Switching to All Grain and need advice on equipment!

[HOPtuary]

Guys i am looking into making the switch and i have leads on some equipment id like everyones opinion on for what would work the best. Ive read that going big is the way to go. I have a lead on 2 igloo coolers, one 5 gal and the other 10 gal. The next lead is a couple propane burners and one 5 gal kettle and a 10 gal kettle. And the final lead is a turkey fryer set up that comes with an 8 gal pot.

I am thinking of getting the propane burners, the 10 gal cooler, 10 gal kettle and im undecided if i will have any use for the 5 gal kettle or cooler. I usually do 5 gal brewer with high OG beers. Going to try and make a 3 tier setup in my garage. All ideas/comments welcome.

 

[Mojzis]

The 5g cooler should come in handy to mash moderate gravity 5g beers. In my 10g igloo there is too much headspace and my mash temps can be sketchy when running 5g batches. I try to do 10's for that purpose.

Having a 5g mash tun for this purpose would be handy. Just have to spend the 20$ to hook it up.

And the 5-8g kettle would be needed to hold strike water. Or runnings from the bk.

 

[Croyzen]

Get the 10 gallon cooler. I use a 10 gallon Rubbermaid and have plenty of room for high gravity 5 gallon batches through moderate 10 gallon batches. Skip the 5 gallon kettle as a boil kettle if you plan on doing 5 gallon batches. You'll need something that holds 6.5-7.x gallons pre-boil. The 5 gallon kettle could be used to heat strike/sparge water though. The turkey fryer/pot would work out just fine as long as the pot was in good shape and if new I'd boil some water in it for about 30 minutes before brewing with it.

 

[HOPtuary]

So basically I should grab all of it. Would having three burners be a benefit? All of this will be costing me about $275 which i think is a great deal and all i will need is to get a couple false bottom and valve set ups(why are they so damn expensive!!!)

 

[Croyzen]

The 5g cooler should come in handy to mash moderate gravity 5g beers. In my 10g igloo there is too much headspace and my mash temps can be sketchy when running 5g batches. I try to do 10's for that purpose.

I have made 3.5-4 gallon average gravity beers in my 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler and have lost a degree or less over a 60 minute mash. I simply preheat the cooler and mash in a degree or two high, stir down, seal it up at temp. Never had a problem with headspace yet.

 

[jflongo]

Definitely go with the 10 gallon. Also, keep in mind you can get Coleman Extreme Coolers for around $29.99 - $39.99 at tons of stores, for the 50quart and 70quart.

So how much are they charging you for the 10 gallon cooler? Also keep mind you could go this route.

$39.99 - $49.99 7.5 gallon pot for HLT, at large grocery stores
$29.99 - $39.99 for 50 quart or 70 quart coleman xtreme cooler
$40 - $70 for a used Keg that you could turn into a 15.5 gallon boil kettle and possibly another for HLT if you wanted to

You can get brand new burners for $30 - $50 pretty easy, or used ones cheaper.

To me $275 seems high for those options you have listed.

Sure you can do 3 tier with 2 burners with a cooler. Or two or one tier if you get a pump(s)

 

[HOPtuary]

Definitely go with the 10 gallon. Also, keep in mind you can get Coleman Extreme Coolers for around $29.99 - $39.99 at tons of stores, for the 50quart and 70quart.

So how much are they charging you for the 10 gallon cooler? Also keep mind you could go this route.

$39.99 - $49.99 7.5 gallon pot for HLT, at large grocery stores
$29.99 - $39.99 for 50 quart or 70 quart coleman xtreme cooler
$40 - $70 for a used Keg that you could turn into a 15.5 gallon boil kettle and possibly another for HLT if you wanted to

You can get brand new burners for $30 - $50 pretty easy, or used ones cheaper.

To me $275 seems high for those options you have listed.

Sure you can do 3 tier with 2 burners with a cooler. Or two or one tier if you get a pump(s)

The expensive note was related to the false bottoms and valves.

For the $275 I will be getting the following
1 - 5 gallon igloo cooler
1 - 10 gallon igloo cooler
=$50
2 - propane burners
1 - 5 gallon kettle
1 - 10 gallon kettle
1 - wort chiller
stir plate and beaker
=$200
1 - turkey fryer set up with 8 gallon kettle
=$30

Do you think this is still high? Im getting this stuff on craigslist so im open to haggling.

 

[jflongo]

You can get 12.5 - 17.5 gallon coleman xtreme coolers for about $30 - $40 brand new. If the 10 gallon cooler already has a valve and manifold or false bottom in it, $50 is a good deal. If it's just a 10 gallon cooler not converted that is too much. I would be surprised if you would EVER use the 5 gallon igloo cooler once you use the 10 gallon one. I wouldn't bother with the turkey fryer, since you are using a cooler for a MLT, you only need 1 or 2 burners.

 

[HOPtuary]

Ya they are just fresh coolers. So you think i should get a 50 qt cooler from walmart for my MLT, grab the two burner and kettles. Do you recommend a cooler or a pot for a HLT?

 

[progmac]

take a look at a metal braid(eg bazooka screen or water hose) instead of a false bottom. i've found i get better efficiency with the braid. it is also much cheaper.

 

[jflongo]

Ya they are just fresh coolers. So you think i should get a 50 qt cooler from walmart for my MLT, grab the two burner and kettles. Do you recommend a cooler or a pot for a HLT?

For me I use a 50 quart Coleman Xtreme Cooler, that works great and holds temps great. I'm going to be upgrading that at some point since I do 10 - 11 gallon batches now, and I push that to it's limit.

I don't ever plan on using a SS MLT, until I go all electric at some point and brew inside. It's personal preference though, some people don't think coolers are safe so they use SS MLT, also there are hundreds of thousand of people that use coolers for MLT.

 

[jflongo]

Also make sure you vary your searches on craigslist, people don't always use the right keywords. There is a good chance you could find a used mash tun for $70 or less. Quite often you may be able to buy everything someone is using for $300 or less if they are upgrading to 10 or 15 gallon setups.

 

[HOPtuary]

Ya ive been searching craigslist for a bit and up near chicago there isnt much so im trying to find what I can.

 

[opiate82]

I have an 8 and 5 gallon kettle that I use for my 5 gallon batches. I love having both as I can heat up sparge water and collect runnings in my brew kettle simultaneously. I do wish I would have gotten a 10 gallon kettle instead of the 8 as most my beers come close to maxing out the capacity, but since I discovered the wonders of Fermcap-S I don't need to worry about boil-overs at all anymore.

As far as burners, I have a gas stove so I use that to heat my strike and sparge water and use a single propane burner for my boil. So having two heat sources has also been beneficial to me and if you can't heat on your stove quickly, more than one burner could help.

 

[HOPtuary]

Ok so im going to grab two coolers from walmart one for my MLT and one for my HLT. Im going to try and get the two propane burners and the 5 and 10 gallon kettles and stir plates from the guy on craigslist. Ill find the false bottom or bazooka online. Anything im missing?

 

[opiate82]

Mash paddle?

Also, I only use one cooler as my MLT. I heat my strike water in my brew kettle, while it is heating I prepare the rest of my equipment and crush my grain. So you don't necessarily need 2 coolers.

 

[jflongo]

Ok so im going to grab two coolers from walmart one for my MLT and one for my HLT. Im going to try and get the two propane burners and the 5 and 10 gallon kettles and stir plates from the guy on craigslist. Ill find the false bottom or bazooka online. Anything im missing?

You can use the 5 gallon kettle as a HLT, no need for a cooler for that. You can use a bazooka, or make your own with a Stainless Steel Braided Line from a hardware store. I also put a T on the inside of my cooler, I think that helps with draining and less chance of a stuck sparge.

There are lots of videos on converting coolers, here is mine. Next cooler I get though, will probably be a flatter one with a better drain channel, but this one still does a good job.

 

[HOPtuary]

So you batch sparge? Any advantages?

 

[jflongo]

So you batch sparge? Any advantages?

I batch sparge yes, I find it to be very easy. Some day if I go 3 tier on a stand, I may try fly sparging. Batch sparging works great though.

 

[mredge73]

What batch size are you looking to brew? If you want to do 10 gallon batches, I wouldn't buy any of that stuff.
What items have false bottoms and valves? You can easily spend $75-$150 per kettle on SS fittings.
How many pumps do you plan on using? Are you building a 2 or 3 vessel system?

 

[HOPtuary]

What batch size are you looking to brew? If you want to do 10 gallon batches, I wouldn't buy any of that stuff.
What items have false bottoms and valves? You can easily spend $75-$150 per kettle on SS fittings.
How many pumps do you plan on using? Are you building a 2 or 3 vessel system?

Right now this is a tight budget build. Im looking at doing only 5 gallon high OG IIPAs and imperials. Planning on doing a gravity system.

 

[LandoLincoln]

So you batch sparge? Any advantages?

Batch sparging takes less time and is less finicky, but the drawback is that you typically have less efficiency. For a lot of us, we'd prefer to save the time and the hassle and just buy a few extra pounds of grain.

 

[HOPtuary]

Thanks for posting the video. I dont mind putting a few extra pounds in there. So with batch sparging I dont need the HLT or do I? Does a long metal spoon work for a mash paddle?

 

[poptarts]

10 gallon pot can easily get pushed past the limit on 5 gallon all grain if your making a high og pilsner like mad elf.

 

[jflongo]

Thanks for posting the video. I dont mind putting a few extra pounds in there. So with batch sparging I dont need the HLT or do I? Does a long metal spoon work for a mash paddle?

Yes you still need something to heat up sparge water for batch sparging. HLT is very nice to have if you can use one. As far as a mash paddle, sure a LONG metal spoon can work, as long as it doesn't bend easy.

 

[jflongo]

Thanks for posting the video. I dont mind putting a few extra pounds in there. So with batch sparging I dont need the HLT or do I? Does a long metal spoon work for a mash paddle?

Also, there are TONS of basic all grain brewing videos on Youtube, I would strongly recommend watching some.

 

[HOPtuary]

But if i keep an eye on my wort boil, like i always do, i should be fine with a 10 gal kettle for a 5-6 gallon back of a high OG beer, right?

 

[jflongo]

But if i keep an eye on my wort boil, like i always do, i should be fine with a 10 gal kettle for a 5-6 gallon back of a high OG beer, right?

Yes. I have made around 1.070 ish beer in my previous 7.5 gallon kettle, with it almost to the top. Just had to watch and control the hot break carefully. Once you are past that, it's fine. With a 10 gallon you should be fine for 5 - 6 gallon batches. If you happen to start with 7.5 - 8 gallons, just watch the hot break carefully.

 

[rgauthier20420]

I've got 2 of these that I need to sell now that I've gone full electric. Any interest in them? You'd need a stand to mount them to or something, but let me know. Wish you'd seen my post about getting rid of some old equipment

 

[HOPtuary]

Great! Thanks did you make all your spigots or buy premade ones online?