So I am making my transition to all grain. I had planned on converting a cooler into a mlt and have been researching that for the last couple weeks. This past weekend I found a seller on craigalist that was selling his entire brewing setup for a reasonable price and I bought it. Among many other items was a keggle with a small stainless false bottom. I have done some reading on keggles as mlt and the pros and cons. I am trying to decide wether I should use the keggle or sell it to build my cooler setup. I would like to keep the keggle but I have read of the issues with holding temps and such. I dont have the funds to put together a recirculation system so im not sure if direct fire is an option. I would really like peoples opinions on what I should do as an all grain virgin. I need to get back to brewing!!! Thanks
Should I keep my keggle?
- Thread starter JonBoy47
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what are you currently using for a HLT and BK? Even if you dont use it for a MT it makes a great BK
Chap
Well-Known Member
How big is your brew pot? A 15.5 gal keggle is very nice to have, especially with a false bottom.
I use a 48 quart converted cooler as my mash tun and have ony 1 propane burner. This has worked well for me doing all grain for the past year. I recommend trying things out with all grain using a cooler as you mash tun as you gain my experience doing all grain.
If you are doing all grain 5 gallon batches you do not really need to start off with a brew sculpture/stand and have a kettle as you MLT. What type of pot/kettle are you boiling your wort with?
If you are doing all grain 5 gallon batches you do not really need to start off with a brew sculpture/stand and have a kettle as you MLT. What type of pot/kettle are you boiling your wort with?
What does the rest of your set up look like (size of boil kettle, CFC)?? Keggles are awesome to have if you ever decide to step up to 10 gal batches. There is a lot of info on here about effective ways to insulate a keggle for use as a MLT. There are lots of them that report very little temperature drop if you insulate well.
I have a 64qt cooler as my MLT and when/if it starts to fail on me I will probably switch one of my keggles into a MLT.
IMHO, I would not get rid of it.
I have a 64qt cooler as my MLT and when/if it starts to fail on me I will probably switch one of my keggles into a MLT.
IMHO, I would not get rid of it.
Like I said above I have 2 15 gallon kettles. I also have 3 immersion chillers now. I have one 50 ft 1/2" chiller and I just got 2 25ft 3/8" chillers with all the stuff I bought. I would really like to do 10 gallon batches in the future. Probably once I start my kegging setup.
I would love to have a pump. But I kinda blew my wad on all this equipment I just bought. I couldnt pass it up though. It was a great deal! The problem now is I would have to sell some stuff to pay for a cooler and mlt parts. Will I have issues if im only doing 5 gallon batches in the keggle mlt?
prrriiide
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No. You should absolutely sell it to me.
From the amount of pms I have recieved asking how much I want for my keggle, it seems like I should keep it. Im going to give it a shot. Maybe I can get a pump in the near future and direct fire willbe an option.
I use a keggle as my mash tun, and typically use the lid of my brew kettle as a lid for the kettle to maintain heat. I rarely drop more than 1-2 degrees over the entire course of a 1 hour mash. If you're in a colder locale, you can always wrap a blanket around the keggle to help insulation. There's always the option of adding hot water to the mash to maintain temp as well.
Using a keggle has the advantage that you can direct fire your strike water. It's a convenience thing for me. Without a pump, recirculation would be difficult (you'd have to drain into a pot and pour on top), but you don't have that ability with a cooler either.
I'd keep the keggle and use it at the moment, and if some point down the road you decide you need to switch to a cooler, you can decide whether to sell it or not at that point.
Using a keggle has the advantage that you can direct fire your strike water. It's a convenience thing for me. Without a pump, recirculation would be difficult (you'd have to drain into a pot and pour on top), but you don't have that ability with a cooler either.
I'd keep the keggle and use it at the moment, and if some point down the road you decide you need to switch to a cooler, you can decide whether to sell it or not at that point.
I didnt get any offers. It was just people asking me how much I would sell it for.
Im in southern CA so I dont really have to worry about cold temps. Are you using any kind of insulation with your keggle? And are these results on 5 or 10 gallon batches?
Just because others want it, doesn't mean you should keep it =) hahah JK
Keggle's are great...you might not want to do 5 gallon batches in one (that's a huge brew kettle for such a small boil) but if you want to go 10 gallons they are going to be MUCH harder to come by than it will be to sell...just my $.02
Keggle's are great...you might not want to do 5 gallon batches in one (that's a huge brew kettle for such a small boil) but if you want to go 10 gallons they are going to be MUCH harder to come by than it will be to sell...just my $.02
brandonhagen1
Well-Known Member
sell two of the chillers and use that to buy mlt components
