BIAB Keggle design for dummies

[dicken74]

After over 2 years of extract brewing i am ready to switch to all grain and everything I've been reading about BIAB has me excited to get started. I have almost everything I need, except a large enough kettle. So I've decided to convert a Yuengling keg into a keggle i can heat on my existing turkey fryer burner.

For starters I plan to just cut the top off and add a ball valve. Next steps would be a thermometer and a sight glass. Also curious about converting to an eKeggle at some point, but thats another discussion.

Wanted to ask more experienced brewers if there were any design considerations i should make since I will be using this for BIAB. For instance a lot of designs seem to be set up with false bottoms, but that would seem unnecessary with BIAB. And what is a dip tube and do I need one?

Hoping to keep this project as simple as possible, but looking for as much detail as possible. Thanks

 

[CraigKing]

If you are going to use a keggle, is there a particular reason you are still going to BIAB?

 

[dicken74]

Simplicity of the process. Only one vessel. Less time. Less complicated.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

you'll need a lid and a way to maintain your mash temp with all that metal

 

[KPSquared]

I use an e-keggle for BIAB, here's what you need to know. . .

Simple approach: Cut top out of keggle, find lid that fits (search a few threads or measure the hole and google one up)

Make or buy a bag that fits your keggle.

Heat with the turkey burner.

Chill with an immersion chiller.

Siphon the chilled wort into a carboy.

That's as cheap as you can get.

 

[KPSquared]

If you're going to add a ball valve, the dip tube is just a tube on the back side of the valve that will suck wort from the bottom of the keg. The valve is mounted a couple inches higher than the bottom. If you don't have one, you'll have to tilt your keggle to get the last gallon or so out.

You can get weldless combo kits for pretty cheap from brewhardware.com

You can just throw a sleeping bag over for insulation, or build a cover that will slide on and off easy. Lots of solutions on here if you search a little.

I prefer to cut the entire top off the keg below the handles. Then you have to hunt down a giant lid (they are out there. . .restaruant supply stores) That way you dont have to lip from cutting the cirle out like a standard keggle conversion. The bag fits much nicer that way.

Mine is an ekeggle (still being built actually) so I flipped the keg over, cut the bottom out and have a drain attached to the output that was on top. . . but thats hard to do with a propane set up. . .the fire and all that.

 

[MaxStout]

If you want to make a lid, here's something I did. I measured the diameter of the lid from my trusty old 5 gallon kettle, taking the measurement across the inner flange, not the overall diameter. Mine was 11.75" IIRC. Then I cut the top of the keg, using an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. (There are lots of instructions and videos showing how to do this.)

My angle grinder cut was only about 10-1/2", so I had to grind the hole larger. I used a grinding wheel on the angle grinder and worked my way around. You will need goggles AND hearing protection. This operation is quite loud. I kept grinding until I reached 11.75." The lid fit nicely.

If you don't want to go to all that trouble you can lay a scrap of sheet metal on top to cover the opening during mashing.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Buy a SS kettle for $100 shipped....
If your dead set on using a keg, cut the top opening as large as possible....jmo

 

[KPSquared]

$100 is a lot more than a free keg... I think "as cheap as possible" was the key here.

 

[wilserbrewer]

After over 2 years of extract brewing i am ready to switch to all grain and everything I've been reading about BIAB has me excited to get started. I have almost everything I need, except a large enough kettle. So I've decided to convert a Yuengling keg into a keggle i can heat on my existing turkey fryer burner.



For starters I plan to just cut the top off and add a ball valve. Next steps would be a thermometer and a sight glass. Also curious about converting to an eKeggle at some point, but thats another discussion.



Wanted to ask more experienced brewers if there were any design considerations i should make since I will be using this for BIAB. For instance a lot of designs seem to be set up with false bottoms, but that would seem unnecessary with BIAB. And what is a dip tube and do I need one?



Hoping to keep this project as simple as possible, but looking for as much detail as possible. Thanks

Sorry, I don't see "as cheap as possible".

No such thing as a "free" keg. It can most likely be returned for 50 bucks, if not then sold for $50.

Point I'm trying to make is that for net $40 - $50 the OP can get a nice new stainless shiny kettle with lid delivered to his door.

IMO that is a better option, and simpler. As simple is the goal.

 

[TexasWine]

This isn't a keggle, but I've never been limited on the gravity of beer I can make with it. $30, a tad over $40 with the lid. I'd pay that to not spend the day grinding on something.

And if you sold the keg you could buy this and put ~$10 in your pocket.

http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html?sk_test=a#1115499

 

[MaxStout]

I've never thought of an office supply store being the place to shop for 10 gallon kettles, but what a great bargain.

Staples...that was easy.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes, that's a good deal for an alum pot. The also have a 60qt for $50, an 80qt for $57 and the grand daddy 100 qt for only $68!!!!

 

[h22lude]

Not the cheapest but I think it is the best value. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FTEQBK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 SS pot with lid and basket. I just bought the 15 gallon version. The 10 gallons version is a little under $100.

Or this is what I was using before. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 10 gallons for $50.

 

[BeardedIdiot]

If you go with a keg and decide to cut the entire top off (instead of just a hole in the top), a 16" pizza pan makes an almost perfectly sized lid. The aluminum ones will rust over time, but for $5-6 at the grocery store, or less elsewhere, its a cheap option. I use Reflectix to insulate my keggle. I cut 3-4 circles the size of the pizza pan and taped them together with true metal duct tape. Then I wrap 3 layers around the outside of the keggle once I start the mash. Put the pizza pan lid on, set the layered reflectix lid on, and voila. I've never lost more than about 2-3F over the course of a 60 minute mash, which isn't too bad. I routinely hit 75% efficiency with this method.

I also use a Wilserbrewer bag, and its the bees knees. NEVER clogs, cleans easily, and helps keep more sediment out of my wort than any other bag I've tried.

 

[dicken74]

This isn't a keggle, but I've never been limited on the gravity of beer I can make with it. $30, a tad over $40 with the lid. I'd pay that to not spend the day grinding on something.

And if you sold the keg you could buy this and put ~$10 in your pocket.

http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html?sk_test=a#1115499

You guys are really making me question my keggle plan. Just ordering an aluminum 40 qt pot does seem to be the cheapest and easiest thing to do. The keggle, even with a free keg, was going to run me about $100 in misc hardware. Buying a cheap pot would allow me to focus more on learning the new brewing techniques.
I can still see a lot of advantages to the keggle, like having the spigot on the bottom, as well as the built in thermometer and sight glass. Plus i like to make stuff. Might just save it for another day.

 

[dicken74]

This isn't a keggle, but I've never been limited on the gravity of beer I can make with it. $30, a tad over $40 with the lid. I'd pay that to not spend the day grinding on something.

And if you sold the keg you could buy this and put ~$10 in your pocket.

http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html?sk_test=a#1115499

That link doesn't work for me for some reason.

 

[TexasWine]

Hopefully this fixes the link.

http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html#1115499

Yeah, the spigot is nice but not necessary. I just take a 2 quart plastic pitcher and transfer the wort (still hot) to my fermenting bucket. When the level drops low enough that I can man handle it, I pick up the kettle and dump it all in the bucket. Works just as well, and maybe quicker than a spigot.

For the thermometer, I just drop the probe of my digital one right in the middle of the kettle, during the mash and to measure strike temp. Easy peasy.

Instead of a sight glass I etched the inside of of my stainless keetle followong the thread linked below and simply marked the handle of a spoon for the aluminum kettle.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=463099

I like to keep things simple.

 

[dicken74]

still can't get the link to work. Is it theSupera AP-40, 40 qt Aluminum Stock Pot? For $29.99?

 

[TexasWine]

Weird. Works for me. But yeah, that's the one!

 

[dicken74]

Weird. Works for me. But yeah, that's the one!

I think I'm going to take your recommendation and buy this. Is it really thin?

 

[dicken74]

Weird. Works for me. But yeah, that's the one!

I think I'm going to take your recommendation and buy this. Is it really thin?

 

[TexasWine]

I think I'm going to take your recommendation and buy this. Is it really thin?

Thicker than my 9 gallon bayou classic stainless pot, but that's to be expected with aluminum.

Before you use it make sure to fill it.up and boil some water in it for about an hour to passivate it.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I think I'm going to take your recommendation and buy this. Is it really thin?

I think it is a medium duty, about an 1/8" thick, plenty thick IMHO.

 

[Homercidal]

I'd choose a real kettle over a keg. I own two kegs and brew in them and they work "fine", but looking back I wish I'd started with buying kettles. Some time in the future I may sell these kegs and switch up, but I have other things to spend money on ATM.

I wanted to point out that rather than installing a spigot and dip tube into a keg, you could turn the keg UPSIDE DOWN and cut the BOTTOM out, thereby placing the sanke fitting at the bottom. Then it is a relatively cheap and extremely simple act to purchase a tri-clover fitting that fits it and angles the "drain" in any direction.

This effectively allows the keg to be drained completely, and eliminates the need for any siphon to get the last dregs. It may be the one real advantage a keg has over a kettle (excepting the case of a "free" keg.

 

[MaxStout]

I've been down the keggle road, but I recently upgraded to a big (20 gal) kettle. The keggle served a purpose and worked OK for BIAB, but there was a certain hassle factor. Namely, when large grain bills are involved. Hoisting out a huge bag of wet grain that tends to mushroom out due to gravity is not a fun task in a keggle with the standard opening cut in the top. Of course, you can always cut off the whole top and avoid the tight fit.

But a decent kettle is just so much more conducive to a smooth operation with BIAB, and it's plug-and-play right out of the box. That $40 aluminum kettle is a real steal. You can also get decent stainless kettles for around $100 on Amazon.

But nothing wrong with aluminum. Just be sure to passivate it before your first brew.