What's the easiest way to all-grain mash in my situation?

[Tubba]

All right, so tomorrow I'll be getting my supplies for my first extract brew. Now, eventually I'd like to do all-grain brewing, and I need some ideas...

My stove has a fan above it. Meaning, something the size of a brewpot could impossibly be used there, as it would damage the fan (I've got previous experience with this) It would also be impossible to stir, add anything, etc. So I would also need some kind of portable burner. I don't think they make elecric burners of the size a brewpot requires, at least I haven't been able to find any. I guess I could use a gas burner, though I'll freely admit I have zero experience with it.

I was wondering if there are any reasonable alternatives to brewing on the stove. Frankly, I'm not all that hip about jerking around a pot with 5 gallons of nearly-boiling liquid - I've got a tissue disease and I am not very strong.

So I was wondering if it's possible to engineer something useable for the home user, for 5-gallon batches. I was thinking that perhaps I could butcher an electric kettle, attach it to a mashing bucket (either by dipping it in, or drilling a hole and securing it to the inside). Is this a viable idea? With the kettle, I would also have a fairly easy time controlling the temperature, and it's definitely strong enough to boil water.

 

[eltorrente]

If you wanted to stick to the stove, you could split your boil between two smaller pots, and try and place each across two burners. That's not exactly ideal, of course. I can't use my stove, either, in my apartment.

I simply bought a propane burner and cook on the patio. I made sure to spend a little more for the Blichmann burner, since it's very quiet and doesn't sound like a jet engine (plus it's built like a tank and very high quality).

Cooking on the stove takes a long time, too - even with a gas range.

 

[AiredAle]

Tubba,

I would do some reading on the UK homebrew forum at this address: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php and see how some of those folks have built brewing equipment. The equipment available to you in Sweden is more likely similar to that available in the UK than in the US, so the solutions the Brits have found are more likely to work for you. You can build electric boil kettles from the elements in tea kettles, and so forth. That forum is also pretty entertaining if you like British humor.

Good luck, let us know how things work out.

 

[TromboneGuy]

Build a heatstick or two. Search the forums for "heatstick" and there are a few DIY threads. If you're wanting to do full boils on 5 gallon batches, you'll probably need two.

It's basically your idea, but a heating element from a hot water heater instead of an electric kettle. You'll want to check to see how many amps you'll pull and if your breakers can handle it, too.


EDIT - totally missed that you're in Sweden! Sorry.

 

[HomebrewMTB]

Lots of options. You can certainly go electric. There is a whole subforum here dedicated to the subject. If you want to stay in the kitchen but pot size is a problem, consider half batches and just brew more often. You could also rig up an immersion chiller and add a weldless ball valve setup to your brew pot so you don't have to lift it when full.

 

[drkaeppel]

When I switched to all-grain, I bought a Bayou Classic SP-10 propane burner, a $20 32 quart turkey fryer pot, and converted a 5 gallon igloo cooler into a mash tun. Total cost for everything was just over $100, the burner being the most expensive part (I'm sure you could find one cheaper if you are on a budget).

To avoid having to lift a heavy boil kettle, perhaps you could find one with a valve on it? Or you could use a siphon to transfer wort.

Hope this helps,

 

[Tubba]

It looks like building a boiler/masher from a kettle and a bucket is a very common thing, both among Swedish and British brewers. So I guess a cheap kettle and another fermentation bucket is my next stop!