I was thinking of ways around getting a complete grain setup .
2 of these
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31q8q-vG0RL.jpg)
A plastic fermenter bucket with 2 cheapo kettle elements for the boil.
A few ball valves and plumbing stuff.
A few bits of copper pipe with holes drilled for sparging .
What would you recommend. In list form and possible recycled junk.
I could spend more after I build my steel shed, but I enjoy being thrifty and frugal . Never pay full price is a rule of mine when it come to this sort of thing.. :D
A boiler and a BIAB bag, cheapest possible route to all-grain.
Sent from my HTC One
Any links or advise into the exact method of using them With just the burco and bag?
I was thinking of the boiler heating the mash water, then tipping it into the HLT drinks cooler. Then mash and sparge in the second cooler . Then back into the bucket(or burco) for a good boiling.
Biab is the way to go if you want minimal equipment. Look it up on YouTube.
If you really want a mash tun, the cheapest way is a fermenter bucket in a fermenter bucket. Have a look at this:
http://m.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-for-Under-100-STEP-1-/.
He also shows you how to build a cheap boiler.
You don't need 2 coolers. Use your boiler for the strike and sparge water. Drain the mash into a spare fermenter bucket. Then transfer this into your boiler.
Barry , that link to building your own equipment is fantastic.
Your welcome Botormikeman :P :P
Was in Tesco and Argos considering the boil bucket.
Tesco Kettle is 10 euro.
Argos kettle is 7 euro.
The bucket will cost a tenner plus 2 kettle elements Then the fittings and sealant will make it more expensive than a big stock pot.
Loads of big pots on ebay . Sets of 5 . My parents live in Derry so I can get free postage as well.
Any thoughts on how to convert all those spare pots into a little beer factory?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Piece-Large-Stockpots-Stainless-Steel-Deep-Stew-Soup-Pot-Saucepan-Lids-Spoon-/400683657765?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_Cookware_GL&hash=item5d4a9b6a25
I have one of those wok burners on my kitchen stove that can heat bigger pots. Should be well able for a 15l boil.
You'll need an Arbor bit or qmax cutter to drill the holes to take a tap. Silicone baking sheet to make your own seals as the ones that come with stainless steel weldless tap kits are shite. Mybeer&wine sell the weldless tap kits.
You can buy that set in "Living Island" shop in Talbot street.
https://maps.google.ie/maps?q=16+Talbot+street&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x48670e8f565d6467:0x5f1a1edfe67a2278,16+Talbot+St,+Dublin+1&gl=ie&ei=BXBCU8rvIoSe7AblmoDwCQ&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA
Hi motorbikeman.. I've just gone down the route of making my own All Grain equipment. I got some of my ideas from the instructables website mentioned in the earlier post above.
I've posted up the process of making both mash tun and boil kettle on my blog :
Boil Kettle:
http://homebrewandharleys.weebly.com/1/post/2014/03/how-to-make-homebrew-boil-kettle.html
Mash Tun:
http://homebrewandharleys.weebly.com/1/post/2014/03/how-to-make-a-homebrew-mash-tun.html
I got the thermos cooler box (28l model)for my mash tun from Amazon - £20 delivered to my folks house in Co Derry! I think deal is still on Amazon last time I looked.
Brew gear has been used once since I fabricated it and seems to work well... But still refining certain aspects of it.
Shout if u need further info on any parts of this equipment build.
Thats a great blog. Im from Derry originally myself and my folks still live there. Must order one. I was looking around for one.
But then today I past a shop on the Naas road caller the packaging company. They sell buckets . Food grade 25l buckets for 5 euro with a lid. Cheap as chips , so I bought 4 .
I also got two kettles in Argos for 6.25 euro each and stopped into the plumbing store and got a ball valve and and tank connector.
for this set up so far not including the spare buckets,
27 euro. I need to get insolation for the plastic mash tun. Woodies are asking 25 euro for a roll of the shinny stuff. There must be cheaper out there. I will find it .. I also still need a tap for the HLT/boiler, a hose and a connector for the hose. I plan to rack the wort from the boiler through a sieve with voile fabric to clean up the hops without the need to plumb anything other than a basic ball valve tap.
I got my grain and ingredients . And i'm bursting for a go at a 20l batch. I bottled the 5L true brew kit and only got 8 330ml bottles, so im not going to bother with 1 gallon batches again. Although the beer is quite lovely.
(http://s25.postimg.org/jb1lzi3yn/beeer2.jpg)
(http://s25.postimg.org/yl1h6ozgv/beeer.jpg)
(http://s25.postimg.org/rvuxqoe4v/beeer1.jpg)
So i went out to the building site today and the nice man gave me the end of a roll of the silver insolation. nearly 5 meters of it.
The bucket got 4 layers of it. I might add more as I can feel heat after I added hot water to the bucket.
Tesco Everyday duct tape was 3.50 a roll.
got another ball valve with fittings for the boiler for a tenner.
So this thing is into me for 37 euro so far.
Im not sure 100% how to use it best as there is a space between the bottom of the sparge bucket and the mesh tun of about 5 liters .
A recipe I want to do requires 9l of water for the mesh. Im wondering should I just add more mash water and use less sparge water later.
I still need to find a wort chiller, but I might leave that as the copper seems to be expensive.
(http://s25.postimg.org/ycholzqtr/grain1.jpg)
(http://s25.postimg.org/h0mdxo3nz/grain2.jpg)
Hi Motorbikeman,
Great effort so far but I've a question about your boiler i.e. the bucket with the 2 elements. Are you using a standard Youngs fermenter bucket as a boiler? I'd be concerned about using it to house boiling liquid for a prolonged period. Those things get very wobbly and flimsy when full of hot liquid. I'm not sure they're made to hold anything over 80 or 90 degrees. You might get away with using it as a hlt but as a means of boiling bubbling sugary wort for 60-90 minutes is, in my opinion, dangerous.
Maybe some of the other guys on here can chime in and say that all's fine and to get back to me knitting but just thought I'd mention it.
Cheers,
-Barry
(never thought I'd see a Tyrone man showing concern for a Derry man)
I thought that also, but I seen it being done on the brew section on Board . ie and it seemed to work for them.
I will be using it outdoors and might just test it with a full boil right now . I had it boiling twice for 10 mins at a time and it seemed to retain it strengh ok. Not the sort of thing you would want to try and move when hot though.
I thought motor bikes were dangerous. This brewing business could be worst!!
Fermenters as boilers are fine.
Just don't lift them when they are full (and boiling).
Quote from: johnrm on April 11, 2014, 04:11:00 PM
Fermenters as boilers are fine.
Just don't lift them when they are full (and boiling).
Ah right. Fair enough. I'd say just make sure them elements are in as tight as possible. I've had one slip through on me before. Lost about 10L of wort and tripped the mains but thankfully lived to tell the tale.
I'll stop pissing on your chips now :)
Cheers,
-Barry
I have had water in the mesh tun for 70 mins . It seems to have lost about 6 degrees.
Is that acceptable? Heated up the tiles underneath abit. lost heat.
...and don't use short cables.
Don't put a knife into a toaster.
Need more advice?
Floss.
...and piss on your own chips! >:D
The 33litre fermenter from HBC is good and sturdy and makes a great boiler. There are insulated camping mats in lidl this week and they make a great extra layer of insulation. I think they are €6
Quote from: johnrm on April 11, 2014, 04:41:44 PM
Need more advice?
Floss.
...and piss on your own chips! >:D
Floss is great for putting teaballs of luvely hops in cornies.
Quote from: Motorbikeman on April 11, 2014, 04:39:20 PM
I have had water in the mesh tun for 70 mins . It seems to have lost about 6 degrees.
Is that acceptable? Heated up the tiles underneath abit. lost heat.
that rate of heat loss isn't good enough but you'll find it improves due to the thermal mass if the grain. You'll only know when you do a proper mash in it. Also, Chris has the right idea, a yoga mat on the outside if that will help a lot
Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
Think I'm going to give this a whirl! seems quite do-able, I was considering making a kettle out of a 21l boil pot from HBC that I have, then using it for a HLT in later days (still doing extract)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/13/yhy7ybu9.jpg)
Would the kettle hack work for steel pots or would it be difficult to seal? (with the element fitting being flat)
If so I'll stick to the plastic fermenters - have a spare 33ltr HBC one mentioned above. If it is do-able i'll use the pot, I know the pot capacity wont do a full boil but it does the job for me now. Thinking I could make a budget 3 tier system with the plans from this thread and use the pot as a HLT - just an idea
If you got somthing like this with a bigger output, You would be onto a winner..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/600W-Boiler-Pot-Water-Heating-Element-Tube-17-64-Diameter-/121156694555?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c3580721b
http://uk.alibaba.com/product/792349649-best-selling-home-cooking-pot-heating.html
This is going extremely well so far. I think.
I made a balls up of ordering whole grain and panic set in. But the internet to the rescue.
This guy uses a blender on pulses to mill. http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67843&hilit=blender&sid=ece88fb27a9777af6cd202b6bec11501&start=15
So thats what I did.
On the lookout for a mill now.
Other snags I found was trying to seperate the 2 buckets in the mesh tun. Going to have to look into that as well for the next brew.
I do think I am going to have some description of Ale at the end. Might not be the best in the world. But who care ;D
(http://s25.postimg.org/5btgu7zpr/20140418_103825.jpg)
I'm giving the instructable version a go but have run into a small minor set back at the start... The kettle has jagged lock washer fitted on the element back.. Don't really want to wear down screw head (more than I have) I got the kettles in Argos - any ideas how to get past this? (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/04/sapa9aqu.jpg) see the pic, I can probably use a flat head / phase tester to remove the screw but that lock washer is the bane of my life. Do the tesco kettles have them?
Didn't have them on the Tesco kettles I got a couple of months ago. Took them apart no bother.
It come off no problem with the correct sized flat head. The lock washer wont stop the screw turning as it is bearing against another stainless washer and has no purchase. Its simply there as a crush washer and stops the screw vibrating of and shorting the kettle out. If I remember its only the live terminal that has the lock washer. The others are deeper into the housing.
I soldered the mains wires to the prongs sticking out and dumped base unit connection . Insulating neatly each connection as I went with heat shrink and inso tape. And used a little loc tight instant gasket to seal the element in . Its heat resistant. http://www.lubricantsupplies.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/l/o/loctite-5926-instant-gasket.jpg
Its done two all grain 70 min boils with HLT duties as well and is rock solid
Tesco kettles are a tenner each.
I got two kettle leads as I didn't fancy doing the wiring trick (seen that on a YouTube vid) and hot condition sockets were harder to comeby and not much cheaper. As for the gasket glue - I was going to just go with the silicon seal from the kettle, will this not be ok it's own or?
Had another setback - 1/2 inch copper won't fit the 1/2 inch fittings! Looking into this either the copper pipe has expanded from being left out in cold temps or I need to be looking out for internal/external diameter measurements. (I had believed it was all standard sizes)
On the plus - I made a handy double coil immersion chiller! Cheaper than buying one and should chill a fair bit quicker!
I just put a wee lick of sealent on as the argos kettle was made of thicker plastic than the bucket. I would have hated a leak.
I had to do a bit of goggleing to see if the sealant type is food safe. Could find nothing other than than its made of the same stuff rated as food safe. But in 5 gallons of water, I dont think its an issue. The acetone smell disappeared after a water test boil.
Copper pipe is standard. But if you cut it with a hacksaw, sometimes its hard to get into fittings. The olives are really hard to slip onto a rough cut pipe. There is a special pipe cutting tool that pushes the birrs inward and keeps the pipe perfectly round.
Someone you know is bound to have one.
A mate had 2 meters of copper oil line that had a plastic coating. I removed the plastic and made a chiller. Could have done with a little more copper, but it was free. Had to buy 2 jublee clips for 1.50 and connected it to the hose.
It chilled 18L in 45mins from boiling to 23 degrees. Well pleased.
(http://s27.postimg.org/5mrbck2lf/20140427_131722.jpg)
Quote from: Hingo on May 04, 2014, 11:29:14 PM
Had another setback - 1/2 inch copper won't fit the 1/2 inch fittings! Looking into this either the copper pipe has expanded from being left out in cold temps or I need to be looking out for internal/external diameter measurements. (I had believed it was all standard sizes)
On the plus - I made a handy double coil immersion chiller! Cheaper than buying one and should chill a fair bit quicker!
I'm planning to do this sort of set-up myself. Two problems, I don't have drillbits to drill the hole for the tap. Also I need a pipe bender in order to make an immersion chiller, is there a work around for this? I have two 6ft lengths of copper pipe at home that I could use a brass fitting to join and make a 12ft chiller. What do ye think?
@ motorbikeman, you might speed up your chill a bit by immersing more of your coil in your wort.
Maybe try and compress your coil.
Have people here used regular copper and brass plumbing fittings at all for their set-ups? Will brass react with hot wort?
Quote from: cruiscinlan on August 30, 2014, 08:59:19 PM
Have people here used regular copper and brass plumbing fittings at all for their set-ups? Will brass react with hot wort?
Both copper and brass will react with hot wort. As copper should be pure and normally not present a problem although the green discoloration should be cleaned off as its supposedly toxic. Different people have different opinions about whether you should keep the copper clean & shiny or allow it dull with patina. I don't know for definite which is the best or most hygienic approach but personally I just add mine to the boiler 15 minutes before the end. I gave up trying to keep it clean. I now just soak & clean it after use & let it dry afterwards.
Brass is a mixture of copper & zinc. Plumbing fittings made from brass & can contain lead in small amounts. Again different people have different opinions on whether they are safe to use. Brass fittings will discolour in contact with hot wort over time. I used some brass fittings for a while and they went black. Over time I replaced them all with stainless steel. Lead displaces calcium from bones & is generally best avoided if possible so I am playing it safe. Others will insist it's perfectly safe but personally prefer to be safe than sorry.
Shanna