have my overall system in place.

My plan is to start small with five gallon batches, when the kegerator is in place then work to the 7 to 10 gallon mark so I can keg and still bottle a few. So nothing crazy, but working up in quantity as I improve on my process.

I appreciate the link to the cooler conversion, thank you.

 

[stageseven]

Really, as I see it the only way to go wrong is to initially buy a pot that's too small for what you want to do, and keep having to upgrade it along the way. I know this from experience as I started with a 5 gallon canning pot, then moved to a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer to do full-boils. Now that I'm doing all-grain, it's good most of the time, but for bigger beers especially the lack of headroom is kind of limiting. At most I can really only get 6 gallons in the pot without having to seriously worry about major boil-overs.

If you haven't already gotten 2 keggles, it's not really necessary, and for staring off neither are pumps or counterflow chillers. Get one decently sized kettle or keggle, and you can use it for both a HLT and boil kettle. Plain old gravity will do away with the need for any pumps on the HLT, mash tun side. A ball valve is nice on the kettle, but as long as you have handles and a little muscle, picking up the pot and dumping works just fine. Having a huge system is tempting, but you can do all grain just fine with one pot and a cooler mash tun.

It sounds like you're doing this right and thinking through your purchases before you make them. I hear you on not wanting to waste money, but if it's tight, definitely make sure you spend it on getting the boil kettle that will work best for you. 10+ gallons IMO is the way to go.

Also, you don't need to worry about 7-10 gallon batches unless you really want to. Get a beer gun or follow the instruction in this thread to make your own cheaply. Then you can bottle however much you want directly from your keg without having to worry about priming sugar amounts and the like.