I made a 2 gallon mash tun $46

[Beer is good]

I went to home depot and bought some stuff, including this cooler for 9.99 or so, and a 20" braided steel line and all 3/8" brass fittings. I forgot to wash any of the parts, so it smells a little oily. I guess my first few batches of beer will taste like cars

Here are some rough tests with 1.5L water:

Strike temp: 206f
Temp at 0 min: 192f
Temp at 30 min: 166f
Temp at 60 min: 150f

After this test, I tried again filling it all the way up and putting a folded towel on top since it seemed like the lid was very warm. It started out at 120f, and after 30 minutes was still 120f. I could not see any discernible decrease on my thermometer.

I am pleased!

 

[Clarke]

I have one of these

 

[JustLooking]

I made a 2 gallon mash tun $46

Bag would have been cheaper.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Your temperature test is nice, but a mash will behave differently and hold temp much better. FYI and cheers have fun with your tun.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[danthebugman]

Looks good, but I agree with JustLooking...cost prohibitive. I don't think I spent that much on the 5 gallon MT I built. I've often thought when doing smaller batches it would be fun go have a mini MT, but then I'm reminded of how cheap paint strainer bags are.

 

[Beer is good]

Bag would have been cheaper.

You know, after I assembled my mash tun and threw all the parts bags in the trash I read about people using strainer bags and I was a little bummed! Much cheaper, and easier to clean. Oh well, now I have a nice spigot I can move to a bigger cooler when I move to a place where I can do 5 gallon batches!

 

[Beer is good]

Looks good, but I agree with JustLooking...cost prohibitive. I don't think I spent that much on the 5 gallon MT I built. I've often thought when doing smaller batches it would be fun go have a mini MT, but then I'm reminded of how cheap paint strainer bags are.

I will definitely use bags for my 5 gallon batches. In my haste and excitement, I ran to home depot and bought all this brass before I knew about mesh bags.

 

[Clarke]

You know, after I assembled my mash tun and threw all the parts bags in the trash I read about people using strainer bags and I was a little bummed! Much cheaper, and easier to clean. Oh well, now I have a nice spigot I can move to a bigger cooler when I move to a place where I can do 5 gallon batches!

What's the moral to this story?

Research
Research
Research

but don't be bummed, it is a great looking tun

 

[Beer is good]

What's the moral to this story?

Research
Research
Research

but don't be bummed, it is a great looking tun

I will probably never learn. I often get very excited about a new hobby and start buying/building before I do a proper amount of research. I just like to research the hard way

 

[danthebugman]

I will definitely use bags for my 5 gallon batches. In my haste and excitement, I ran to home depot and bought all this brass before I knew about mesh bags.

I actually prefer using a MT instead of the bags for my usual batch sizes of 3 and 5 gallon. I would probably use a MT also with 1 gallon batches if it wouldn't be so costly to put together a mini MT. One of these days I'll find a nice small drink cooler someone is parting with and I can make one on the cheap. At any rate if you're like me, building brewing equipment is almost as fun as brewing...almost. Enjoy!

 

[AlexAcerr]

nice work

 

[Clarke]

I just like to research the hard way

Nothing wrong with that. Learning what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do. I have spent my live perfecting this strategy.

 

[BBBF]

I have one of these that I want to sell, but everytime someone expresses interest, I tell them to research BIAB and lose the sale.