I initially made the jump to all grain brewing a couple years ago and did it on a shoestring budget:
- Mash Tun out of a 10g cooler + DIY weldless ball valve + DIY SS hose filter (see
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/) - $55
- Used my old 7.5g turkey fryer kettle as my Hot Liquor Tank (and still as the boil kettle)
- Bought grain from my LHBS pre-crushed for about $1.35-1.85/pound.
That dropped my average cost per 5g batch from $35 to $25. The next step was where I had to invest some money, but also the step which saved me a TON per batch.
- Bought a Barley Crusher and started buying grain in bulk from a different supplier. Now my grain runs from $0.55 - $0.85 per pound...just about half the cost compared to the LHBS.
- Bought 2 "decomissioned" kegs for an HLT and a boil kettle, and installed weldless kits on both. The HLT got a sight glass and a dial thermometer. The boil kettle got a copper dip tube and Bazooka T-screen.
- I bought a flat of quart mason jars, so I could harvest my yeast. Also picked up a stir plate and a couple 2 Liter flasks. On average, I re-use yeast 3-4 times.
- I now buy hops in bulk from HopsDirect.com. That brought my price down from $1.50-2.00 per ounce to $0.65-1.10 per ounce.
I now brew a 10 gallon batch for $15-30, depending on the recipe. This doesn't include cost of water, gas, or electricity. I converted my main burner to natural gas as well, dropping my true cost per batch down quite a bit. I have probably invested about $1200 in my brewing setup which includes a march pump, silicone hoses, QDs, a CFC, kegerator, and a fermentation chamber. I have almost paid for the system with the money I've saved over extract with the last year of brewing.