Need help up-grading my equipment!

[AHammer16]

I am going to up-grade my equipment and i need some advice or guidence as to what to buy. My current equipment is:

8 gallon "ale pail" No bottleing spigot on it (use as a primary)
5 gallon glass carboy (use as secondary)
racking cane
bottling wand
stopper for secondary
air lock
plastic tubing
tons o bottles
capper & caps

I want to go to all glass. But am confused how to transfer 5 gallond of cooled wort to a narrow mouthed glass carboy w/ out spilling all over and at the same time filtering out all of those pain in the ass hop pellet leftovers.
I would imagine I should get 3 more 6.5 gallon carboys, 3-4 more bubbler/stopper sets and what else?

Thaks for you help
------Alex---------

 

[ScottT]

I want to go to all glass. But am confused how to transfer 5 gallond of cooled wort to a narrow mouthed glass carboy w/ out spilling all over and at the same time filtering out all of those pain in the ass hop pellet leftovers.
------Alex---------

How do you get from your primary fermentor to your 5 gal carboy?

That should relieve your confusion.

Alternatively, use a really big funnel.

 

[anthrobe]

What I have done is use a funnel and carefully pour the wort into the carboy. Now I have installed a quarter turn ball valve on my brew pot. I cool the wort with my new wort chiller then open the quarter turn and gravity feed the wort through a tube into the carboy. So far this works great!!

 

[AHammer16]

How do you get from your primary fermentor to your 5 gal carboy?

A plastic siphon hose.

 

[ScottT]

A plastic siphon hose.

There you go.

 

[The Happy Mug]

My homebrew shop has these GREAT BIG funnels with 4" fit-in screens. We're talking a foot across at the top of these funnels. Of course, one ounce of hop pellets will clog almost any filter it's poured through.

A hop bag may be a good choice. You can place it in a large strainer (big enough to fit over the brewpot) and sparge it with cold bottled water to rines the good stuff down and cool the wort at the same time.

Also, a 3" or 4" strainer with a long handle makes a great tool for swishing out hop pieces (and grains early on). Run it through the wort, wash it upside-down under HOT tap water (mine is hot enough to cook chicken), repeat.

 

[Thor]

My homebrew shop has these GREAT BIG funnels with 4" fit-in screens. We're talking a foot across at the top of these funnels. Of course, one ounce of hop pellets will clog almost any filter it's poured through.

I second the warning on funnels. My experience is that the 4" screen clogs quickly, usually while you still have wort in the funnel. Rinsing is a pain, not to mention the small but nonetheless potential exposure to bacteria. Plus, you need someone to hold the funnel, or you risk having it pop out of the carboy while pouring. Ask me how I know all these things

You might consider using a simple sieve over your existing bucket (sanitized, of course), then after the wort is strained and most of the hops/specialty grain remains are out, a syphon hose to transfer into the carboy. An added advantage: holding the syphon hose toward the top of the carboy when syphoning helps to aerate.

 

[El Pistolero]

But am confused how to transfer 5 gallond of cooled wort to a narrow mouthed glass carboy w/ out spilling all over and at the same time filtering out all of those pain in the ass hop pellet leftovers.

Like the guys said above, I use a great big funnel, but I have a great big strainer too that sits right inside the funnel...I haven't had any problems with the strainer getting clogged.

As far as what else to buy, I think a couple of primaries (6.5 gal) and three or four secondaries (5 gal) should be sufficient, and enough stoppers/bubblers for each carboy plus a couple extra.

 

[The Happy Mug]

I've actually never had a funnel pop out on me. It rests about 4-5" inside the neck of my carboy.

Also, If you're worried about microbastards in the air, kill 'em all with Oust or similar air sanitizer. I spray my entire pad with it when I'm brewing, transfering, or bottling. I call it an extra safety measure.

 

[tnlandsailor]

I am going to up-grade my equipment and i need some advice or guidence as to what to buy. My current equipment is:

8 gallon "ale pail" No bottleing spigot on it (use as a primary)
5 gallon glass carboy (use as secondary)
racking cane
bottling wand
stopper for secondary
air lock
plastic tubing
tons o bottles
capper & caps

I want to go to all glass. But am confused how to transfer 5 gallond of cooled wort to a narrow mouthed glass carboy w/ out spilling all over and at the same time filtering out all of those pain in the ass hop pellet leftovers.
I would imagine I should get 3 more 6.5 gallon carboys, 3-4 more bubbler/stopper sets and what else?

Thaks for you help
------Alex---------

If you are commited to the hobby, and it sounds like you are, here are some improvements that I think are very worthwhile:

1) Move to a full wort boil. This means getting a converted keg or other large pot (at least 9 gallons) and an outdoor propane burner and stand. I recommend the converted keg for its durability, versatility, availability, and affordability. For $100, you can get a pristine (albeit used) converted keg from Sabco that will last you basically forever. Hunt around for good deals on high output burners. Once you have a spigot on your kettle, draining cooled wort into a glass carboy is a snap. Which leads to #2,

2) Get the 6.5 gallon acid bottle carboys. The extra room is nice to accommodate krausen and blow off, plus, you can make a slightly larger batch of beer than 5 gallons (my standard is a 6 gallon batch) so you can bottle or keg the full 5 gallons at the very end.

3) Get an Auto-Siphon. I wouldn't brew without one.

4) If you really want to remove hops and other debris from your kettle, take a look here.

Prosit!

 

[AHammer16]

I've got a 15 gallon budligt sanke topped keg at home. Where should i go, or what type of place can i find to cut the top out? I would imagine i should have a Stainless ball valve put in the side at the bottom as well?

 

[Sir Sudster]

You can do it yourself if you have a reciprocating saw. Mark a circle from the center. Drill a 3/4 hole just inside the circle line. Fill the keg with water. Use a sawsall to cut on the line you drew. Keep the saw against the rim and use it as a guide. Just try and keep the same angle against the rim and it will help guide you around. Try to go slow. The water will help in weighing the keg down to keep it from moving. It will also damper the loud noise. It will also cool the blade which is probably the most important part.

good luck.

 

[Cheesefood]

Hops Bag = The Way, until you (and I) can afford the Hop Stopper. Once I go AG, I'm going to send some money Tnland's way.