I should talk a little bit about what I'm doing and why. Currently, I brew on a propane burner in an 8 gallon kettle. I mash in a 5 gallon igloo cooler that seems to have trouble maintaining temps (or I'm too impatient to let things settle before making adjustments). I have had a hell of a time hitting my mash temps - it's too hot so I add ice, then it's too cold so I add boiling water, meanwhile I have no idea exactly how much water is in there.
I live just outside of Charlotte, so weather is almost always nice enough to brew outside. If it's not, if you wait a week, things will be fine. So, brewing outside is my preference.
I want an electric system because I'm tired of messing around with propane and/or natural gas. I like the precision of electric controls, plus I feel pretty confident in my ability to wire electronics.
We recently remodeled the basement. I did not get the green-light from the wife to add a brewery. She is a real-estate agent and didn't think a brewery would add the equity an additional bedroom would, so that was the end of that. What I got was basically a closet to store my gear. The garage - not really an option. I'd like to actually park cars there and not have brew gear strewn about. So - I need a rig that's easy to haul outside, set-up, and brew.
I love the Kal clone - that's pretty much state-of-the-art for electric rigs. However, I feel that it's way equipment intensive. I should be able to do with much less - BIAB seems to fit that bill.
So - here is the goal: BIAB, electric, all built into one simple, easy to move cart. I want to wheel the cart outside, plug it in, fill it up, brew, clean, and put away in less than 4 hours. 3 would be even better (if I can go with a 20 min mash and 45 min boil, I think that's doable).
