Getting Back to All Grain - a faster better ghetto system

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lazarwolf

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So here's the deal. I've been brewing beer off and on for 25 years. Literally since the dark ages of home brewing.

In recent years I've been doing Extract and Partial Mash, I must admit that since I put my focus on correct yeast pitch, and correct fermentation temperatures, I've made some pretty darn good beers. So I'm not abandoning extract+ or partial mash, but, the all grain bug has bit again.

In years past I had a 3 tier gravity system that was capable of doing 5 gallon batches. I would stand on our deck in the cold or heat and faithfully brew my cauldrons of grog. But life changes, I don't have that system anymore. And I'm just a little older, hopefully a lot wiser, and now I want to do up to 5 gallon batches on my stove top. But, as I said I'm a little older now, and certainly crankier. I want to make things easy, and i dont want to wait forever for for water to boil, or for strike water to be ready, etc...I dont want to do BIAB. I like the experience of working with the grains, and the wort, and the beer.

So, here is what I'm thinking
I have a 5 gallon cooler for my mash tun. - Free
I need to add a manifold to the bottom and a ball valve. (ideas and experience appreciated)
I have a 22 Quart electric roaster for my strike water, which I will connect to a timer and fill the night before. The temperature is adjustable from 150-350. So Ill set it at 170 or so and I will make strike water while I sleep! Ready in the morning for brewday. (if I can get another one I will then Ill have one for sparge water also. again reference the comment above I'm lazy and cranky)
I have a 32 quart and a 22 quart stock pot. Probably need to add ball valves to these or at least to the 22 which will be my HLT. (ideas on this appreciated). I may just use a 1 quart ladle. As I said I like working with the product.
Im going to buy an immersion heater off of amazon for $40 to speed the boil. (ideas appreciated)
I have a wort chiller, very ghetto, but very good performer.
I have plenty of fermenters and carboys, tubes, and buckets.

What am I missing?
 
I have been using another ghetto invention for that. This time of year my basement is perfect for most beers. I dont lager at all, so that isnt a concern. but in the summer I make a modified swamp cooler. The old Tshirt, frozen 2 liter, and small fan trick.

I will be adding a fermentation chamber to the garage with a 2500 BTU AC Unit, and a heat lamp in the spring. Im a contractor, so for me that is far cheaper than the whole chest freezer thing. I always have extra lumber. Ill use paneling for the outside. And I happen to own a spray foam rig, so Ill foam the inside.

What about the rest of my idea? any flaws?
 
A 32qt boil kettle is pretty small for 5 gallon batches. I got a 40 qt and it allows for more vigorous boiling and helps prevent boil-overs.
 
5 gallon mash tun is small for higher gravity batches. I'd look into a 10 gallon. Bargain fittings is the cheapest place I have seen for cooler and kettle bulkheads and valves.
 
I think you'd be better served with a larger mash tun than 5 gallons. Sounds like it will end up crimping your process. I made my own really nice mash tun from a 12 gallon Igloo Cube cooler (brand new purchased). I fashioned a removable copper manifold from copper tubing in a square at the bottom of the cooler with an additional line down the middle. All straight pieces of the tubing I hacksawed small cuts halfway through the tubing and everything was friction fit together. I drilled a hole in the side of the cooler near the bottom and attached the tubing to a ball valve manifold. I got everything sealed up so no leaks with big washers and rubber grommets. If you want pictures of the set up let me know. It was easy to make. It served me well. That gave me capacity for large loads of malted grain so I could easily do 12-15 lbs. of grain mashed for 5 gallon batches. I also liked it because it was more vertical that horizontal so I always felt the grain bed drainage was better. So consider, if your going to make a mash tun, that it should be at least 10 gallons for 5 gallon beer batches. As far as the boil pot and HLT, if you can port them you're far better off than ladling (it would make you more cranky). I haven't had personal experience porting a hot boil pot, you need to make sure they don't leak. My son was thinking about getting into an electric system but I have no experience to share with you on immersion heating. I bought a real slick 30 plate chiller for my son in law's system and he swears by it. I got it direct from dudadiesel.com for like $99 and even with gravity it sure chills the wort. If you can pump through it, that works even better. Good pumps are a good way to go if you don't have your gravity system anymore. But fashioning a system using gravity works too. Water still flows downhill.

You're making a great decision lazarwolf. I'm getting older and crankier too. We had to downsize in our living arrangements and I haven't been able to brew in my new place at all. I miss it. If you got the chance to have fun with all-grain it's the way to go. Let me know how porting your boil pot works for you.
 
Working on a stovetop has it's limits. Mine will not really get more than 4 gallons to a good boil. So here is what I do when the weater is horrible outside. I brew in the kitchen. I have a 3 gallon pot and a 5 gallon pot. I split the wort between them and boil away. About 4 + gallons in one and 2 1/2 in the other. I split. the hops between the pots for my hop additions.

It works well for me since I don't have a good protected area to brew outside when the weather stinks.
 
I also have an old coleman cooler (ice chest) I guess I could use it as a mash tun. I really dont want to be limited to small beers. I want to brew some belgian strong golden. You know, when I win the lottery and can afford the grains for it. LOL. So bargain fittings for my ball valves. sounds like i should just ball valve everything, and spend the money on a 10 gallon pot?

Also for those of you who stove top who havent tried an immersion heating wand. They are simply the best. My Bro In Law has one, we take wort from 165ish to 212 in under 10 Minutes on an ancient electric stove.
 
You will be fine with that extra heat boost from an immersion heater. Use it safely and don't burn down the house. I had the circumstance where I could do all-grain boils on the stove where I was living but then I moved and found out that the new stove couldn't put out enough heat so I reduced the boil volume and brewed in a bag to compensate.

I was going to say with smaller gravity beers your smaller mash tun might work but with big beers like what you want, make a small investment for a larger mash tun. You will have much more flexibility to do different beers. Small session beers can be interesting too, they can certainly challenge the skills of the brewer. But if you do want to go big on some batches you will have the ready capability to do so.
 
Immersion elements are great. I used one for a long-time when I had a ten gallon cooler and stockpot. It was handy for both heating mash-water in the cooler, and boiling the wort. I used to hang it over the side of a mash paddle which straddled the diameter of the cooler/stock-pot. It was a great setup. (Australian voltage - 240v - it went like the clappers).
 

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