Since my new brew kettle has the thermometer in it I was afraid the stem would catch on the bag and tear it. so I used my old 5 gallon that was unaltered for the mash, and then heated water in the new one for the "sparge" (really I just dipped the bag in to rinse the grains) it was a messy process, but now that I've done it once I think I can replicate the process with less mess. If I can figure out a way to ensure I won't snag the bag I can reverse the kettles and do a bigger mash in the big pot and use the smaller pot to rinse the grains. after reading some responses in other threads on this site from the more experienced brewers, I'm going to get some silicone grilling gloves so I can squeeze the bag to get all the goodness out. really, I'm the worst for reading good advice and then deciding to do it my own way only to realize that I should have followed the good advice to begin with, so there you go. The best part of this hobby, to me anyway, to to find your own way to create beer. Only time will tell if I made something good, and if I didn't I'm confident enough now that I'll only see that as a challenge to do it again to make it better. Sorry for the ramble, today was my actual birthday, and I've had a few, and with this new kettle I feel that there are a lot of new possibilities open to me, and I'm really excited for my next brew.