Why do I DIY.

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

I used to love lego's when I was little. I always thought building stuff was in my blood. But now? Now, I don't know. I spend a lot of time and energy trying to save a buck by building my own brewing hardware. It has recently come to my attention that I could save a ton of money and have higher quality by buying stuff pre built. Being a college student, I'm sure my lack of tools has a huge effect on the quality of my work.
Lets start with my stirplate. Bought all the stuff at radioshack and lowes, ordered the magnets online. grand total-$40. I don't have a soldering gun so I bought quick disconnects. To my dismay you need a special tool to install them. I ended up using needle noses on the disconnects and a knife to strip the wires. I still have to dial it in when the magnets arrive in the mail. Coupled with 4 hours of screwing with it and the potential of it failing. Perhaps I should have just bought one.(I ordered the magnets thinking my radioshack/lowes bill would be lower bah!)
My kettle. I went aluminum. I think I actually saved money on this thing. Bought a step bit and weldless kit from bargain fittings. I ended up drilling the hole too big, And after destroying my hands on stainless steel threads, I bought the soldered kit. Thing works great now. I bought bobbym's sightglass, though I'm nervous about the precision of my calibration, it is still a thing of beauty. I bought bargainfittings whirlpool diptube with a 90degree elbow coupling. But I got cheap and bought a 3/8(or whatever that smaller size is) barb to save some cash. Damn thing is too small to get the tube to whirlpool on its own power. Had to order a new one.
Got a free 10gal square cooler. Made a mashtun outta stuff I bought at lowes(43bucks for the brass) The nipple that passes through the cooler wall was too small and the o-rings werent heat proof. I didn't understand how straining grain works and I just drilled a bunch of holes in some rubber tubing. Needless to say after an epic fail I bought a braid. I recycled the weldless kit from my kettle and bought the right size nipple for the wall. Thing is beautiful now.
My immersion cooler is 20ft because its the biggest lowes had. They didn't have the right size worm clamps so its without them still. I kinda kinked the pipe making the thing, and the garden hose fitting was almost $10. I could have bought a nice 25ft one for the the price of everything combined. I'm going to buy a new one sometime and use this POS as a prechiller.

I built a kegerator, thing is the biggest money hole of all. Saved a ton of money and got a 7lb tank for 33 bucks. due to its awkward size had to buy a stand for 35. So no money was really saved. Bought a used regulator, got a leak and bought a new one, turned out to just be the washer. Got a minifridge for $60 . LUCKLY I haven't hit a coolant line or I'd cry. After modding the inside to fit 2 kegs, the thing gets far too cold, capable of freezing beer. I bought an outlet timer instead of a controller because it was only like $10, I'll be replacing it with an analog controller, any reason why I shouldn't? Got two used perlicks for $40. Got a SS tower for like 90ish. I don't have a hole saw so I used a step bit to drill two holes for my beer lines. I drilled them too small and squeezed my lines into my fridge in my excitement. I clipped a line. 5 gallons of new castle(that I never got to drink) are now soaked into my carpet (any suggestions on a cheap way to get it outta my carpet?). $30 later I have a tower wrench and new lines on the way.
$48 heat stick hasn't killed me yet!

So why do I DIY? Because money is temporary, simply brewing doesn't occupy enough of my time, and I love what I'm learning to build from the forums.

 

[BigB]

Wow... it definitely seems that the lack of tools is your biggest enemy.... that, and no offense, but maybe trying to be a little too cheap. I think the greatest example I can think of would be the difference between my keezer and my friend's kegerator.

He has a beautiful Sanyo kegerator that holds 3 cornys. He bought the upgrade to the stainless steel tower with Perlicks. He also bought the upgraded regulator (off brand and looks cheap). It holds 3 but he also ended up buying another regulator because he could only have 2 kegs on gas.

Mine is a Woods 7 c.f. freezer. I control the tempertature with a Ranco digital controller. I built a collar to build up the lid out of 2x8 pine that I stained and polyurethaned. I then bought an all stainless 2 faucet kit from Kegconnection and upgraded to the dual body/three guage Taprite regulator. I also later bought a 3 way manifold so I could have 3 beers at one pressure and then have the extra line at a different pressure (I can fit 5 cornys in my unit).

All told my buddy spent $1500.00
All told for me was about $600.00

My buddy hates his setup and wishes he would have done it the way I did. The moral of the story is that I didn't put that much work into mine, got many prebuilt items (manifold assembly, faucet assemblies) and I saved a ton of money over my friend's commercial product.

 

[kpr121]

Theres a fine line between DIY and cutting corners. You, good sir, are walking it!

 

[AnOldUR]

So why do I DIY? Because money is temporary, simply brewing doesn't occupy enough of my time, and I love what I'm learning to build from the forums.

You're doing it wrong! :cross:

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Bah, Idk I feel like I put a lot of effort into it. Just my lack of space(small apartment) and tools kill me.
I looked into a full size fridge, but I don't have room or the right outlets.
I seem to have a problem, I try to spend the least amount of money with each purchase with intentions to slowly upgrade. But my minor upgrades are never satisfying and/or fail.

 

[Wakadaka]

I'm also a college student, living in a small apartment, so I don't even bother with too much DIY stuff. As far as homebrewing goes, I would stick with just building a wort chiller and thats about it.

I love doing DIY stuff, but I have a bad problem of not finishing things I start. For instance the sub woofer in my car still has wires just running through my car. The simple fix of just tucking them under the carpet has never been completed. Or the car door handle that I had to replace. My driver door panel is still missing a few screws/

 

[IrregularPulse]

I agree with kpr. Cutting corners is not DIY. Plus, of course it's more expensive if you build it wrong the first 3 times

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

God help me I'm gonna try to upgrade from swamp cooler to Window AC powered ferm chamber soon. *crosses fingers*

 

[ChshreCat]

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

I try not to look at it as cutting corners. Every one of my projects has been done to the best of my ability. The problem seems to be my ability is limited. Being only 23, I still lack the handyman skills that come with experience.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I try not to look at it as cutting corners. Every one of my projects has been done to the best of my ability. The problem seems to be my ability is limited. Being only 23, I still lack the handyman skills that come with experience.

Exactly...the knowledge gained through these trying experiences will pay dividends moving forward.

 

[wilserbrewer]

God help me I'm gonna try to upgrade from swamp cooler to Window AC powered ferm chamber soon. *crosses fingers*

Here you go again! Why not keep it simple and find a free / cheap fridge freezer and make / buy a temp controller?

 

[kpr121]

Here you go again! Why not keep it simple and find a free / cheap fridge freezer and make / buy a temp controller?

I will second this motion. Youre in college, you should be able to find a freezer/fridge for cheap on CL now that school is out for summer??

 

[anonymousbrew]

My dad and I are both DIY freaks. the number of Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions we have created are astounding. BUT - there's knowledge thats gained, and the only way that craftsmanship and art are achieved is by being willing to make mistakes (AND learn from the mistakes of others) Information is one of the best tools you can get, and there is no shortage of it out there. Find it, consume it, digest it and then take your time working a solution. I dont think theres a single problem you listed that hasnt been addressed ad nauseam here or like places. I have found that my success in a project is directly related to how much time i spend thinking it out.

slow down there bub, take your time, think things through, and THEN do it

and have fun!

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Here you go again! Why not keep it simple and find a free / cheap fridge freezer and make / buy a temp controller?

Lol
My cheap reflex. I have the AC unit all I'd need to do its build a box and rig a thermostat =P
*sigh* Suppose the fridge/freezer with controller would pay for itself by the time I'm done screwing up. Lol

 

[Chemkrafty]

It sounds like you just need to spend some more time planning and researching before doing. The key to good project management is 90% of your effort goes into planning so things go (relatively) smoothly once you move to implementation!

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

I do a ton of reading for each one of my projects. I really need to stop going to lowes for supplies. They never have exactly what I need, so I go for the closest thing >_<
What kind of outlet does a full sized fridge take? I have a spare walk in closet =P

 

[Mose]

Thundercatfowl,

You rock man. Keep up the hard work and the things you learn from this will serve you well. I've built plenty of things on the back deck of a small apartment and screwed up many more. Now I have a basement, less time, more knowlege, and tools I really appreciate. Somehow I still end up trying to do something just outside my limits.

However, the fridge and a controller is the best way to go on this one. The fridge should take a standard plug. Careful about putting it in a closet, the coils need to let off heat and with no air flow you could cause yourself some problems.

Check out the cheap ebay aquarium temp controller build thread. It should quench both your thirsts for DIY, and cheap, and get the job done with a reasonable certainty of success, and reliability.

Ask some questions, the folks on here aren't likely to let you kill yourself, but they might let you maim yourself slightly, just for fun.

Good luck.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Thundercatfowl,

You rock man. Keep up the hard work and the things you learn from this will serve you well. I've built plenty of things on the back deck of a small apartment and screwed up many more. Now I have a basement, less time, more knowlege, and tools I really appreciate. Somehow I still end up trying to do something just outside my limits.

However, the fridge and a controller is the best way to go on this one. The fridge should take a standard plug. Careful about putting it in a closet, the coils need to let off heat and with no air flow you could cause yourself some problems.

Check out the cheap ebay aquarium temp controller build thread. It should quench both your thirsts for DIY, and cheap, and get the job done with a reasonable certainty of success, and reliability.

Ask some questions, the folks on here aren't likely to let you kill yourself, but they might let you maim yourself slightly, just for fun.

Good luck.

Good to know one crisis averted

I looked into that aquarium temp control thread, its appealing. But I don't understand where people are finding the stuff/how they are doing it. I really need a step by step with a shopping list.

 

[Chrisl77]

Good to know one crisis averted

I looked into that aquarium temp control thread, its appealing. But I don't understand where people are finding the stuff/how they are doing it. I really need a step by step with a shopping list.

temp controller from here http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Aquarium-/190490198738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a19c2d2#ht_4683wt_817
Standard 120v outlet and heavy duty extension cord from HD or lowes
some type of plastic box. Sometimes radioshack sells a large enough project box but its hit or miss if a radioshack near you carries it. If not you can get a grey pvc box from the electrical department at HD or lowes. Thats about all you need for it.

 

[cjever19]

temp controller from here http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Aquarium-/190490198738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a19c2d2#ht_4683wt_817
Standard 120v outlet and heavy duty extension cord from HD or lowes
some type of plastic box. Sometimes radioshack sells a large enough project box but its hit or miss if a radioshack near you carries it. If not you can get a grey pvc box from the electrical department at HD or lowes. Thats about all you need for it.

And some 14 gauge wire

 

[Ravenshead]

I looked into that aquarium temp control thread, its appealing. But I don't understand where people are finding the stuff/how they are doing it. I really need a step by step with a shopping list.

Part of how we know how to come up with this stuff has a lot to do with experience from other hobbies and even occupations. That's how we know about components/techniques from other applications that can be used to solve brewing problems.

Tools and techniques get learned along to way. At 23, you just haven't had enough hobbies and/or problems to solve. Don't sweat it too much that you may be spending a few extra dollars for an "inferior" solution. The knowledge you pick pick up in the process is worth the money and time.

 

[-TH-]

Out of curiosity, OP, what is your major in school?

 

[dallasdb]

My Dad taught me a lesson a long time ago... "Don't poor-boy it"

That lessoned was learned after my Dad and I rented a cheap uhaul trailer to take excess dirt from our front yard to the dump. Two trips and we still had another trailer load to take. We loaded the back end of the trailer to make dumping it easier. We had to hustle to make it to the dump before they closed. Long story short, we fish-tailed and jack-knifed the trailer into someone's front yard because the weight wasn't distributed properly.

Instead of paying $150 extra for the dump truck we "poor-boyed" it and got the cheap trailer, wasted a whole Saturday, jack-knifed into someone's front yard taking out their bushes, and the trailer slammed into the side of the bed of the truck.

 

[dallasdb]

Out of curiosity, OP, what is your major in school?

I hope it isn't engineering based on his original story!

Just kidding... but seriously

 

[Catt22]

I try not to look at it as cutting corners. Every one of my projects has been done to the best of my ability. The problem seems to be my ability is limited. Being only 23, I still lack the handyman skills that come with experience.

IMO, you are doing just fine. You can't go wrong buying tools, but it's up to you to put them to use. For me, it's more the creative outlet aspect than about saving money and I like to build things. I enjoy the journey. I expect mistakes to be made. You will rapidly gain skills with experience and there should be a huge decline in the number of significant mistakes. FWIW, I clearly remember going through much of the same kind of stuff when I was younger and just learning about tools and techniques. The cost for tools and equipment can be spread out over time. Improvising with what you have can be fun too and it will get you thinking about how to do it better when you upgrade to whatever. The best part is that it is a hobby and not a job. It also keeps you off of the street. That alone is worth quite a bit.

 

[sanch]

I like the codified set of builder's, crafter's and maker's rules. As a mater of fact I live by them.

As for the experience it does not come with age but is directly linked to passion and drive. I became foreman of a framing crew before I was twenty. Not because I was more experienced but because I driven. Take your time and do the best you can. Patience and hard work are the best tools you will ever own. If you are DIYing for fun you don't have to worry about the time you spend on a project. Take your time enjoy the process and be proud of the outcome. Also do lots of research and remember the P's, prior preparation prevents piss poor performance.

The best of luck to you on your DIY adventures don't give up. You are developing skills that will last you a life time.

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

Out of curiosity, OP, what is your major in school?

Communication Arts =D No engineering for me. Math isn't my strong point.

That control is a possibility now that I have the parts list =P I may try and make that here in a few weeks. Ill have to add it to my list after I finish messing it up.

 

[Hang Glider]

Math isn't my strong point.

doesn't have to be - not much algebra here - but I hope reading rulers/tape measures and adding things like board width don't pose a problem!

wait - I take that back - there CAN be a lot of math - depends on what you're building -

-

 

[Thundercougarfalconbird]

doesn't have to be - not much algebra here - but I hope reading rulers/tape measures and adding things like board width don't pose a problem!

wait - I take that back - there CAN be a lot of math - depends on what you're building -

-

I meant the math involved in getting an engineering degree. I'll pass on calc 4 thanks.