How much have you spent on equipment?

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alpo

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Location
Austin, TX
I'm into it for about $1700, but I have pretty much everything I would ever want, at least for a while.

This is for a Pol-style HERMS setup, stand, keezer, keggle, CFC, 4 bucket fermenters, 4 cornys, 2 carboys, 50 32oz swingtops, another 100 or so misc bottles, and all the usual odds and ends. Keezer consists of a 14.8 cuft freezer w/Ranco controller, 10# tank, one dual reg, 4 way distrubuter, set up for 4 Perlick faucets and cornys (but I can fit 8).

The only other thing I want at this point is a grain mill. I got a lot of stuff from Craigslist.
 
Prolly upwards to 10K by now everything tally'ed. I have sold off much of the older no longer used stuff so if you figure the credit, maybe $8k. But, I ain't done.
 
That's just a best guess, and if my wife ever reads this, I'm sure it's much less! This includes the all of the changes I've made to my system over the last 3-4 years as it's evolved:

$300- 3 converted kegs/3 propane burners/ 3-tier stand/pump/several immersion chillers, 6-7 carboys
$120 - Barley crusher
$250 - Conversion to electric
$220 - Kegging setup, 3 faucets / 15lb tank / dual reg / Fridge was free
$300 - 10 cornies, 2 - 3 gallon kegs
$175 - Fudge factor , probably forgot a few things.
-------------------------------------------------
$1370
 
Around $300 until last week....when I started accumulating the equipment I'll need to make the move to AG. That was a Bayou Classic SP10 for $45......and the next thing will be an MLT conversion, on which I expect to spend $70-80, will probably commence AG brewing this fall. A good pastime to "ease into" financiallly, unlike some others. Re: the OP, I can't see myself wanting to go to 10 gal. batches, keg, etc., so I suspect there'll be an equipment upper limit of $500 or so. I know all the jokes, but I like having a large variety of beers on the shelf, and the flexibility of 12 oz. bottles, and I can't really see how I'd dispose of larger batches, or want to have all the kegs with finished beer my tastes would require- not to mention keeping all that under refrigeration.

That being said, there IS an obvious tendency to "gadgetize" this business, not to mention the siren song of convenience, a mixed blessing if there ever was one. My original kit (MW's Intermediate) was a great bargain at $80, but I had an almost immediate felt need for an immersion chiller, wine thief, and then the need for extended secondaries led to the addition of two 5-gal. BB carboys, etc., etc.
 
My first thought was "not very much" but then I started thinking. Even though my set-up is very ghetto, it does add up.

Let's see:

Kegerator: $350 (fridge was only $40, but the perlicks/driptrays cost!)
Kegging: $320 (Kegging set up was $220, plus 4 more kegs)
Barley Crusher: $135
Turkey Fryer: $50
MLT/HLT: $150
Chiller/hoses/ $100
Bottles/capper $????
etc

So that's $1100 right there, and doesn't include many things that I've bought over the years (like tons of grolsch bottles, tubing, etc). Now, if I didn't keg, the investment would be minimal.

I still "need" so many things, though!
 
Yikes, I did some quick math, I had not wanted to think about this but. in the last 3 years, just over 18,000 ........:eek:
 
keezer:
$250 fridge
$50 on Love temp control
$50 SS shanks and ss tailpieces
$65 Perlics
$60 Micromatic regulator
$100 CO2 tanks, 5# and 10#. I still need to buy the fittings to fill the little one from the big one.
$60 for my secondary CO2 setup. Regs from american sci.surplus, gauges from ebay, fittings, checkvalves, clamps, ect from various sources.

$610 on my keezer. wow I didnt' think it was actually that much...

$375 for corneys (14)

$135 for 9 carboys on Craigslist.

$50 for 8 gallon brew pot.

$45 For aluminum 60 qt from Emerald
$27 for site glass from Bobby.
$57 for the mcmaster order just to get 1 SS eyebolt and acorn nut. (actually about $1. for the brewpot. the rest was silicone gaskets for the kegs.

$100 misc supplies. keg lube, autosyphons, tubing, airlocks, the usual stuff.

so about $1500 so far. This didn't include my banjo burner or grain mill, both were presents.

Wow. I think I need a beer...

B
 
Tri Clovers: $350
Stainless T's $100
Ball valves: $150
CFC $150
Ported Better Bottles(2): $100
Carboy's(over the years): $100
Keggle: $20 (other 2 were free for various marginally legal reasons.) :)
Silicone Hose(man this stuff is expensive enough to merit listing) $40
Barbs: ?$100 these things are everywhere and you sure need a lot of them
Weldless Fittings: ?$100
Bottling Wands, Thermometers Etc: ?$150
Refractometer: $30
Crazy electrical experimentation with breaker boxes: ?$200
Electric Elements for various herms, hlt, kettle applications: $70
BCS Control Stuff(ssr's, boxes, temperature probes): $200(i was a beta tester so i had a bit of a savings there)
And then theres all the stuff I can't remember...but yeah, it um, adds up...That total is about $1900 and there is all manner of stuff I have forgotten. :confused:

Then again, it does make a lot of beer :p and it's a far cheaper hobby than golf which is what I say(my wife taught me this, since I have no idea why anyone would play golf or buy golf equipment). :fro:

I have a habit of just doing a little bit over time, it makes it much more sane, the idea of dropping that much in one hit seems really hard to do, but over time it's fine, it's like buying lunch, you spend $10 a day seems fine, but the idea of dropping $2000 all at once seems insane, but if you ate out every day that's what it would be for a year(btw, i don't so i can afford more brewery bling and what not). The other benefit of doing it slowly, is that if you give beer away to co-workers and what not you find others who have STOPPED brewing, and ineveitably they can be coersed into giving you all their old equipment, i have gotten all kinds of stuff, the best one was the schmidling adjustable mill, my jaw dropped, and i just held my breath until it was in my trunk.

All the emoticons are the result of my kids looking over my shoulder wanting this one, or that one, so what can you do, you just click the button and keep typing...

The bottom line, is for me this hobby is not one done out of frugality(it can be, but then it's not a hobby it's something else)...it's one done cause you feel like doing it. Let go of the guilt, keep to a budget, do what you will, but don't stop brewing, then the guilt will really come on strong, what with all that money spent.
 
the brew rig so far consists of one pony keg (20 bux. my gallery picture it shows my crawfish pot)
one 15 gallon keg (free)
one 15 gallon igloo ice cube (20 bux)
hoses were from ace... just vinal tubing (nickel and dime stuff).
sparge arm and mash manifold made of copper tubing (free)
counterflow wort chiller from copper and old garden hose i found (free)
bulkhead fittings and valves (1 for each keg 40 bux)
2 4500 watt lwd heating elements i think were like 12 bux a piece with my ace discount.
main lug subpanel with 2 30 amp breakers and 1 20 amp (free, scavenged from a job)
scrap wire (free)
that's about it i think... so right at 100 bux over an extended period of time...
 
I am no longer at liberty to discuss my beer spending on this site, as my SIL is now a member and that dangerous info could get back to wifey! ;)

On the good news side, wifey got pissed off at me for using too much fridge space and has ordered me to get a beer dedicated fridge!! :mug:
 
Then again, it does make a lot of beer :p and it's a far cheaper hobby than golf which is what I say(my wife taught me this, since I have no idea why anyone would play golf or buy golf equipment). :fro:

"No man guilty of golf should be afforded a position of trust or profit in the United States." - H.L. Mencken

"A good walk spoiled." - Mark Twain

Me, I'd be happy to demonstrate how golf could be made into a productive and efficient activity. My tools would be a John Deere 7630 and a 12-row disk, then plant barley, harvest the crop, malt, brew & drink the product. Res ipse loquitur!
 
A bit over 10K, still have more system construction, automation, and shed interior to do. Construction is on hold for about a year while I am in Arizona, but system design and software development is still ongoing.
 
Better Bottle, 6.5 gallon bucket, autosiphon, hose, racking cane, bottling bucket, 60 qt pot, turkey fryer, grain bag, paint strainer bag, a bit of smaller stuff. $300-350, pretty good for an all-grain setup.

I anticipate dropping another $200-300 on kegging supplies and another $50 on another primary and secondary and some odds and ends in the not so distant future.
 
Bout $2,600

1,800 for the brew rig
100 for the fermenting freezer
50 for the kegerator fridge
300 for the kegerator kit (+2 kegs)
120 for (6) more kegs
130 for the BC
100 for various loose items

This has been over a 3 year period as well, so it isnt that ugly really.

I have a couple grand in OT this month alone... maybe I will strike a deal with SWMBO... maybe?
 
150 for this, 130 for that, 250 for this, 100 for that... I'm sure I'm over the 2 grand mark and wouldn't be suprised if I have crested 3500 but I refuse to add it up... woman would have a slight melt down... (eventhough she got that $20,000.00 car and I still drive a beater so I can buy more toys... LOL!! Women...) Of course, she really, REALLY wants her kitchen space and closet in the spare room back. I'm all for a brew shed and she's on board, that is was before the economy went into the toilet... Back burner time for them plans. Someday...;)
 
I do not even want to think about how much I've spent, even though it is not really that much compared to many on the site. I know that I want to shorten the time it takes me to brew, so I am picking up a plate chiller, March pump, a new burner, and a larger brew pot this week. Those alone is more than I want to think about.
 
Are people being honest or simply confessing their sins to an audience that will reserve judgement here?

I'm impressed either way for a multitude of reasons... :drunk:
 
If I'm honest, I have no clue what I have spent on equipment. I just put that imaginary figure down to simply having a hobby. ALL hobbies have a cash outlay, and most have no return on the investment.

When I add up what my beer is costing me I only include ingredients and propane etc. The equipment is a done deal and remains out of the equation as far as I'm concerned.

This is the only way that I can justify my hobby by telling wifey that I can brew a truly enjoyable pint that I love cheaper than a barrel full of donkey piss from the drive-thru.

I find that works for me! :D
 
When I add up what my beer is costing me I only include ingredients and propane etc. The equipment is a done deal and remains out of the equation as far as I'm concerned.

I do the same math, the equipment falls into some weird budget category, that doesn't really count, it's hobby. Now the beer, that I calculate, very carefully ignoring any equipment costs.

In my experience making too much of a business out of a hobby it looses something...somehow caring about how much i spend on the hobby has the same ring. I think it can be fun to do things cheaply, or to lavishly, but in the end it's all entertainment and personal improvement. I generally think of my beers in the garage as my billions of little yeast children and I am proud of how big they have all grown up to be. I see that I am in good company.
:mug:
 
I think it can be fun to do things cheaply, or to lavishly, but in the end it's all entertainment and personal improvement.

Well, I'm not cheap, I don't really care what i spend on equipment within reason. Having said that, I do enjoy keeping a tight budget on the actual brewing process as a part of the hobby. I do get a weird kind of enjoyment out of making the beer as good as i can, but as cheap as i can.

That attitude has led me to planting hops, roasting malt, washing yeast.....It just makes more work/increased fun for me! :mug:
 
I'm not even going to bother adding mine up. It doesn't matter how much I've spent, all that matters is how much more I *want* to spend. :D
 
I'm wondering where some of you get those deals like $20 cornies, low cost 15.5 MLT, HLT, etc.

Let's see
10 gal brewpot w/themometer & 1/2 ball valve, and bazooka screen $320
Plate Chiller $80
2 carboys $40
1 better beer bottle with accessories $60
Kegging setup with 5lb tank, 2 hoses, dual gage and 4 cornies $210
Original beer kit with bottlecapper, priming bucket, fermenting bucketc, etc. $75 (been so long have no idea)
Extra primary bucket $15
Assorted hoses, flip bottles, etc $150
total $950

Depressing as I can barely do all grain and can only handle 5 gal batches.
Forget the fact i'd love a 10 gal keg style all grain system with a 14 gal stainless fermentor :)

This is the only way that I can justify my hobby by telling wifey that I can brew a truly enjoyable pint that I love cheaper than a barrel full of donkey piss from the drive-thru.

My SWMBO and her Mother (MOSWMBO) are both Italian. They'll spend all day making pasta sauce (gravy in their venacular). Frying the meating, blending the tomatoes, cooking it for like 8 hours, etc (and I'll typically clean up the 2 pot mess!). So when they asked why I brew beer, I replied, "why don't you just buy your sauce at the supermarket?" No comeback from them....
 
Automated 30 gallon brew stand with two pumps and all stainless pots/fittings, two chest freezers, "on deck" fridge, 3 tap stainless kegorater, seperate kitchen installed in garage, every gadget and gizmo I can get my hands on....

That paired with my lingering feeling that my wife internet stalks me...

i'd say I spent about $200 total.
 
I do not even want to think about how much I've spent, even though it is not really that much compared to many on the site. I know that I want to shorten the time it takes me to brew, so I am picking up a plate chiller, March pump, a new burner, and a larger brew pot this week. Those alone is more than I want to think about.

But smile :) knowing you can save 10% OFF your order with discount code BYOAD. 10% OFF sale ends on April 7th.

Sorry couldn't resist:mug:
 
But smile :) knowing you can save 10% OFF your order with discount code BYOAD. 10% OFF sale ends on April 7th.

Sorry couldn't resist:mug:

That is funny, no need to be sorry. The 10% Off sale is how I am going to tell the SWMBO it was a good deal that I could not pass up. Of course I am getting it all while she is out of town. :ban:

Ed
 
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