Brew In A Bucket Why Not Indeed

[stux]

An alternative is to save as a jpg then just attach inline

 

[Bribie G]

Yup I often do that as well using the "choose / upload " options

e.g.



but of course you get the annoying frame around it.

 

[lespaul]

If you got a sieve and cut the handle off, holes in the bottom and secured with silicone, how do you think that would work... or plastic bucket with a bag in it :S
falsie seems like way too many coins for this kind of operation
still waiting on results :icon_cheers:

 

[Tanga]

Thanks for the in depth part list, but I've already got a 20 L urn as my outer bucket (and element, and tap, etc) so all I need is a bag, or bucket-bag (as above) or possibly malt pipe if I can butcher a free or cheap coffee machine for the pump. If not I'm keen on seeing how the bucket stacks up (pun totally intended).

Lespaul - where was that sieve, and what size is it? Looks like a good option as long as the curve isn't a problem?

PS. What size do the splatter guards come in?

 

[Bribie G]

Right, results are in and I'm most impressed... remember I was heading for a 22L batch - not the 23-25L batches I had to make with bog standard BIAB.
So that's 21L into a CraftBrewer cube, plus a litre to play around with for starters or in this case to mix up my tub of Chinese Maltose Syrup.

Again I strained all the wort and trub left in the urn through a kitchen strainer, this time lined with a grain bag, and strained it into a pot then funneled into a bottle:

So I've hit my 22L absolutely spot on, with final loss to trub only the cupful or so that is in the bottom of the bottle. So the bit of recirculation I managed to do seems to have reduced the crap in the kettle.

<ramblings and musings>

I think the problem with recirculating while the bucket is in the urn is that the wort drawn off from the tap is mostly coming from the "path of least resistance" and only part of each jug is coming through the grain bed, so whilst eventually the grain bed will filter, manual jugging is going to take forever. An unattended pump would handle that, ideally Braumeister style with a heat controller and bursts of heat from the element during mashing itself.

So as a temporary fix to the recirc problem, when I do run #2 I'll absolutely force all the wort through the grain bed by removing it out of the urn altogether into a Handy Bucket then run it back through the grain bed - which should now be nice and compact. Hoisting gradually as I go. And yes I still have a couple of Handy buckets that haven't had the crapper drilled out of them


Anyway on balance, I reckon than even a plain vanilla bucket-in-urn system gives slightly better results than BIAB - acceptable efficiency, better trub management, far less dicking around and quicker cleanup - just tip grain into garden beds and hose off the bucket and FB.
So far, the BIAB with lauter tun gives better efficiency and clearer wort into the kettle although this doesn't seem to have translated into less final trub loss. However with the LT there's a lot more cleaning up, i.e. Bag, Collection Vessel and the LT. And definitely more dicking around on brew day doing the fly sparge.

Who knows I may have some Bags for sale in the near future and a Handy Pail with a hole in it :lol:
Although I could turn it into a Bucket of Death....


Noooooooooooooooooooooo

</end ramblings and musings>

 

[the_new_darren]

Tanga, Why dont you just mash in the urn with som Termimeash or similar over the elements and a "pickuo tube? at the bottom of the urn

I did that for years no probs.

cheers

the_new_darren

 

[Tim F]

Yeah but it's just so convenient lifting/draining out the grain after the mash and chucking it then boiling in the other vessel, where your wort already is. No transfer back and forth needed.

 

[Jazzafish]

My first MLT was a bucket in bucket system. Used to belong to Linz from the MALE club. I often pass it around to people wanting to give AG brewing a try. Last one was PetesBrew but he has now been converted.

I still use it from time to time for say making small batches or starter wort. Have plans to fill it with flowers for a hop back before chilling..

 

[Bribie G]

I'm heading up the street shortly, I'll check out how big those splatter guards are.

 

[Bribie G]

Hm bad news about the splatter guards, they are too big for Handy Pails - they range from 11 - 13 inches in the old money.
However Target do a 8" version of the sieve thing that Lespaul posted. It would be dead easy to take the handles off, they are around $10.

If you drill the drain holes in the bucket towards the middle and sit the sieve over there I don't think you'd need silicone, maybe just rest a mash paddle on it or something during mashing to make sure it doesn't try to float up.

 

[Tanga]

Thanks Bribie. Well worth considering, depending, I will probably use that idea.

 

[felten]

maybe try bolting it to the bottom of the bucket, a SS bolt and a couple of nuts should do it (I have been planning something similar)

 

[MarkBastard]

Bribie, it's good that the splatter guards are big. You can cut them to side. Someone on here used some silicone hose with a cut down its length to form a rim on the cut down splatter guard so that it covered the entire width of the bottom of the bucket and fit in snugly. It should actually perform better than a false bottom from what I understand.

Thanks so much for this thread by the way, it seems that following the normal BIAB process but using a rigid bucket instead of a bag has some merits which is what I was expecting. Better clarity, less mess etc.

 

[The Scientist]

Buckets can do everything :super:



My next project is to get a bucket fermenter and have the whole process done in nothing but buckets.

Cheepest rig around, for anyone wanting to get in to AG this is the way to go.

Cheers,

TS

 

[Tanga]

Go to your local takeaway and ask them if you can have their empty mayo buckets. Free is the best kind of cheap.

 

[browndog]

Go to your local takeaway and ask them if you can have their empty mayo buckets. Free is the best kind of cheap.

nobody has mentioned how many brews it takes till your beer doesn't taste like mayonnaise :lol:

 

[pk.sax]

Makes me think that with all that farting around, how much for a 25-30 Ltr cheap esky and a length of braid. Just saying.....

 

[sim]

nobody has mentioned how many brews it takes till your beer doesn't taste like mayonnaise :lol:

...or plastic h34r:

 

[browndog]

Makes me think that with all that farting around, how much for a 25-30 Ltr cheap esky and a length of braid. Just saying.....

True, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other really, but in ghetto brewing stainless steel is classed as bling.

 

[pk.sax]

Hehe. True. Adding my costs up, keggle with socket 70, ball valve, barrel nipple and hosetail ~ 45ish. Burner and reg ~145ish, can be done cheaper tho. + silicon hose + bag, well, all up it's less than 300 bucks for a 50L keggle BIAB.

I'm thinking of going 2v with an esky added (rigid, self contained units are easier to handle in my apartment) hopefully 100 bucks for an acceptable mash tun, 150 for something spacious, maybe an extra bob for a ball valve.

As it stands, my BIAB gear cost less than the cost of an urn and I can upgrade to 2v for convenience. Don't see anything wrong about using a bucket in bucket mash tun, just not sure how easy would plastic be to clean etc. Steel is pretty forgiving.

OK, that was a lot of OT!

Carry on Bribie