Beginner finally buying equipment for all grain brewing

[HoboBrewing]

I was hoping to pick these up while ago as seen in my original thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/what-buy-beginner-379095/


I was initially in need of a stock pot, mash tun, propane cooker, and possibly a chiller. I finally have some free time to do some brewing and was going to pick up the following:

stock pot:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M19A2Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

mash tun:
http://www.homebrewing.org/10-gallon-Igloo-cooler-HLT-_p_2733.html

propane cooker:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002913MI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

How do you think I'm doing price? Do you know of any better deals that I could swap something out for? Thanks.

 

[skunkfunk]

Price on the mash tun seems fair. I thought I'd save a bunch of money on mine by building one out of a 12 gallon Coleman cooler that I find for 23 bucks. 4 trips to the hardware store and 50 dollars in fittings later, it woulda been a lot easier to buy that one that you found.

 

[BigFloyd]

If you're going to be doing full batch boils, a wort chiller is pretty much a must-have.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

+1 on the wort chiller.

I'd also recommend something other than the single jet burner you're looking at. I had one for a few years, hated it. Noisy, seemed to waste fuel, got hot spots. For the 10 gallon pot you'd probably do okay with this.

 

[axmdr40]

I'm building my all grain setup as well. Went with the same Bayou Classic for the brew kettle and going the 10 gal cooller mash tun route. I think I'm going with a blichman burner. It's hard to swallow the price, but after reading peoples reviews, I think it offers the best long term quality and ability to expand.

Check out bargainfittings.com for valves, bulkheads, etc

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

I'm ever going to recommend doing something about fermentation temp control. (I know it's not the question but there you go)

 

[brettg20]

I'm building my all grain setup as well. Went with the same Bayou Classic for the brew kettle and going the 10 gal cooller mash tun route. I think I'm going with a blichman burner. It's hard to swallow the price, but after reading peoples reviews, I think it offers the best long term quality and ability to expand.

Check out bargainfittings.com for valves, bulkheads, etc

I have used my Bayou SQ14 for over 5 years, it works well. I just bought a Blichmann burner last month and, just like the Thermapen, am glad I spent the money and wish I would have long ago.

The Bayou is noisy, but what finally did it for me was how black it leaves the bottom of your kettle, which will then get on your hands and everywhere else.

 

[dk21]

Note that the mash tun that you linked to isn't a mash tun, it's a hot liquor tank to hold sparge water if you're fly sparging. You'll need to add something to separate the wort from the grain like a bazooka screen, stainless steel braid, or false bottom.

 

[RM-MN]

If your question is how to get into all grain cheaply, get a turkey fryer setup and a paint strainer bag and then learn about BIAB brewing. It will get you into all grain for the least amount of money and you can move to a conventional tun any time you find spare money and time. You can get a kettle and burner plus the paint strainers for under a hundred bucks and be brewing within a couple hours.

 

[HoboBrewing]

Price on the mash tun seems fair. I thought I'd save a bunch of money on mine by building one out of a 12 gallon Coleman cooler that I find for 23 bucks. 4 trips to the hardware store and 50 dollars in fittings later, it woulda been a lot easier to buy that one that you found.

Yeah. I'm the kind of person who loves diy where possible, but I ran the numbers to and it seems like they just about break even. I'm considering building my wort chiller if there is any money to be saved.

If you're going to be doing full batch boils, a wort chiller is pretty much a must-have.

Do you know of a good place to buy one? Or do you think there are any savings in building my own chiller?

I'm ever going to recommend doing something about fermentation temp control. (I know it's not the question but there you go)

So are you recommending I by a different burner? Thanks.

+1 on the wort chiller.

I'd also recommend something other than the single jet burner you're looking at. I had one for a few years, hated it. Noisy, seemed to waste fuel, got hot spots. For the 10 gallon pot you'd probably do okay with this.

Thanks. For some reason I'm throwing most of this together through amazon for simplicity. I realize it isn't always the cheapest, but it's simple for now. I can get this one shipped for "free". Does it look okay? The one your recommended will end up being like 65 with shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Sin...4XY/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

I'm building my all grain setup as well. Went with the same Bayou Classic for the brew kettle and going the 10 gal cooller mash tun route. I think I'm going with a blichman burner. It's hard to swallow the price, but after reading peoples reviews, I think it offers the best long term quality and ability to expand.

Check out bargainfittings.com for valves, bulkheads, etc

I just read a bit on it. Looks like a quality product and pretty damn sturdy. I have the money for it now, but am still deciding if it's worth it. I plan on brewing quite a bit in the future, so maybe it'd be worth it...

I have used my Bayou SQ14 for over 5 years, it works well. I just bought a Blichmann burner last month and, just like the Thermapen, am glad I spent the money and wish I would have long ago.

The Bayou is noisy, but what finally did it for me was how black it leaves the bottom of your kettle, which will then get on your hands and everywhere else.

Thanks. I'm tempted to buy one now.

Note that the mash tun that you linked to isn't a mash tun, it's a hot liquor tank to hold sparge water if you're fly sparging. You'll need to add something to separate the wort from the grain like a bazooka screen, stainless steel braid, or false bottom.

Indeed it is. Thanks for pointing that out. Do you think it's cheaper to just buy that as is and then pick up a false bottom for it, or just buy one altogether? Do you have any suggestions for an entirely pre-built mash tun?

If your question is how to get into all grain cheaply, get a turkey fryer setup and a paint strainer bag and then learn about BIAB brewing. It will get you into all grain for the least amount of money and you can move to a conventional tun any time you find spare money and time. You can get a kettle and burner plus the paint strainers for under a hundred bucks and be brewing within a couple hours.

I have a bit of money saved now, so I was considering just getting a setup that will last me a while. I'm considering starting a small club amongst friends and was hoping to pick up equipment that can sustain the club for some time. Thanks.

 

[LovesIPA]

As mentioned above, you need to account for the fact you're not buying a mash tun, you're buying a hot liquor tank. You will have to use something in the bottom of it to separate the wort.

You can save a few bucks by building your own wort chiller, if you're a little DIY.

https://coppertubingsales.com/storefront/index.php?cPath=174&osCsid=sq45hn514smvv53uq5kvsg4hn2

 

[HoboBrewing]

Thanks. Do you think I'm better off just buying a fully pre-built mash tun or modifying the one I linked?

I'm still considering building my own chiller. I just want to make sure there will be some type of savings with diy.

Thanks again.

 

[LovesIPA]

I would say it depends on what you're planning on using inside the cooler to separate the wort and what kind of bulkhead that cooler comes with.

The most common choices are a false bottom, bazooka screen, stainless steel braid, or a manifold of usually either PVC or copper. Then there's the BIAB method that seems to be becoming more popular in which you don't use a mash tun at all.

I use a bulkhead that I bought at my LHBS that's threaded on the female side inside the cooler. That means I can screw a 1/2" male adapter right into it which I then just hook directly to my copper manifold. I originally bought the bulkhead sold by homebrewstuff.com but it's really made to be a weldless bulkhead for a HLT where you never need to attach anything to the in-tank side of the fitting. It basically didn't work at all in my igloo cooler.

So I would say if you know exactly what you're buying, building a DIY mash tun would save you some money. You can get a cooler and a bulkhead for less than the link you posted and you would still have to figure out a way to make that one work for you as a mash tun.

 

[budonze]

I made my own wort chiller out of 3/8" copper tubing I found at Menards for around $60 for 50' + $15 for the hoses and fittings. I ended up only using 30' of the tubing and spent about an hour fiddling with it. I didn't use the whole length because my boil pot is not that big. If you can find a chiller for around 60-70 bucks I would buy it.

 

[RM-MN]

Yeah. I'm the kind of person who loves diy where possible, but I ran the numbers to and it seems like they just about break even. I'm considering building my wort chiller if there is any money to be saved.


Do you know of a good place to buy one? Or do you think there are any savings in building my own chiller?



So are you recommending I by a different burner? Thanks.



Thanks. For some reason I'm throwing most of this together through amazon for simplicity. I realize it isn't always the cheapest, but it's simple for now. I can get this one shipped for "free". Does it look okay? The one your recommended will end up being like 65 with shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Sin...4XY/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1



I just read a bit on it. Looks like a quality product and pretty damn sturdy. I have the money for it now, but am still deciding if it's worth it. I plan on brewing quite a bit in the future, so maybe it'd be worth it...






Thanks. I'm tempted to buy one now.


Indeed it is. Thanks for pointing that out. Do you think it's cheaper to just buy that as is and then pick up a false bottom for it, or just buy one altogether? Do you have any suggestions for an entirely pre-built mash tun?


I have a bit of money saved now, so I was considering just getting a setup that will last me a while. I'm considering starting a small club amongst friends and was hoping to pick up equipment that can sustain the club for some time. Thanks.

I'm starting my fourth year with mine and all I've had to replace is one paint strainer bag which cost about two bucks. That's the only part of the setup that isn't normally used for a conventional tun. If you think that the turkey fryer is too small you could get a bigger pot and burner.

 

[dk21]

Most pre-built mash tuns have false bottoms, which are great for fly sparging but are unnecessary for batch sparging. Not knowing what is on the inside of that HLT, you might be able to simply thread a bulkhead on and then thread a bazooka type screen into that. Adventures in Homebrewing can probably help you with that since they're selling the product.

 

[HoboBrewing]

Thanks for the advice

 

[MindenMan]

The Camp Chef burner at Amazon, is a high pressure unit with only a needle valve. There are many who wish they had gotten a different burner as the Camp Stove apparently isn't very adjustable. In reference to the Bayou Classic: I ran it right out of the box, and the flame was quite uneven, and had orange tips/soot, and it seemed to use a ton of propane. I followed some threads about uneven burning/dirty flame, long story short, I loosened the bolt in the center and moved the center piece slightly and cleaned the flame right up. We are talking a turkey fryer here. Cheap, and more than enough heat to boil 8 gallons plus.

 

[bobby4]

I try to go everything on the cheap except my kettle, which was a gift. However, I did bite the bullet and switch to a Blichmann burner. I love it, a solid performer and 3x as hot as my old turkey frier burner.