Can someone explain a Keggle to me and its real purpose/benefit?

[mister704]

So I scored a pretty good deal on a bunch of brewing supplies(obviously person is giving up the brew life) and in the deal was a Keg which has the top cut out.

I have not actually seen it in person yet as I had my bro go pick up all the items.

I started doing some research to gather some understanding of exactly what purpose it serves as I have been doing the brew pot to rubbermaid cooler mashing deal then back to pot for boiling.

In the deal I also scored another pot so I know that helps out a lot but I am trying to see if this keg can make my life easier.

So what can I do with this? Make a "keggle"? I have seen ones with false bottoms, ones without...I have no idea really how to use this. Should I tap it at the bottle and put a T-bazooka screen and use it as a mash tun or what? Can I use it as my final into the fermentor...like put some very fine mesh and after the boil, strain right into the fermentor?

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[DanH]

For keggles, I like full size false bottoms better than screens. If you use it as a mash tun then I think it would be best to look into RIMS or HERMS (or wrap a ton of insulation). Otherwise, just put a ball valve and dip tube into it and use it as a boil kettle. The other pot could be an HLT and then get a cooler for a mash tun. It looks like a good deal though.

Edit: how'd I miss the cooler? That's your mash tun, pot is HLT and keggle is boil kettle. Pretty sweet system. Just add a ball valve to the keggle


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[fizgig]

wow, is someone pissed at their husband? $100 is insane for all that.

 

[mister704]

For keggles, I like full size false bottoms better than screens. If you use it as a mash tun then I think it would be best to look into RIMS or HERMS (or wrap a ton of insulation). Otherwise, just put a ball valve and dip tube into it and use it as a boil kettle. The other pot could be an HLT and then get a cooler for a mash tun. It looks like a good deal though.

Edit: how'd I miss the cooler? That's your mash tun, pot is HLT and keggle is boil kettle. Pretty sweet system. Just add a ball valve to the keggle


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Thanks for the information. I appreciate it. With all of this stuff I got in the deal I now have

2 - Mash Tuns (my current is 10gallon, the blue one pictured I think is 5 gallon. I just jumped on the deal so fast that I have not even seen all the stuff)
1 - Keg (soon to be keggle)
2 - Pots (one tapped(pictured) and the other not)
1 - Cooling coils
1 - Conical Fermentor
2 - 6.5g fermenting buckets
2 - 5 gallon carboys (1 glass, 1 plastic)
1 - dual camp chef 30K btu each burners
1 - single burner (no idea of btus since it was in the deal(its inside the pot pictured) but my bro said its rusted up a bit)


this is all perfect timing because I hoped to brew 2 beers at once so this really helped me out.

 

[LovesIPA]

For $100 I'd drive to NC to pick all that stuff up. Wow.

Are there any ball valves or other fittings on it or does it just have the top cut out?

 

[mister704]

wow, is someone pissed at their husband? $100 is insane for all that.

Yea I know....stepson sold it all, and I was just lucky to be the first person to see the ad and write him. They said it had just been sitting in the garage.

I in in VA but heading to Charlotte this weekend to hang with family....called my bro immediately and told him get his a$$ up and go get this stuff.

By the time he picked it up, the guy selling said he 10+ emails of folks trying to pick it up. I am very happy I scored this.

Original thread is here....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/my-massive-craigslist-score-470893/

I am trying to keep this one focused on the keggle.

 

[mister704]

For $100 I'd drive to NC to pick all that stuff up. Wow.

Are there any ball valves or other fittings on it or does it just have the top cut out?

My brother just told me that its smooth he thinks. He picked it up last night and took it to my parents so he doesn't remember fully. But it definitely has top cut as you can see.

 

[DanH]

...blue one pictured I think is 5 gallon...

Looks like ten to me... I could be wrong but compared to the 15 gal keg it looks pretty big still.


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[mister704]

Looks like ten to me... I could be wrong but compared to the 15 gal keg it looks pretty big still.


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Even better. I am trying to make Zombie Dust clone and This Pineapple Summer Smash for the wife...both are semi big beers and I was tired of over filling my mash tuns because of too much grain/water.

all in all...sweet deal for me.

 

[mister704]

So I have another question. Is the keggle used at the mash tun AND boil?

Reason being is if I tap the bottom and put in the weldless kit and such then I know it works as a mash tun. BUT are folk draining the mash and then turning around and using the same keg for the boil?

Basically does/can this serve a dual purpose? I am putting all brass and stainless inside so I suspect it could handle the heat. The only soft/weak sot would be the rubber washer which seals the inside.

 

[DanH]

You could use it for both. Most keggle mash tun are nearly identical to keggle boil kettles. Just remove the false bottom.


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[IvanTheTerribrew]

Great deal congrats buddy. What I suggest you do is drill a hole with a step bit and instal a 3 piece ball valve. If you can if suggest trying to silver solder a nipple to it but that requires a bit of work. But yeah do that and get/build a dip tube to prevent from having like 2+ gallons of dead space. That really is an amazing deal. If you want to learn about how to silver solder on a coupler there are some tutorials or PM me and i can tell you. Cheers


- ISM NRP

 

[Thedutchtouch]

You can use a keggle for the HLT, mash tun, boil kettle, whatever. All it is is a large stainless vessel that can be turned in to a pot at a lower cost than buying a similar size stainless pot/kettle.

 

[BullGator]

My recommendation would be to read this book front to cover: http://www.howtobrew.com/

Seriously. Read the whole thing. It is probably the best home brewing book out there.

 

[LovesIPA]

So I have another question. Is the keggle used at the mash tun AND boil?

Generally, no. Most people drain the wort from the mash tun into the boil kettle. You could drain it into another bucket first I guess but to answer your question, not usually.

 

[mister704]

Generally, no. Most people drain the wort from the mash tun into the boil kettle. You could drain it into another bucket first I guess but to answer your question, not usually.

Right...that is the only way I was thinking.

I was thinking something like mash into one of my other pots and then spray out the keggle, pour wort back in to keggle and the boil. I may have to keep my eyes out for another keg.

 

[LovesIPA]

Some people say hot side aeration (HSA) is a myth, and there are others who go to great lengths not to expose wort to oxygen. Just be aware that there are people who believe that you can oxidize wort pre-boil and have oxidation off-flavors show up post-fermentation. So if you're going to do it that way, don't just dump the bucket into the keggle.

On the other HSA may not even exist at the homebrewing scale. I don't think anyone has really done the research on it.

 

[mister704]

Some people say hot side aeration (HSA) is a myth, and there are others who go to great lengths not to expose wort to oxygen. Just be aware that there are people who believe that you can oxidize wort pre-boil and have oxidation off-flavors show up post-fermentation. So if you're going to do it that way, don't just dump the bucket into the keggle.

On the other HSA may not even exist at the homebrewing scale. I don't think anyone has really done the research on it.

Oh yea...I agree not to splash things around.

I guess I am trying to see if I have a real use for this? I already drilled the holes and ordered the keggle conversion kit and site glass/thermometer kit as well.

BUT

I have 2 mash tuns (1 - 10ga, 1 -5ga), so I guess I could just use them like normal and make this my other brew pot because the one in the deal I picked up is not very good. Its thin aluminum and I think once I hit it with real heat it would burn the bottom extremely quick.

So I guess my keggle will become my main boiling pot. And I will use my normal boiling pot to be my lautering pot for the 170F water.

Guess I will look into building me a hop spider this weekend.