Upgrading a basic kit

[Stigmond13]

I've been brewing for a few years now and have primarily brewed partial extract and mini mash recipies.

Wanting to brew some larger all grain batches and therefore need to upgrade my kit. I am torn between buying an electric water boiler for heating water and the boil and a cooler to act as a mash tun v an all one one system. I can't afford a grainfather but have looked at the klarstein all in one kits which you can get for around £250 and the feedback on line is pretty good.

I am thinking the separate mash tun would be better to reduce the amount of grain residue in the boil but would welcome any thoughts from more experienced brewers before I get my wallet out.

Much appreciated!

Ben

 

[RPh_Guy]

There's a rumbling on the ground.
Here comes the stampede of BIABers.

 

[Soulshine2]

What RPh_guy said...
but seriously..
what size batches are you planning to do , makes a world of difference which direction to go for equipment.

 

[Jag75]

There's a rumbling on the ground.
Here comes the stampede of BIABers.

This sir made my day lol

 

[Stigmond13]

23-25 ltr batches. What's a BIABer?

 

[Redpappy]

There's a rumbling on the ground.
Here comes the stampede of BIABers.

Thank you for the good laugh, i needed that.....
and as he stated.... i'm a BIABer , ( Brew In A Bag(feel free to do a search for BIAB for more detail on it). I have only brewed 6 or so brews as BIAB... so i am still trying to dial everything in.. I'm not sure Which would be best. I enjoy the idea of not having to clean a Mash Tun. I hate cleaning. Things to consider is how much room do you have available to you. How much time do you want to give up. If It wasn't for the extra cleaning, I might go towards the 3 vessel.... but I HATE cleaning.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Lol ok let me try to actually help.

First it sounds like you need to choose between electric and propane for your heat. Either one is fine really, or have you already decided on electric?
Personally I use propane because it's fast, cheap, and simple. My cheap camp stove works great for 5-6 gallons. I get my tanks refilled at a local landscaper. It needs to be outdoors or semi-outdoors like a garage.
I don't know as much about electric but you need to make sure your circuit has the voltage to support your heating element. Use a GFCI so no one gets electrocuted. You may need to drill a kettle to install it. If you vent the steam you could brew inside.
An all-in-one is just a pre-built electric system using a BIAB-esque lautering method. As far as I know, there's nothing you can't make yourself if you wanted.
Natural gas is another potential option for heating you may have available.

Then, if you don't get a pre-built machine, you need to decide how you want to mash & lauter. Brew in a Bag (BIAB) is popular because it requires only one vessel and is simple. A more traditional setup with 2 to 4 vessels is great too and is generally more versatile and scalable.
I currently use both methods depending on the batch size.
The mash tun is actually a lot easier to clean than the brew bag, in my experience. I dump the grain into a trash bag and simply hose it out. It's hard to get all the grain bits off of the bag.

I think the brew machines have built-in recirculation? That's something you can build into any system, RIMS or HERMS.

I'm converting to LODO brewing, and a multi-vessel system is preferred.

 

[Stigmond13]

Thanks for all the comments. Think I'm going to go for a separate mash tun for now. Planning on using a single electric boiler to provide initial water and sparge water and then use the same boiler for the boil.

 

[rburrelli]

Just be sure to size your kettle to accommodate your batch size. 10gal would be recommended for you size. 15 if you can physically make that work.