Buying gear second hand?

[Shakybones]

LOL! (@ the pail comment) what other fermenting options do I have besides trying to get free buckets from the grocery store.

I was able to get one of my home depot lids to fit on my 6.5 gal fermenter. It was a tight fit, but it sealed, unlike the lid I got from MW Supplies. Problem solved.

If there's a bakery around your area, try them for buckets. They usually buy honey, malt, icing, etc. in big, high quality buckets.

I've never done a kit, so I may be speaking from ignorance on this subject. However, I suspect that you may be better off financially by just buying lme/dme, specialty grain, hops, and yeast and trying one of the awesome recipes available on HBT. It's really easy to do.

I mean, you can buy cookie dough at the store, but eggs, flour, butter, and sugar are a lot cheaper if you intend to make a lot of cookies.

 

[henkelbrau]

So I can buy whatever "Ale pail" style fermentation bucket and the home depot lid should fit on it? I'm gonna try to local bakeries and see what I can find but if not that sounds like a good last resort. I can't believe my city has no home brew shop. Are any of the buckets better than any of the others? or do they all suffer from mal-sealing?

 

[Shakybones]

I won't promise that it will fit, but mine does fit (HD lid + MW 6.5gal bucket).

I feel your pain. My LHBS is 1.5 hours away. As a result, I just order from MW.

Don't know if any are better than others. I just know that without a gasket, they are likely to leak - plastic on plastic doesn't form a very good seal and it won't likely get any better as it ages.

Best of luck!

 

[MaxStout]

However, I suspect that you may be better off financially by just buying lme/dme, specialty grain, hops, and yeast and trying one of the awesome recipes available on HBT. It's really easy to do.

This.

A downside of those extract kits is that they may have been sitting on a shelf for quite a while. The specialty grains are usually pre-crushed. Crushed grain has a much shorter shelf life than uncrushed. And who knows how old that LME and hops are in the kit?

Buying your own extract, hops and uncrushed grains will give you fresher ingredients, though it will cost a little more. For the small amount of steeping grains you'll be using, you can easily crush them yourself with a rolling pin or beer bottle on brew day.

BTW, another cost-saver: use dry yeast. While there aren't as many varieties in dry as in liquid, you can still brew many good styles using only dry. And you don't need a starter.

 

[henkelbrau]

I found this lot of used stuff on craigslist. He wants $130 for it. You get the
-brew pot (5 gallons)
-5 gallon glass carboy
-carboy cap
-racking cane and tubing
-bottle filler
-drilled 6.5 gallon ale pail with spigot
-lid with stopper and airlock
-capper and caps
-dial thermometer
-ingredients for oatmeal stout
-16 oz star san
-spray bottle
-carboy brush
-40 empties

Good deal? The kit is from a local place. Ive seen it on their site for $110. The pot is at least $35.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Others may disagree, but I don't care much for some of the items in that kit:

• The ale pails are notorious for not sealing properly, since they have no lid gasket. I'd go with the white food-safe buckets from Home Depot instead (~$7). They're only 5 gal, but recipes are scalable (a chem major should have no problem with that).
  All of my fermenters are Ale Pails, Have had no sealing issues and a super tight seal is not necessary as while fermentation is going on it is all under positive pressure anyways.
• The bottling bucket is also a PITA. Mine has always leaked, no matter what I do. Instead, I just use another 5 gal bucket with my autosiphon.
  Unless things have changed since I was doing the bulk of my bottling or if they changed things up, as long as you assemble your bottling bucket properly (number of and location of the O-rings they usually include a spare and do not explain it) you should be leak free.
• StarSan >> Iodophor. Get a 16-32oz bottle and you'll be good for a long time.
  StarSan is easier, but they both are effective sanitizers.
• 8 oz. of cleanser won't last long. Go buy some OxyClean Free.
• You don't need a book, you have HBT.
• Don't bother with a racking cane. You definitely want an autosiphon.
• You can get the tubing at your local Home Depot or hardware store. I've never needed clips or clamps.
• I'd never put a thermometer in my fermenter. How the heck would you read it inside a bucket anyway? Opening the bucket during fermentation is asking for infection.
  Not particularly. Beer is far more resilient than most people think. True, you want to be careful with sanitation, but opening your fermenter (as long as it is not done excessively) is fine. How else can you check for gravity to make sure it is done? Just be sure to sanitize anything that touches it and you should be fine.

In short, I think you can save money over that kit by buying only (and exactly) what you need.

That's just my two cents. Welcome to the addiction.

I beg to differ on a few points. see above in color.

That appears to be close to the beginners kit I got. I got the one from Midwest for ~$120-140 that came with an ingredient kit and 2 cases of bottles.
Bottling wands are nice. Just my opinion, but I am glad I had mine as it seems to have made things far less messy than the time I tried without it. The ceramic pot will work, but will probably stain. You will want to be careful to not chip off the coating. You can find cheapish Aluminum pots.

Check out CraigsList. You can often find equipment there. You will probably want to replace the fermenters or at the very least examine them for scratches that can harbor bacteria, and replace any hosing then thoroughtly clean everything if you buy things new.

I found this lot of used stuff on craigslist. He wants $130 for it. You get the
-brew pot (5 gallons)
-5 gallon glass carboy
-carboy cap
-racking can and tubing
-bottle filler
-drilled 6.5 gallon ale paile with spigot
-lid with stopper and airlock
-capper and caps
-dial thermometer
-ingredients for oatmeal stout
-16 oz star san
-spray bottle
-carboy brush
-40 empties

Good deal? The kit is from a local place. Ive seen it on their site for $110. The pot is at least $35.

I would pass on that one. You can get that equipment new for that price.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-plus-kit.html for example. $144

 

[MaxStout]

I found this lot of used stuff on craigslist. He wants $130 for it. You get the
-brew pot (5 gallons)
-5 gallon glass carboy
-carboy cap
-racking can and tubing
-bottle filler
-drilled 6.5 gallon ale paile with spigot
-lid with stopper and airlock
-capper and caps
-dial thermometer
-ingredients for oatmeal stout
-16 oz star san
-spray bottle
-carboy brush
-40 empties

Good deal? The kit is from a local place. Ive seen it on their site for $110. The pot is at least $35.

Still sounds a little steep. Try to bargain a bit. You don't get a primary fermenter. The Ale Pail is drilled--it's a bottling bucket, and shouldn't double as a fermenter. The 5 gal carboy is usually used as a secondary fermenter, though you could put a smaller batch, say 4 gallons, in as primary. The stout ingredients may not be fresh--ask!

If you can bargain it down, use some of the $$ you saved and buy a 6 or 6.5 gal carboy for use as a primary. No worries about buckets not sealing well. Only problem--glass carboys are real heavy and can be a hazard if you drop one.

The bucket vs. carboy fermenter thing can be a hotly-debated subject here, and I might get flamed for saying this. But I'm just not a fan of plastic buckets, and only use one for bottling. Buying a used one is dubious, as there may be scuffs and scratches inside, which can harbor germs. At least getting a new one (and taking good care of it) will minimize the risk of infection.

 

[henkelbrau]

There's also this one. He wants $200 for it. I don't have $200 so I sent him an email saying that I'll give him $100 just on a long shot.

2 x 3-piece Airlock
1 x Auto-Siphon Clamp (3/8")
1 x Stainless Steel Spoon (21 inch)
1 x Equipment Kit (2 Stage Plastic Secondary)
- Brew Pot Option: No
- Beer Bottles Case 1: 12 oz Beer Bottles Case of 24
- Beer Bottles Case 2: 12 oz Beer Bottles Case of 24
1 x AHS Bavarian Hefeweizen (15A)
- Kit Option: Extract - DME
- Yeast Option: White Labs Hefeweizen Ale WLP300
- BrewVint Yeast Fuel: Add yeast fuel
- Cold Pack: Yes
- 1% Alcohol Boost: Yes
- Beer Bottle Caps: Yes
1 x Bottling Bucket with Spigot (6 gallon)
- Lid for 6 / 7 Gal Bucket (solid): Yes

Here is what is in the Equipment Kit:

7.9 gallon plastic primary fermenter with a lid and stopper
5 gallon PET plastic carboy secondary fermenter
Medium universal stopper
3-piece airlock
6 feet of siphon hose (3/8" thin wall)
Auto-Siphon (3/8")
Bottle Filler (3/8")
Nylon Grain Bag
Triple Scale Hydrometer
Floating Thermometer
Red Baron bottle capper
Bottle caps
Cleaner/Sanitizer
An Illustrated Guide to Homebrewing

It's Austin Home Brew supply brand. They're expensive. I'll just have to get my money together and wait I suppose. I do agree with you that $130 is a little steep for that set. I also don't want a glass carboy if possible. I have a small child in the house. I was just attracted to it because it has the kettle with it.

 

[jonnyp1980]

Go to northern brewer and get a deluxe start kit. If you try to piece it together yourself or pay too much for too little elsewhere thats frustrating Save yourself some hassle spend the hundred or so and do it right the first time like you said earlier. I support local but If your local is too far I like northern brewer.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...-starter-kits/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit.html

 

[henkelbrau]

Speaking of that kit. I bought something off craiglist today and it was ACTUALLY a good deal. For $40 + $10 gas and 90 minutes of my time I got a norther brewer kit minus the consumables.

It doesn't have the cleanser, the bottle caps, or any ingredients. It has PET carboys. Also, I got an extra bottle filler somehow. This leaves me $110 dollars under budget. Now I just have to find a turkey fryer combo. and then I still have money for ingredients. I told my SWMBO that it might smell a little and she decided that I should do it outside then. Also, I got like 100 empties.

 

[thatjonguy]

Speaking of that kit. I bought something off craiglist today and it was ACTUALLY a good deal. For $40 + $10 gas and 90 minutes of my time I got a norther brewer kit minus the consumables.

It doesn't have the cleanser, the bottle caps, or any ingredients. It has PET carboys. Also, I got an extra bottle filler somehow. This leaves me $110 dollars under budget. Now I just have to find a turkey fryer combo. and then I still have money for ingredients. I told my SWMBO that it might smell a little and she decided that I should do it outside then. Also, I got like 100 empties.

Nice score!