New brewer-$4k budget

[squash]

I've been reading these forums for a while now and decided on building a sculpture. I've never actually brewed solo but have assisted a few all grain batches.

The only equipment I have is a 4 burner commercial natural gas range with vent hood. Each burner is 32,000 BTU which should be enough to boil 5 gallon batches. Right? I also have bulk CO2 access for kegging and force carbonating should I go that route.

My priorities are precise mash and fermentation temps. The problem is I'm not very mechanically inclined but have welder and electrician friends who have volunteered to help. I *think* I could build a stand to house the HLT and MT along with pump(s) and a HERMS/RIMS system. That along with 2-3 conical fermenters and chambers should put me around $4k I'd think.

Where do I start? I've been thinking about this for months and finally decided it'd be best to use the burner and vent hood so I'll be able to brew year round indoors. Thanks for the help. Hopefully within a couple months I'll have this completed.

Edit- Just realized I'd have no way to control my sparge water temp using this setup. I'm lost.

 

[dcbc]

If you aren't paying for welding, services, you can get the stand, gas plumbing, kettles, pump, chiller, etc. with temp control for the MLT and HLT for under $4K Add 2--3 conical fermenters to that list and I think you will go above that number depending on how big they are. It all depends on how much of your electronics are DIY, whether you go keggle or kettle and how large, etc. Lots of variables, but even then, the difference in price isn't mind blowing.

Step 1. Draw a picture of the brew stand. Figure out measurements (tape on the floor to set your kettles on helps here.
Step 2. Plan your system for everything and more you ever expect to do. I'd say your stand needs to be able to hold double whatever batch size you're doing today. It's cheaper to build it right the first time than to make modifications if you can't weld.

PM me and I can give you a cost sheet for my 20 gallon system that was built from the ground up (by others locally) with components sourced piecemeal by me. All in all, it's a good deal cheaper than a morebeer system, but would have been less expensive had I been able to do the welding.

 

[Malric]

I built a semi automated electric system including ventilation, plumbing, etc for about $3500. I wouldn't trade the ease and comfort of indoor electic for anything.

 

[60sd]

If you have 4k for a brew rig, I would recommend you take a couple hundred and set yourself up with a turkey fryer and a 10 gal igloo cooler all grain set up. Once you've got a few solo brew days under your belt, you'll be much better able to build your set up exactly the way you want/need it. It seems like it'd be easy to come up with the ultimate set up in you head, but until you've gained some practical experience, there's no way to foresee everything you may need.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade, but it would sure be sad if you dumped a bunch of money on a set up that you dont like or cant use to its potential.

FWIW, I've been brewing on a turkey fryer set up for a few years now and my head still spins when I try to imagine the plumbing on my ultimate setup.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[Lopsy]

Shop around for HERMS on the forums. But keep in mind that you will always go over budget. We built ours from scratch and sourced every part as cheaply as possible and we still ended up at ~6.5k for a 10gal batch HERMS. Granted we got quality parts and won't need to upgrade for a long while.

Your cost will depend greatly on you desire, drive and skill to build it yourself. You're more handy than you might think. Just do it. But have someone with electrical knowledge look at your HERMS before you boot her up. GFCI is not on optional component.

P.S. Don't get SS compression fittings on eBay from China.

 

[ilikeguns]

If you have 4k for a brew rig, I would recommend you take a couple hundred and set yourself up with a turkey fryer and a 10 gal igloo cooler all grain set up. Once you've got a few solo brew days under your belt, you'll be much better able to build your set up exactly the way you want/need it. It seems like it'd be easy to come up with the ultimate set up in you head, but until you've gained some practical experience, there's no way to foresee everything you may need.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade, but it would sure be sad if you dumped a bunch of money on a set up that you dont like or cant use to its potential.

FWIW, I've been brewing on a turkey fryer set up for a few years now and my head still spins when I try to imagine the plumbing on my ultimate setup.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

I think this is great advice because much of it is personal preference. Using my basic turkey fryer burner/ sanke keg / igloo cooler setup, i know parts of the process that I enjoy and parts that suck. Cleaning my sanke keg outside in the winter sucks... doing anything outside with brewing in the winter sucks actually which is leading me down the path of electric brewing.

 

[Conan]

60sd and ilikeguns hit it on the head. You could start out on the right path with properly sized kettles, tuns, etc. That's one area that I find annoying to upgrade- vessel size. You'll end up buying two or three small ones while working up to the size you finally decide you need. Kyle

 

[dcbc]

If you have 4k for a brew rig, I would recommend you take a couple hundred and set yourself up with a turkey fryer and a 10 gal igloo cooler all grain set up. Once you've got a few solo brew days under your belt, you'll be much better able to build your set up exactly the way you want/need it. It seems like it'd be easy to come up with the ultimate set up in you head, but until you've gained some practical experience, there's no way to foresee everything you may need.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade, but it would sure be sad if you dumped a bunch of money on a set up that you dont like or cant use to its potential.

FWIW, I've been brewing on a turkey fryer set up for a few years now and my head still spins when I try to imagine the plumbing on my ultimate setup.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

This is good advice. I am on my third all grain setup. You learn a lot about what you want if you spend some time brewing before buying.

My progression:

to

to, finally,

 

[dbrewski]

I agree...start brewing first, save your cash but yes going to the full size kettles now might be a money saver in the long run.

dcbc is that a 10 gallon corny I spy in photo #2? nice!

 

[kosmokramer]

I built my 3 keggle, 2 pump BCS E-herms for about 2500, I did all the work on it myself except the tig welding which a friend did for 20 bucks and some Homebrew, most expensive parts was all the stainless fittings. The stand only cost about 45 bucks in steel and 60 for the diamond plate shelf. Most important thing is take your time and do it right the first time.

 

[dcbc]

I agree...start brewing first, save your cash but yes going to the full size kettles now might be a money saver in the long run.

dcbc is that a 10 gallon corny I spy in photo #2? nice!

15 gallon corny. My main fermenter. Requires a 12" collar on the chest freezer on wheels. Once that thing has 11 gallons of beer in it, there's no lifting it over the side of the chest freezer. Put it in empty and pump the wort into it. Transfer out with CO2.

I have a 10 gallon corny as well that occasionally gets used for smaller batches or a bright tank.

 

[Malric]

Basic equipment is great if you've never brewed, but it sounds like he's done some with friends. I do agree that proper planning is key. Even spending the time that I did on my system, I found a few things that I would have done differently.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

I'm with everybody else. Start small and basic, best way to learn exactly what you want.

Also, I'd give strong consideration to electric if you want great control.

Maybe check out the counter top Brutus build. I did that, but with a herms coil inside the brew pot that doubled as a chiller. I've since upgraded to a big stout tanks system with a Kal control panel, but the smaller system showed me how to brew and exactly what I wanted

 

[dbrewski]

15 gallon corny. My main fermenter. Requires a 12" collar on the chest freezer on wheels. Once that thing has 11 gallons of beer in it, there's no lifting it over the side of the chest freezer. Put it in empty and pump the wort into it. Transfer out with CO2.

I have a 10 gallon corny as well that occasionally gets used for smaller batches or a bright tank.

Where in the world did you get a 15g corny!!?!? I have two tens and people treat them like they're seeing a unicorn.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

Adventures in homebrew has them. They are huge

 

[dcbc]

Where in the world did you get a 15g corny!!?!? I have two tens and people treat them like they're seeing a unicorn.

Kegglebrewing.com

There are a couple of other places that have them as well. They are seconds. But it has been rock solid for me for several years now.

They are very tall. Like I mentioned, my chest freezer has a 12" tall collar on it just to accommodate the 15G Corney.