46 replies to this topic

[Kremer]

must have:mash tunpot big enough for full boilsome way to cool it all down.grain mill if there's no LHBS with one or you can't get milled grain otherwise.everything after that is gravy...

[3rd party JKor]

Real tough question you're asking. Some people make due with virtually nothing, but it makes the brew day a major PITA. First off, what's the batch size going to be and what's the budget?

[DaBearSox]

DIY mash tun = 50 bucksKettle = 50 bucks (i bought a turkey fryer on ebay that came with a big kettle w/ a drain)mash paddle = 10 bucksthats all I can think of off the top of my head unless you have to buy a mill which would be nice so you can buy in bulk however i dont, i just use the LHBSget your water report too

[DaBearSox]

I'm going 10 gallons and trying to stay under $500.

i think you could do it for way under that w/o skimping either

[3rd party JKor]

I'm going 10 gallons and trying to stay under $500.

What do you have for equipment now? Anything that can be carried over to the AG system?

[Jimmy James]

must have:mash tunpot big enough for full boilsome way to cool it all down.grain mill if there's no LHBS with one or you can't get milled grain otherwise.everything after that is gravy...

Basically what Kremer wrote. You'll want some sort of lautering setup in your mash tun so you can double-duty that piece of equipment and you can use your kettle as a hot water tank for the strike and sparge water. I'd just make sure the kettle has a ball valve.Oh, and welcome to the dark side

[3rd party JKor]

Must Haves:1.) Mash/Lauter Tun - Cooler that's at least 48 quart, preferably 60 quarts or more. The 10 gallon Gott coolers are popular but they really limit your starting gravity. Assuming an average mash efficiency of ~75%, a 1.25 qt/lb mash thickness and a 12 gallon post boil volume you can expect your maximum starting gravity to be you cooler volume in quarts times 1.17. For example, a 60 qt cooler will allow you to make 12 gallons of (60*1.17=) 70 point wort (70 pts. = 1.070).2.) Hot Liquor Tun - Cooler about the same size at MLT, this is where you hold your hot sparge water. You'll usually need 10+ gallons of sparge water, so you could get away with a 48-50 qt, but 60-70 is probably better.The Igloo MaxCold coolers are a good choice for both the MLT and HLT, though a bit pricy.3.) Kettle - This is pretty straightforward, it's a big pot. Ideally 18-20 gallons. Your pre-boil volume is probably going to be around 14 gallons, so a 15 gallon pot is cutting it really close. I have a 15 gallon pot and I got frequent boilovers until I started using FermcapS (foam reducer) in the boil. If I did it again I'd get a 75-80 qt kettle.4.) Burner - There's lots of info out there about these, some are more efficient than others, but they'll all boil the wort pretty easily. I'd look around for a more efficient one. It'll probably pay off over time.5.) Valves - You'll almost certainly want ball valves on all your vessels. You'll need bulkhead fittings. If you use all brass parts it'll probably run you about $15-20 per vessel. There are many good designs out there for DIY bulhead fittings.6.) Chiller - Self explanatory.7.) MLT Manifold - This can be simple or difficult. I'd suggest going with batch sparging, it makes manifold design very easy. You pretty much just need a stainless steel braid. Maybe a batch sparger can chime in here, I don't know much about it. If you have your heart set on fly sparging you'll need some CPVC or copper tubing for your manifold.8.) Mash Paddle/Big stirry thing9.) Good thermometer, or, more preferably, several good thermometers.I think that's it, anyone else, feel free to chime in. I probably forgot something.Nice to Haves:1.) Tansfer pump - for obvious reasons. Moving 10+ gallons of hot water from your kettle to an HLT on the top tier of a 3 tier system is a PITA. You don't have to go crazy and buy a $150 March pump from MoreBeer. Pretty much any small mag drive pump will work just fine. I got my pump for $40 on eBay. I can give you suggestions on what to look for if you're interested.2.) Quick disconnects - You'll end up with lots of transfer hoses, especially if you have a pump. Using barbed fittings gets old really quick. All you need to do is put the female QDs on your vessels, pump, etc and make a few jumpers with the male QDs and you can move any liquid anywhere you want in the system. MoreBeer sells some fancy polysulfone high temp QDs for $18.50 a set. I use these, they're just as good and are less than 1/3 of the cost per set.Really Nice to haves:HERMS/RIMS system?

Edited by JKoravos, 08 October 2009 - 08:28 PM.

[jammer]

I think if i was going to do 10 gallon batches, id go the keggle route for my brew kettle. I currently do 5-6 gallon batches of all grain. I use a large ice chest for my mash tun, made a CPVC manifold for it, and am currently getting 80-90% efficiency. And it was very cheap to make.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Here is my list of equipment which is pretty minimal (I do 5 gallon batches so the major difference if you wanted to go to 10 gallon was you would need bigger kettles compared to what I have). I batch sparge.1. MASH TUN72qt Coleman XtremeI pretty much converted exactly as shown here and I am extremely happy with the results: LustreKing writeupYou'll also probably want some silicon tubing for draining and something to stir the mash with2. Hot Liquor Tank5 gallon kettle that I used to use for partial boil extract batches (you'd probably need 10 gallon for 10 gallon batches)3. Boil Kettle10 gallon kettle, for 10 gallon batches I'd think 15 gallons would be the minimum size (10 gallons guys correct me if I'm wrong)4. Propane BurnerBayou Classic SQ14 (should work for 10 gallons no problem)5. 50' IC Optional but some kind of chiller is highly recommended 6. Fermenter6.5-7.5 gallon buckets with lids, airlocks, etc.7. Secondary Vessels5 gallon better bottles8. Kegs and/or Bottling Bucketkegs, bottling bucket, bottle filler9. Grain Milltotally optional - especially for when you first start out10. Yeast Starter Equipmentstir plate, flask, stir bar (optional - could use dry yeast which I still do sometimes)11. Miscellaneoustubing, racking cane, hop bags or some way to filter the wort after chilling (I use 5 gallon paint strainer bags), sanitizer, vessels for sanitizing things, hydrometer, turkey baster for taking samples, scales for weighing things if they aren't premeasured, your water report + Palmer's spreadsheet (pretty easy to use), some way to calculate or estimate SRM of the beer you are trying to make, maybe some stuff I'm forgetting...

[Sidney Porter]

I think the 10 gallons is a good decision, it will take you approx 2x as long to do all grain compared to extract, getting 2x the volume is nice.The probelm with 10g is it is difficult to move w/o a pump, you can go all gravity with 2 burners and a cooler for mlt. The hlt could probably be a little undersized and add water throughout the process. A pot from a turkey fryer could work for the HLT.

[KSUwildcatFAN]

I just put together my all grain setup. Doing my first batch tomorrow. I will take pics and estimated price on everything to give you an idea for a setup like mine. It's a 3 tier gravity system w/ 2 keggles and a cooler for mash tun.

[Deerslyr]

You should be able to put together a great system for $500. Here's my system and estimated costs.1. MASH TUN48qt rectangular cooler with a cpvc manifold and sparge mechanism. (est. cost total $55)2. Hot Liquor Tank5 gallon kettle that was previously my boil kettle with a bulkhead valve. It was the turkey fryer pot. (est. cost $30, but includes 1 propane burner)3. Boil Kettle15 gallon keggle with a bazooka screen. (Got the Keggle for free, bazooka screen was around $18. You may be be able to get a keggle for around $50 - $60 if you look for it. Top was cut off and a hole for the drain was done by a welder for a case of Blonde Ale.)4. Propane BurnerFirst Burner cost is up in the HLT. Got a 2nd one from Bass Pro dedicated to the BK. (est. cost $30)5. Plate ChillerGot off e-bay for around $40. You should be able to pick up an IC or CFC for a reasonable price.6. Grain MillBarley Crusher for $120.7. March PumpPurchased from Austin HomeBrew for around $130. Replacement head costs $15. I use my pump to fill the tun with my strike water, fly sparge, and to pump out of the BK and through the chiller.8. Float SwitchRegulates the fly sparge. Est. cost $20. My buddy built two at the same time. One for him, one for me.9. Heat StickHelps regulate temp of the mash and supplements the BK in getting to the boil on 10+ gallon batches. Estimated Cost of $35.

[denny]

If the real estate gods are kind to me, I'll be going to settlement on the 30th. Which means I will finally have room to step up to all grain brewing. Since I know the initial investment will cost a few $$$, I'd like advice on what I absolutely need and what I don't. So lets throw the equipment into MUST HAVE, KINDA NEED and WOULD BE NICE. Thanks in advance.

For a mash tun, see www.hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew

[ColdAssHonky]

1.) Tansfer pump - for obvious reasons. Moving 10+ gallons of hot water from your kettle to an HLT on the top tier of a 3 tier system is a PITA. You don't have to go crazy and buy a $150 March pump from MoreBeer. Pretty much any small mag drive pump will work just fine. I got my pump for $40 on eBay. I can give you suggestions on what to look for if you're interested.

I could use your suggestions for a cheap pump, I'm looking to add this to my system soon.Thanks!

[KSUwildcatFAN]

OK, I've got noob question in regard to the above.Why do you need to transfer from kettle to HLT? I thought the HLT did two things.

[*]heat mash water[*]heat sparge water[/list]Heat the mash water first, dump into cooler and there's your mash. In the meantime, heat up sparge water. OK, so sparge into kettle. Boil for 1 hour in kettle after sparging, cool, then into fermenter. If that's not the basic steps, I need to learn before tomorrow!

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

OK, I've got noob question in regard to the above.Why do you need to transfer from kettle to HLT? I thought the HLT did two things.

[*]heat mash water[*]heat sparge water[/list]Heat the mash water first, dump into cooler and there's your mash. In the meantime, heat up sparge water. OK, so sparge into kettle. Boil for 1 hour in kettle after sparging, cool, then into fermenter. If that's not the basic steps, I need to learn before tomorrow!

If you only have one pot and one burner, you can heat your sparge water and transfer it to a hlt which is a cooler. This way you can sparge out of the mlt into the brew kettle.

[KSUwildcatFAN]

If you only have one pot and one burner, you can heat your sparge water and transfer it to a hlt which is a cooler. This way you can sparge out of the mlt into the brew kettle.

Oh, I get it.