What is your most useless piece of brewing equipment?

[chickypad]

This thread should be a pay-it-forward for people to get rid of stuff they don't use, but others might.

Great idea. I'll take the 3 gal keg OP, you can have my bottle brush.

 

[AnOldUR]

What do you find that is not useful about an auto siphon? I find it an indispensable piece of equipment. What do you use instead?

When I transfer I already have CO2 out for purging, so using it to start the siphon only makes sense. But even before CO2, I found it easier to use a small air pump in the opposite stem of the carboy cap. (It was a cheap little plastic thing made for blowing up exercise balls that my wife had.)

Never mind if you're using buckets.

 

[philosofool]

I bought a small thermometer to install in the side of my Igloo mash tun. It's not accurate enough to use for mashing and the probe sticks out too far inside the mash tun, so I keep hitting and bending it when I stir the mash at the start and during batch sparging. I'm real tempted to remove it if I can figure out the best way to patch the hole. Waste of money.

Just take the current nut over to your local hardware store and find a short stainless bolt of the same size. You may also need a washer and a silicon o-ring for a proper seal.

 

[Sailingeric]

3 gallon glass carboy. Used it once for cider. Might see if the LHBS will give me some trade in credit for it.

 

[kh54s10]

When I transfer I already have CO2 out for purging, so using it to start the siphon only makes sense. But even before CO2, I found it easier to use a small air pump in the opposite stem of the carboy cap. (It was a cheap little plastic thing made for blowing up exercise balls that my wife had.)

Never mind if you're using buckets.

IDK air pumps and co2 - much more $$ than an autosiphon.....

 

[chuckcomm]

Bottle brush for me too....its the only brewing thing I have that has never been used.

I rinse well after pouring and on bottling day i sanitize.

 

[drainbamage]

Wing capper. It got good seals on the bottles, but it had a nasty tendency to shatter the occasional bottle neck.

Broken glass is a lousy adjunct.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Broken glass is a lousy adjunct.

This happens to me on occasion. I try to get any flecks of glass away and then rebottle the beer inside. I mark the caps so I don't give those bottle to anyone else, but I figure any minuscule amount of glass is getting trapped in the yeast at the bottom. I should go add this to the "Most unusual brewing ingredient" thread!

My most useless is the hydrometer! I went through two when I was starting out, and I had them long enough to get my methods in order (efficiency for my system and my fermentation times), but the damn things break just looking at them! It's absurd. I'm content not knowing my efficiency for every batch and saying a Hail Mary before I bottle. It's better than keeping the hydrometer factory in the black all on my own.

 

[drainbamage]

My most useless is the hydrometer! I went through two when I was starting out, and I had them long enough to get my methods in order (efficiency for my system and my fermentation times), but the damn things break just looking at them! It's absurd. I'm content not knowing my efficiency for every batch and saying a Hail Mary before I bottle. It's better than keeping the hydrometer factory in the black all on my own.

Reading other people's posts, I feel like a statistical anomaly that I've been brewing for 7 years and still on my 1st hydrometer.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Reading other people's posts, I feel like a statistical anomaly that I've been brewing for 7 years and still on my 1st hydrometer.

Better hope I never drive through KY. If I even get within the same state, I'm sure it'll crack.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Ill go with my 5 gallon glass carboy. Useless

 

[titansvol]

Glass carboys. After one shattered on my basement floor full, I stopped using them.

 

[cjgenever]

Beer filter. Bought it on sale from more beer. Have yet to use it.

Until you need to transport a keg with trub and yeast in a neat little carpet at the bottom....

I love my filter

 

[cjgenever]

Thanks for reminding me. I also have a wine thief sitting right beside the auto siphon. Niether one has been used in 7 or 8 years. :cross:


edit:
This thread should be a pay-it-forward for people to get rid of stuff they don't use, but others might.

Pay it forward is a cool idea. I was kinda thinking the same thing. It was done on a MC forum I was on a while back. Worked really well.

 

[atoughram]

The lid I made for my keggle BK... Tried using it a few times and it always boils over...

 

[cjgenever]

What do you find that is not useful about an auto siphon? I find it an indispensable piece of equipment. What do you use instead?

I'm transferring all my systems to Co2 pressure induced siphon with filter. I pressurize the fv with Co2 to push the fluid up the cane. One the flow starts I disconnect the Co2 to save on gas. There is a sterile filter inline and the siphon continues naturally.

The auto siphon is great...Until it's not. Once it breaks seal and sucks air into an ipa it is too late

 

[MaxStout]

Bought a bunch of brass QD connectors for hose fittings at my LHBS to make setup and takedown of my IC faster. I connected everything and tested it, and good thing I did. Water jetted out of those connections like crazy. I checked the o-rings, and they were all intact and seated properly. Re-inserted and tried again. Same thing--water everywhere. Cheap Chinese crap.

The fittings are now sitting in the corner of a drawer.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

My most useless item is a calcium carbonate I bought when I first started trying to alter water chemistry. Just dont ever need that stuff with my water it turns out.

Calcium carbonate - definitely. Still have the bottle I purchased back in 1980. never used.

The other most useless thing is whatever I purchased for my control panel last week, as my plans change about the same day the parts come in.

 

[EarlTheSqrl]

You can't just rig up an aquarium pump with BLC and and follow up with Star San and clamp the trigger open to sanitize it?

 

[cjgenever]

IDK air pumps and co2 - much more $$ than an autosiphon.....

Idk... One 13 gal batch of ipa with almost two lb hops... oxidized, plus time involved... priceless

 

[EarlTheSqrl]

My beer gun bottle filler. It was $80, and I usually just jam a wand or hose up a picnic tap for getting beer out of a keg. It takes about 20 minutes to assemble the beer gun and it's harder to sanitize. Plus, I bottle maybe two beers a year.

You can't just rig up an aquarium pump and run BLC followed up with Star San to and clamping the trigger open to sanitize it?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Large funnel with screen...someone gave it to me and I never thought of way I would use it.

 

[MaxStout]

Large funnel with screen...someone gave it to me and I never thought of way I would use it.

I have one of those. The little screen thingy is worthless, it quickly clogs. I yanked out the screen and tossed it. Now I have a funnel that's useful.

 

[Brettomomyces]

This is a hard question...I feel like a lot of things that people have listed here as useless are simply tools in hands of owners who don't need them, which doesn't necessarily make them useless.

I pretty much hate my wing capper though, and only use it for entering comps

 

[OneManBrewery]

Tap A Draft system from MoreBeer, bought it before my kegging system. Now it just collects dust.

 

[SailorTodd]

Reading other people's posts, I feel like a statistical anomaly that I've been brewing for 7 years and still on my 1st hydrometer.

I had my first for five years. Shortly after I made a similar comment I broke it. Bought two more just in case one breaks. I was starting to think "why bother" similarly to some other posters, but had a couple of batches where one or more things was off and the hydrometer helped me figure out how off they were.

I am glad someone asked about the auto siphon. With my basic setup it is indispensable. Boil kettle doesn't have a valve, don't have a pump, and I don't purge my head space before transfer from fermenter to keg.

My most useless piece of brewing equipment is my 5 gallon glass carboy. My wife got it for me as a gift before I ever had a 6.5, not realizing that a 5 gallon batch needs head space (or a blow-off tube I guess), and so a 5 gallon carboy is impractical by itself. I have used it once as a secondary when I needed to free up another fermenter. Otherwise it sits collecting dust.

 

[Mirilis]

Tap A Draft system from MoreBeer, bought it before my kegging system. Now it just collects dust.

You can mail it to me

My worthless equipment piece was iodaphor... Star San is soooo much better

 

[argyle]

Refractometer. Guess when I bought it as a noobie, I was reading one too many of those threads that are all too common. You know the ones where some brewers will often extol the virtues of piece of equipment and let you know that without it, you cannot possibly brew beer that is suitable for human consumption.

Simply put. For me, a refractometer is useless. Don't buy one.

 

[govner1]

Ic

 

[Hello]

Auto Siphon

How so? I ise mine every time to transfer beer.

Useless for me? Long probe dial thermometer.

Ic

I'll take it.

 

[Natdavis777]

I bought an inline water filter that I was going to use to filter beer, then I discovered gelatin. Never have used the filter. I might use it as a Randall one of these days

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Tap A Draft system from MoreBeer, bought it before my kegging system. Now it just collects dust.

I will take that one off your hands...I use my for LeMons races. 3 nights of drinking with a 280 of your best friends means 3-beers on tap is actually kind of hard with cornies but poking holes in an old styro cooler lid...OK, you get the idea.

 

[Weezy]

I have a love/hate relationship with my glass carboys . They're great for secondary fermentation but auto siphons are garbage. Maybe I hate auto siphons, I guess?

 

[OneManBrewery]

You can mail it to me

My worthless equipment piece was iodaphor... Star San is soooo much better

It's not as great as it appears, wasn't too happy with it, plus you have to use special CO2 Cartridges. But if you're still interested, I'll see if I have all the pieces.

 

[singybrue]

Carboy brush. PBW does the job.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

plus you have to use special CO2 Cartridges.

Not really (conversion to paintball canister is easy) but this is not the issue for most. If you back fill from a cornie or naturally carbonate, draining a keg with those special cartridges is about $1.50 per. Works great if you plan to drain 3-6 in a weekend(ish).

 

[Hello]

I have spigots on my fermenters & bottling bucket. Only need the auto siphon if I use my BB secondary, which is almost never.

And that doesn't oxidize the beer when transferring?

 

[fergusmj]

My beer filter setup. I bought it and never have used it. My buddy has used it a few times though, so he likes it.

 

[GHBWNY]

Refractometer. Guess when I bought it as a noobie, I was reading one too many of those threads that are all too common. You know the ones where some brewers will often extol the virtues of piece of equipment and let you know that without it, you cannot possibly brew beer that is suitable for human consumption.

Simply put. For me, a refractometer is useless. Don't buy one.

Same.

 

[vincentAlpha]

I love my autosiphon, now that being said if I had a pump handy it may not see as much use but for now it has a firm place in my brewing cabinet. Most useless at the moment is my bench capper I suppose. Nothing wrong with it but I switched to kegs when I moved cause I had to get rid of 200+ bottles(moved across the country, they weren't making the trip ) so it collects dust more often then not. Though it sees a bit of use since I've yet to build up a good wine bottle collection so I bottle whatever doesn't fit in the wine bottles in whatever beer bottles I get my hands on these days. Thing is I don't do wine that often.