A cooler Mashtun or a dedicated BK or 809 pump for RIMS?

[goldy81]

Hi folks..

Apologies in advance if there's been a similar thread.. but I've spent 3 days researching similar topics and have not found the right answer.

I have a bit of dilemma... I live in an apartment so I try to minimize the amount of equipment that I have. So I use a 10G Blichmann boilermaker w/ false bottom as both mash tun and Boil Kettle. I have a direct fire setup.

Needless to say, I got tired of collecting wort and recirculating and trying to keep the temperature constant. I collect the wort in a food grade bucket before transferring to the boilermaker..(Is this safe?)

Option 1: Rubbermaid 10G cooler. (Is it actually 10G or does it mean it's suitable for 10G batch? I'm talking about the one on Northern brewer). With this setup I plan to use my boilermaker as HLT and BK.

Option 2: My boilermaker as a dedicated mash tun as I already have a false bottom and and purchase a 8Gal pot with a ball valve as a HLT and BK.
My concern with this setup is the insulation of the mash tun.

Option 3: that I'm looking at is March pump and setup a direct fire RIMS system..

Bare in mind that my budget is around 200-300... so I would like to get the most out of the money.


Thanks in advance.

 

[BrewerBear]

Option 2: Rubbermaid cooler is ten gallons.Cheap and no need to insulate.

 

[Barnesie]

Agreed with above, if money is a concern then you probably can't get a more effective and cost-efficient brewing item than the 10 gallon cooler mash tun for about $50 + parts. Also, I wouldn't discount square coolers and PVC manifolds as they tend to be even cheaper and seem to work just as well.

 

[biestie]

Cooler... And if you're batch sparging you can skip the false bottom or manifold and get a cheap screen