New brewer looking into All grain.

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Kokamantratarius

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Home brewing is a new hobby for me, but I am completely hooked. I love making beer just as much as I love drinking it. I made my 5th batch lastnight, my first batch was made march 4th.

Now I want to look into trying all-grain brewing. I have looked at mash and lauter tun kits on ebay and they run anywhere from $130 to $240. I have also looked at a converted keg kit at a HBS that ran $170. I am hoping that someone will be able to give me a list for what I would need to make my own, or would buying one be a better idea? I know my way around my toolbox and I like building things, but I am looking for some advice from anyone who has either built or bought one or both.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have a converted cooler that I use for a mash tun. There is alot of information here on the forum- there is a DIY forum in the equipment area that talks about making alot of your own equipment. The wiki (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Brewing_Equipment#Mash.2FLauter_Tun) has tons on info, too.

And also don't forgot howtobrew.com- this link: http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html which actually explains how to build a MLT out of a cooler.

Some people find a used keg and cut it themselves. Since I'm not very handy with tools, I had to buy mine but I think most people build their own much cheaper than the $150 area you were thinking about. I think most people can do it for under $50.
 
Like Yoop said, investigate first.

No need to pay premiums for pre-built when with a drill and a wrench you can assemble your own. Check out peoples galleries and look at what they've done.

It'll be worth it to take your time and construct some of your own equipment.
 
First read this http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

Some pictures of my MLT

mash-tun-grommet.jpg


mash-tun.jpg


mash-tun-valve.jpg
 
Also look on ebay or craigslist. I bought a ten gallon setup and a whole bunch of equipment from a guy on craigslist for really cheap. I was lucky to land a good deal. Now im just waiting to land a good deal on a turkey fryer then ill be in business.
 
Brew in a Bag? I'll pass.

He mashes with the total amount of water needed for the brew including the extra for grain absorbtion, that would be around 3 quarts per pound of grain. For one of my average pale ales I'd be looking at mashing with 10.50 gallons that would drive the ph up like crazy and extract tannins. I also think it would be quite dangerous trying to pull that huge bag full of very hot wet grain out of the keg.
 
boo boo said:


I'll second that, the above link is a great resource for a CHEAP AG system and it works very well.

All you need is a cooler (the above is a 5 gallon round "Vicrory" Rubbermaid cooler), about 6 inches of copper tubing, 5-6 feet of vinyl tubing, a rubber stopper to plug the existing hole in the cooler (not sure what size, I bought 4 or 5 of the smallest the LHBS had and used what worked), a hoseclamp and a stainless steel braid from a toilet water supply hose.

About $30 or less and you too can brew your first AG beer! :rockin:
 
For AG I've spent the following

$120-10 Gallon kettle for full boils
$70- For Immersion Wort Chiller
$15- 5 Gal mash tun with about another 15 in fittings.
$20- for another set of fitting for a cooler I already had

right now I use my works burner and propane but eventually I would like to buy my own, so add another hundred in there for a burner and tank. Thats about it. It's not cheap, but the costs can be minimized and I encourage you to build as much of it as you can to cut costs.


Dan
 
like others have said you can make a mash tun very cheap i used one of the 15$ red coolers from walmart and around 50$ in hardware because i didnt use a shopping list i could have proably done it for around 25$ worth of hardware lol.

I use my boil kettle for a hot liquor tank. I paid 50$ for a turkey cooker at Lowes that came with a 6 gallon alumiumin pot which is my HLT and boil kettle. I also have a 22quart SS stock pot i bought at walmart which serves no purpose no except for decotion mashes lol

I built my own wort chiller out of 1/2 copper tubing (once again no shopping list i should have went the next size down lol) i paid 34$ for 50 feet of 1/2" copper tubing at the local hardware store. I had the great idea that i could make a 50' wort chiller out of 1/2 copper with no cornie to wrap it around i ended up with a 10 footer and a bunch of wasted copper! good thing i got it for cheap! It seems to cool the wort about as fast as any ive seen on here around 30 mins or less if i put my boil pot in a bucket of ice water non ice water is a bit longer. my LHBS wants 62$ for a 25foot 3/8" copper wort chiller which is highway robbery to me they say copper prices are high.... i think they are full of it My next one is defently going to be 3/8" and a 50 footer and im going to use my 1/2" for a pre chiller.

i guess it depends on how skillfull you are and how deep your pockets are on your equipment. best thing is to shop around find sales etc. i stopped keeping track of how much i have spent on everything around 400$ :O and i want to expand even more

*edit* check out Brewing Hardware its a pretty decent book covers alot of the hardware home brewers use and how to make it all.
 
I built mine with 1/2" and wouldn't go any lower. 1/2" is much sturdier. I used my bottling bucket to mold it around and now I have a 50' 1/2" chiller that chills my wort to pitching temps in about 7 minutes. Of course my groundwater temps are in the low 50's, so that helps.


Dan
 
im using a 6.5 gallon alum. turkey cooker pot which isnt very big in diameter so i needed something a bit tighter which i didnt have lol and i agree with it being sturdy talk about a bi%%$ to bend lol!
 
Damn guys thanks for all the tips. I am gonna do my homework tommorrow night and make a list, I would tonight but I was out all morning and part of the afternoon and then I got home and bottled my oktoberfest, (Which ROCKS :rockin: I am so proud of it) so now I am gonna sit back with some buds and brew and relax!
 
So I took the day off (well deserved btw) and since I've been home I have been brainstorming ideas for a lauter tun. Now I have never seen an actual lauter tun in person just in pictures so any critique is welcome.

Basic rectangular cooler
Oil drip pan (steel or aluminum)
Copper tubing
Flow control valve
Silicone tubing
Misc grommets


My plan is to fashion a false bottom out of the drip pan and drill, drill, drill many times over many many small holes. After I have the pan cut to size I will put a basic door edge molding on the edge of the false bottom to prevent any scratching and stantions at the corners to have a 2inch gap or so above the real cooler bottom.

For my manifold I plan on soldering the copper tubing to make a sectional manifold that runs 2" inside the edge of the cooler with 2-3" gaps along the width running the entire length of the manifold.

From there I plan on doing all the misc grommets and valves.

I have a few questions about the manifold. Should I cut diagonal slits or just drill small (1/8inch maybe?) uniform holes into the copper tubing.

Any advice appriciated.
 
sounds like alot of work, i was talking to the guy at the local HBS and he tried something similiar and said after 2 weeks he got mad and stopped drilling holes lol check out this link they sell perforated SS sheets for fairly cheap

http://www.onlinemetals.com/ be easier to just cut it down to size and save you a few weeks of drilling holes
 
Kokamantratarius said:
My plan is to fashion a false bottom out of the drip pan and drill, drill, drill many times over many many small holes. After I have the pan cut to size I will put a basic door edge molding on the edge of the false bottom to prevent any scratching and stantions at the corners to have a 2inch gap or so above the real cooler bottom.

Potentially difficult. Just as a tip, use a punch to mark the hole locations before you drill. That way, you avoid bit slippage.
 
How does this sound. Rather then a metal plate with xxxx number of holes...a metal frame with a fine metal mesh? The false bottom is just acting as a strainer I assume from looking at pol's pics. How does that sound?
 
My setup is the cheapest and easiest way to go.

Buy two 5 gallon food grade buckets. drill about 100 1/8" holes in the bottom of one to use as your
false bottom. Then just stick the bucket with holes in the bottom in another that has a spigot installed
and buy a 18" x 24" Nylon filter bag for use in the false bottom bucket for sparging.

This setup only cose me about $40 for my lautering tun.

-- Trev
 
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