All Grain equipment question

[boondocksaint]

I am working towards upgrading to do AG brews & have a question or two about equipment...

I picked up a 10Gal round cooler from HD and outfitted it with a 1/2" valve from bargainfittings.com. My brew kettle is a 10Gal Bayou Classic. I am planning on picking up another kettle to use as a HLT. Ideally, I would like the HLT kettle to have at least a valve (for ease of filling my pitcher for sparging -modified fly sparging using a colander) and maybe a thermometer.

So, my dilemma is whether to go with an economy type kettle for ~$90 (and having to add the valve, etc myself) or spending about twice the $$ for something like a higher end kettle with the valve/thermometer or a keggle....At some point in the future I'd like to set up a brewtus style rig but that could be a while...Thoughts or suggestions?

Cheers lads & lassies!

 

[mforsman]

I went with buying an economy kettle and adding a spigot for both my boil kettle and HLT. If you do it right (step drilling bit is what I used) and have the right hardware it will work just as well as those that are pre-made. With that being said, it took a few trips to the homebrew store to get the right hardware, but that's mostly because I tried to rush it.

 

[lpdjshaw]

Size wise 10 gal is fine. In addition to a thermo and valve a site gauge is a really nice feature to have on your HLT. If you're able I'd go with the cheaper pot so you can add all these features yourself. Another 10 gal Bayou Classic would fit the bill and match as well

 

[Spintab]

Without turning this into an aluminum vs ss battle, the hlt is the one place I don't mind aluminum. It's cheap, you're not heating to boiling, not needing to clean wort off of it, and it's really easy to drill for weldless fittings.

 

[amandabab]

I'd go with another 10/11gallon bayou classic.

I've seen some pretty cheezy "economy" kettles


get a bayou off amazon with free shipping and go the ghetto route.

 

[headfullahops]

FWIW, I brew 5 gallon all-grain batches with ONE 44qt bayou classic kettle (with a 1/2" valve and a sight glass/digital probe thermometer combo), a 10gal beverage cooler MLT (with a stainless false bottom and 3/8" valve), and a 5gal beverage cooler HLT.

I heat my strike water in the kettle, transfer it to the MLT, and pour in the grains. When the mash has about 20 mins left I heat up sparge water in the kettle. When conversion is complete, I transfer hot water from the kettle to the MLT to get to mashout temp and transfer the rest to the HLT. When mashout is complete, I sparge from the HLT, lautering into the now empty kettle.

That wouldn't work well for doing more than one batch at a time, but I haven't felt the need to punish myself with that anyway. Besides, I do have another kettle, I just don't use it in my process at the moment.

Cheers!

 

[Rbeckett]

I have a 33 Qt Aluminum HLT that has a valve, 3 inch temp guage and a sight glass that I installed all of. My Mash tun is a 10 Gallon Igloo round cooler with a CPVC manifold, bulkhead fitting and valve. My Boil kettle is a 50 Qt Alunimum with a bazooka screen under the steamer plate and a valve. All of the vessels have 1/2 QD Camlock style fittings to connect to my March pump if gravity needs a boost. So far no off flavors or issues with aluminum and I managed to keep the cost way down as part of the experiment. I am currently building a slotted metal 3 tier brew stand and designing/building the electrinics and control systems to accomodate my special requirements. So far so good, and I am way way way under 700.00 at this point.

Wheelchair Bob

 

[RM-MN]

Some people have to have bling, some just want to make beer. How much money do you have to spend?

I have a turkey fryer, a tub to hold water for chilling, a Corona mill and a paint strainer bag. Want to put your beer against mine in competition?

 

[boondocksaint]

Without turning this into an aluminum vs ss battle, the hlt is the one place I don't mind aluminum. It's cheap, you're not heating to boiling, not needing to clean wort off of it, and it's really easy to drill for weldless fittings.

Good point! I got a great deal on my Bayou Classic kettle in December. Maybe it was a Christmas sale or something but the price has gone up considerably since then...

 

[boondocksaint]

I have a turkey fryer, a tub to hold water for chilling, a Corona mill and a paint strainer bag. Want to put your beer against mine in competition?

Dude, RDWHAHB.

I'm not bashing anybody for their gear but trying to figure out what's going to work for me as I'm new to the game. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know...I am inclined to stay to the economical side but don't want to buy something that won't work for me in the future thereby causing me to spend more $$ upgrading and leaving me with an 8Gal pot I don't have another use for.

Cheers.

 

[Pratzie]

Dude, RDWHAHB.

I'm not bashing anybody for their gear but trying to figure out what's going to work for me as I'm new to the game. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know...I am inclined to stay to the economical side but don't want to buy something that won't work for me in the future thereby causing me to spend more $$ upgrading and leaving me with an 8Gal pot I don't have another use for.

Cheers.

Lol!

My vote, go economy with a few bells and whistles now. Def stick with a sized kettle u want... don't go lower then ten. U can always add things like a sightglass, valve, sparge port, etc.

 

[amandabab]

Dude, RDWHAHB.
I am inclined to stay to the economical side but don't want to buy something that won't work for me in the future thereby causing me to spend more $$ upgrading and leaving me with an 8Gal pot I don't have another use for.

Cheers.

the difference between 8 and 10 gallons is huge. you can full boil 5 gallon batch in an 8 gallon, 1000's do it, but its stressful at the hot break.
that extra 2 gallons is like free valium batch after batch.


Yes, i admit it like stainless, but my cheap corona mill just keeps crushing grain like the day it was new. Bling and ugly junk can coexist.

 

[glugglug]

If you're looking to upgrade later, and you don't mind spending the money now, go with the better kettle. Why spend the money twice?

 

[boondocksaint]

Follow up question...How important, if at all, is a sightglass for volume on a HLT? I found a pretty solid deal on an aluminum kettle equipped with a valve (my must have), thermometer (nice to have) and a sightglass.

Again, you don't know what you don't know...So, for those with a lot more experience than me...how important is a sightglass? (I know they're not 100% critical but what is?)

 

[amandabab]

its nice to know how much you drained/pumped out of it.

 

[lpdjshaw]

I couldn't imagine not having a sight glass on my HLT!

 

[kh54s10]

For me, my HLT is a 10 gallon pot, I added a brass kettle valve from Northern Brewer and a sight glass with a thermometer from Brewhardware. I fill the pot a little more than I need for the mash. Start the mash and add more water for the sparge. The sight glass makes it easy to add the water at the right temperature. I use a small piece of tape to tell how much to drain. For instance, if I have 5 gallons in the pot and I need a sparge of 2.5 gallons I put a piece of tape at the 2.5 gallon mark and when I sparge I drain to the tape and then continue.

 

[NewBrewB]

I dig it. Solid technique.

 

[tooldudetool]

I batch sparge, and all I need is the same 10 gallon HD round cooler with a ball valve and stainless steel braid, a 10 gallon brewpot and my 6.5 gallon bucket fermenter. Heat strike water in brewpot, transfer to cooler (MLT), add grains, mash, meanwhile heat sparge water in brewpot, first runnings from MLT go into the bucket fermenter, then sparge water goes into MLT, first runnings go from bucket into brewpot, second runnings go directly into brewpot. Brew from there... I don't see the need for a HLT when batch sparging. I regularly get 90% extraction efficiency, mostly because of a tight crush.. crush is the key to efficiency!!

 

[1MadScientist]

What I use to do was to collect all my runnings into two plastic buckets.

With one burner and pot.

Heat your sparge water up DURING the mash.

 

[i4ourgot]

My economy kettle the handle broke off and I dropped 5 gallons of almost boiling wort all over the floor. It was stainless steel but I guess you get what you pay for ($70). Maybe convert a Keg those handles are solid and its a fun project.

 

[1MadScientist]

Agreed that converting a keg is fun!

 

[boondocksaint]

I batch sparge, and all I need is the same 10 gallon HD round cooler with a ball valve and stainless steel braid, a 10 gallon brewpot and my 6.5 gallon bucket fermenter. Heat strike water in brewpot, transfer to cooler (MLT), add grains, mash, meanwhile heat sparge water in brewpot, first runnings from MLT go into the bucket fermenter, then sparge water goes into MLT, first runnings go from bucket into brewpot, second runnings go directly into brewpot. Brew from there... I don't see the need for a HLT when batch sparging. I regularly get 90% extraction efficiency, mostly because of a tight crush.. crush is the key to efficiency!!

Sounds pretty manageable. I know this is a newbe question but...What's your process for transferring the sparge water from your brew pot to your MLT?

Do you just pour straight from the pot or are you using silicone tubing to transfer?

Also, are you crushing your own grain or buying it crushed?

I had pretty much decided I'd pick up a 44Qt Bayou Classic kettle ($84 on Amazon) & then the weld less fittings from brewhardware.com and put together a decent HLT....then I was distracted by something else shiny...Well sort of shiny. I came across the aluminum electric HLTs from highlanderbrewingsupply. They are about $75 more than the BC kettle and outfitting it myself.

I think the biggest draw for going with an electric HLT is not having to either lift a big pot of 165+ degree water or putting my propane burner on my garage work bench so I could gravity drain....Ahh decisions...I need to have a home brew & think about this some more.

 

[1MadScientist]

I had pretty much decided I'd pick up a 44Qt Bayou Classic kettle ($84 on Amazon) & then the weld less fittings from brewhardware.com and put together a decent HLT....then I was distracted by something else shiny...Well sort of shiny. I came across the aluminum electric HLTs from highlanderbrewingsupply. They are about $75 more than the BC kettle and outfitting it myself.

I think the biggest draw for going with an electric HLT is not having to either lift a big pot of 165+ degree water or putting my propane burner on my garage work bench so I could gravity drain....Ahh decisions...I need to have a home brew & think about this some more.

At that website you quoted, look at the BIAB link. Just buy a bag to get into AG.

 

[Clonefan94]

I'll tell you what I've done, but take all of this with a grain of salt, it works for me. I heat water on my gas range, but brew less than 15 feet from that stove and I'm a big dude, who used to deliver water as a business, so lugging 5 gallons, of even hot water, is no big deal for me. A nice pair of leather gloves and my arms is all I'll ever need.

Sounds pretty manageable. I know this is a newbe question but...What's your process for transferring the sparge water from your brew pot to your MLT?

I just lug it from the stove to my MLT. As I said before, the weight is not an issue with me. so I just dump my strike water right into my MLT. Being careful not to splash of course.

Do you just pour straight from the pot or are you using silicone tubing to transfer?

See above - for more water, I just use a pitcher to dip and pour the first couple of gallons, if I'm worried about splash over.

Also, are you crushing your own grain or buying it crushed?

Crush my own. Barley Crusher Malt Mill. Love it. I would suggest if you are doing all grain all the time, get your own mill. Having the option to crush as you need it, is invaluable, imo. There are 10X the opinions on what mill to get as there are mills available, so I'll let you decide that by searching the site.

I had pretty much decided I'd pick up a 44Qt Bayou Classic kettle ($84 on Amazon) & then the weld less fittings from brewhardware.com and put together a decent HLT....then I was distracted by something else shiny...Well sort of shiny. I came across the aluminum electric HLTs from highlanderbrewingsupply. They are about $75 more than the BC kettle and outfitting it myself.

I heat my strike water and sparge water in an old aluminum 7gal. Bayou Classic turkey fryer pot. Works great for that. I keep my boil kettle strictly for collecting wort and boiling.

I think the biggest draw for going with an electric HLT is not having to either lift a big pot of 165+ degree water or putting my propane burner on my garage work bench so I could gravity drain....Ahh decisions...I need to have a home brew & think about this some more.

Lifting can be tough. I would never advise it to anyone I haven't met personally. I look at brewing this way, what I have now, works perfect for me. I heat my strike water, by the time it's ready, I have my grain milled and my MLT pre-heated and ready to accept the water. I mash in. My sparge water is always at temp at around 50 minutes, so when that alarm goes off, I know I have to starte getting ready to sparge. Right now it's the perfect solution for me.

Obviously, if price is not an issue, I would always suggest going for what you will need in the future and adapting now, as opposed to scrapping what you have now, later.

I will say this though, my plan all along was for a fancy brew rig, but honestly, with my storage constraints, and how much I enjoy the process as it is. Where I'm at right now is almost perfect for me. From day one though, I always planned on expansion. So, I always bought a little bigger or better than needed because I knew, after my first extract brew I was hooked. Don't save $50 now, just to throw $100 away later, is my personal belief. Most of what I have right now is far bigger than I need, but everything I have can easily be converted to another piece in a 10 gallon operation later.

 

[boondocksaint]

...I heat water on my gas range, but brew less than 15 feet ...

...I would suggest if you are doing all grain all the time, get your own mill...

my plan all along was for a fancy brew rig...Don't save $50 now, just to throw $100 away later, is my personal belief...

Yeah, my kitchen has an electric range & it took like 1.5 hrs to heat up the 3.5 Gal for my first ever partial volume boil! Very next brew was full volume on my BC propane burner. Much happier with the overall results.

I know a grain mill will be in my future but there's a couple other things first. Mostly I want to establish a more permanent brew area/storage area for my equipment. But, oh yeah it's gonna happen!

Dude, I had to chuckle when I read your "Don't save $50 now, just to throw $100 away later" line. I have explained some gun/gun part purchases to my wife with the idea of, "Buy once, cry once". I do love the idea of setting up a pimped out 2-3 burner rig someday but that's a long way off :cross:

That is one thing that I am enjoying a great deal about home brewing. There are a bunch of ways to do things and there are A LOT of ingenious people on this site! Trial & error, here I come!

Thanks for your insight brother.