Transferring hot water to MLT or HLT without pumps?

[Swilliams603]

I just brewed my first all grain batch using a 10-gallon Rubbermaid mash tun. I batch sparged and used gravity to drain into a 10 gallon boil kettle. I am trying to stay relatively budget friendly here.

I quickly noticed heating up 5 gallons of water with a propane gas burner in my 8 gallon brew kettle and pouring it into my MLT to batch sparge is a major pain in the you know what. Not to mention a great way to kill myself since the kettle gets so hot and is not very maneuverable.

Are there any better tips for transferring all of this hot liquid? Ideally I would love to have a two or three tier setup that I can pump my hot water into my MLT and then eventually a HLT cooler when I get one, and let gravity do the rest. Obviously that would take some investment. Is there a simple way to meet in the middle with one burner and one pump?

 

[srice]

I just finished a brew using one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BC5GME/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

After moving a few gallons, just pick up your kettle and dump the rest.

 

[jakenbacon]

If you had one pump you could plumb it to meet your needs. If your on a budget I often see an advertisement on HBT for a small, brewer friendly pump that runs cheaper than a march pump. But the extra doe may be worth it...

EDIT:Also check this out for inspiration....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/ghetto-stands-187411/

 

[Swilliams603]

I guess my question is...Will the pictured below work? or is it not necessary? Basically looking for the most simple way to transfer liquid. All gravity draining.

1. Heat strike water, pump into MLT (set 60 min)
2. Heat sparge water, pump into HLT
3. Drain MLT into BK
4. Sparge HLT into MLT, then into BK
5. Boil

 

[acidrain]

If you're going with a pump, the three-tier system isn't really needed. Go with a single tier, and pump where you need it to go. Down the road you could automate and pump through a RMS tube.

 

[davekippen]

I do what srice does - I use a gallon plastic pitcher to scoop out water until the kettle gets to a manageable level. Pumps are in my future at some point though.