Going all grain on a budget

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012.

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  1. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    So I've been brewing 3 gallon BIAB and love the AG results I'm getting but had planned on upgrading to a 5 or 10 gallon mash tun cooler system from NB for a Christmas present from my wife. After reading thru the joy of homebrewing again last night I came up with an idea with the help of papazian..... My fine mesh bag is big enough to fit inside my bottling bucket (in fact it's too big so I will need to modify it a little). My plan is to fit the bag inside my bucket so that when it is full of grain it will be slightly above my spigot. This will allow me to recitculate my first runnings to get rid of the tiny grain particles that slip thru the bag. I hear that food grade buckets insulate just fine for mashing and I can always adjust with some hot sparge water. The "zapap" lautrer tun that papazian describes also seems like a nice cheap AG system where you drill hundreds of tiny 1/8 inch holes in the bottom of one bucket which acts as a big strainer and put that bucket inside another bucket with a spigot which in turn creates it's own false bottom. In charlies model he drilled his own spigot hole and fit it with plastic tubing so I don't know if a bottling bucket would work for that method.? Anyway the mash tun setup I had planned on was gonna cost my wife at least 200 dollars to buy whereas If I try one if these economic mash tun options she can buy me a kegging setup and barley crusher instead!! Anyone think one of these mash methods would be better??
     
    #1 psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012
  2. Homebrew42

    Homebrew42 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2006 New York

    I built a 14 gallon cooler mash tun for about $40, bought the cooler on sale for $30, added about $10 worth of hardware from home depot.

    A cooler mash run does not need to cost (and should not cost) $200, they can be built on the cheap, and it's better than messing around with buckets and huge mesh bags IMO.
     
    #2 Homebrew42, Jul 20, 2012
    naterock, tronester and VikeMan like this.
  3. dj420

    dj420 Aspirant (261) Aug 9, 2007 Minnesota

    I had an old cooler that wasn't used much, I used that. Ask friends/neighbors, I am sure someone has an old cooler you can get for cheap/free.
     
    #3 dj420, Jul 20, 2012
  4. Mfedonczak

    Mfedonczak Initiate (0) Aug 18, 2008 Texas

    You can get the same 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler as NB from Home Depot for around $40. Just add a bulkhead/ball valve and a bazooka screen and you'll be good to go for around $75.
     
    #4 Mfedonczak, Jul 20, 2012
  5. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I'm not very mechanically inclined so I don't know how efficient of a false bottom/ lautering system I could come up with.... Do the coolers need a flow adjustable spigot installed also or just keep the push button type Spigot on it??
     
    #5 psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012
  6. Mfedonczak

    Mfedonczak Initiate (0) Aug 18, 2008 Texas

    #6 Mfedonczak, Jul 20, 2012
  7. bbarnumboy

    bbarnumboy Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2009 Washington

    does that screen filter screw right into that fitting you linked?
     
    #7 bbarnumboy, Jul 20, 2012
  8. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    #8 VikeMan, Jul 20, 2012
  9. bbarnumboy

    bbarnumboy Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2009 Washington

    I use the braided water line from Home Depot and it works fine. The manufactured one listed above would probably filter better.
     
    #9 bbarnumboy, Jul 20, 2012
  10. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Hmmmm... I use a braided water line and I get wicked fast clear-running vorlaufs. Not that it should matter much, because the real filtering is done by the grain bed.
     
    #10 VikeMan, Jul 20, 2012
  11. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I wonder what thickness this cooler is or if all the round ones are the same???? http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix...bbermaid-10-Gallon-Water-Cooler-Blue/20613561
     
    #11 psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012
  12. LeeryLeprechaun

    LeeryLeprechaun Savant (1,094) Jan 30, 2011 Colorado
    Trader

    I agree. Braided hose in cheap and works very well. All you have to do is connect it to a call valve on the other side.

    I used this link to build mine http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Converting_a_cooler_to_a_mash_tun
     
    #12 LeeryLeprechaun, Jul 20, 2012
  13. bbarnumboy

    bbarnumboy Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2009 Washington

    yeah, I have never had a stuck mash with my braided line, I love it.
     
    #13 bbarnumboy, Jul 20, 2012
  14. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    This. Don't waste your time drilling tiny holes in a bucket and then trying to maintain your mash temp with boiling water. If $40 is too much, you can probably find a used cooler at a garage sale.
     
    #14 MLucky, Jul 20, 2012
  15. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    So this braided line needs cut with a saw then the inside tubing needs removed? Then it acts just like a bazooka screen?
     
    #15 psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012
  16. Homebrew42

    Homebrew42 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2006 New York

    That's exactly correct. I started with a cheap braided hose, then bought a fancy false bottom, then went back to the cheap braided hose because I got better performance with it.
     
    #16 Homebrew42, Jul 20, 2012
  17. bbarnumboy

    bbarnumboy Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2009 Washington

    Exactly the easiest ones are the toilet water lines from the store. careful though, they are like a Chinese finger trap, so don't do what i did and try to pull the tube out with force. You just work it out by squishing the braided part.
     
    #17 bbarnumboy, Jul 20, 2012
  18. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    After you remove the braid part, you can fold/crimp what will be the 'free' end. You slide the other end over the hose barb connector (or nipple, or whatever) you have attached to the 'back' (inside the tun) of the valve, and secure with a stainless hose clamp.
     
    #18 VikeMan, Jul 20, 2012
  19. bbarnumboy

    bbarnumboy Initiate (0) Oct 30, 2009 Washington

    At about 3:40 in the video he shows what we are talking about. I have the same exact cooler as this guy, it was like 30$ and the braided line was just a few bucks. I used a piece of tubing from the homebrew store and shoved it into the drain hole of the cooler and it was a very perfect tight fit and it has never leaked on me. I put a cheap plastic ball valve on the line outside the cooler. Total cost was about $40 and it works perfectly. I have about 5 uses out of it so far without any problems.

     
    #19 bbarnumboy, Jul 20, 2012
  20. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Awesome!! I'll be making my 10 gallon mash tun then!!!
     
    #20 psnydez86, Jul 20, 2012
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