Ghetto System Brew Sizes And Suggestions

[phoenixdigital]

Hi All,

Been doing a lot of reading about different methods for all-grain and was thinking of starting down the ghetto path such as this
http://www.youtube.com/user/kingbrownbrewi...u/7/STwEyy06yR0

For starters was debating the gas/electric and have decided from a cost factor to go electric.

Now the guy I brew with is a little scared of pulling apart a kettle and retrofitting it to a handy pail so I am thinking of just using an over the side element.

So my requirements will be

Boiler
1 x Handy pail
1 x over the side element

Mash Tun
1 x esky (already have this)

Lauter Tun
2 x handy pails

Obviously I will need some sort of tap to put into two of the handy pails.

What are recommendations for this and where to get them from?

Seeing as these handy pails are only 20 litres I am assuming I would be able to brew full 23 litre batches?
ie concentrated 18-19 litre wort diluted to 23 in fermenter

I have read a few things about efficiency but still dont really know how that all works. Does making concentrated wort affect efficiency?


Lastly we will probably get an urn at some point. If we went with a 40L urn is that capable of making double batches?
We just dont want to fork out the cash to find out we can only do singles. If it can do doubles we might start with one of them from the beginning and gimp up a lautering unit.

 

[MarkBastard]

Why not ditch the eski and insulate the lautering tun so it's an MLT? The ghetto system was a novel thing to watch but if you think about it it's a lot of vessels, a lot of screwing around, and they're still cheated by using hot water sourced from craft brewer. Add up the vessels and it's not ideal.

However if you went with some of their concepts and had a bucket of death HLT, a bucket in bucket MLT and then a boiler made from ideally something bigger (30L+) you'd be doing alright.

Insulate the MLT with cheap camping mat.

 

[Bribie G]

The Over the Side elements are about $100 so by the time you've bought the rest you are half way to an urn anyway. Using hot water from the domestic supply (which has made some award winners ) You can zoom out a single batch BIAB with Urn in around 4 hours, you can easily do a double batch in a day. I went one stage further and got an OTS element which I use to ramp up to mashout and also to bring to boil, and now can rip one out in a bit less than 3.5 hours. I was going to do a double batch a couple of days ago but got sidetracked, I'll do one after christmas and post the brewday.

If going ghetto, I'd agree with MB to lag a handy pail with that metallised foam from Clark Rubber. Masters do a slightly more sturdy and better proportioned pail for around $7.

 

[the_new_darren]

Off topic:

briber,

I did two 65 litre batches in just over 6 hrs with my 3 (actually 4) vessel.

I thought BIAB was supposed to be quicker?

tnd

 

[seemax]

i think you'd get a alu 40 or 50L, 2200W s/s element, CB bag for less than the cost of the OTS element and pails... not to mention its easier, quicker and safer

throw in some cheap brass elbows and taps for another $25 odd

 

[Bribie G]

Quicker than what? With a multi vessel system you can certainly crank out double batches efficiently because you can be mashing #2 while you are boiling #1.

The OP said he wouldn't get an urn if it couldn't do double batches. Well you can as the time per batch is fairly quick, and far less cleanup than a multi vessel system.

BIAB's speed isn't the issue for me anyway, in fact I frequently deliberately string out the time frame by going shopping and leave it to a 2 hour mash etc. The attraction for me is the simplicity, efficiency (80%), quick cleanup and the reproducibility of medal winning beers made on those wonderful malts supplied freshly and cheaply by our noble local Cryer dealer Ross B)

 

[ledgenko]

Ghetto systems are the only way to go ... BIAB is probably the best option and the use of an esky with some Swiss voile from Spotlight is always a great start .. The bucket of Death option is one that you could go with but I would still consider finding a s/s keg on the side of the road and use that as the HLT and Keggle .. The Esky as a Mashing tun as the best start up for you .. I started off with that and now have a bigger and better brewery ... and still for under the $500 mark which is still believe it or not a cheap hobby !!

 

[Bribie G]

BIAB, ghetto ... if you are making solid traditional full flavoured beers then the simple old systems are often the best. I'm not knocking the HERMS Arduino-controlled autobot brewMonster technicians - they have a great hobby which they can use to fulfil their inner propellorhead - and it keeps them away from more dangerous pursuits such as building ultralight aircraft
I have yet to see evidence that it gets them a better beer at the end of the day, but they experience great enjoyment along the way.

And it's not a total brewing system anyway, just one stage in the process from paddock to brain - wort production.

 

[RdeVjun]

WRT double batches in the 40L urn- I now use a 36L pot (OT: thanks pal, it is a thing of beauty! :beerbang: ), its only early days but the first batches have been double MaxiBIAB, yielded two 23L batches of 1.055 after dilution in the fermenter. You may care to mash differently, but once its all in the urn, there's no reason why not.
Hope this helps! :icon_cheers:

 

[Bribie G]

Ralph you are a machine

 

[MarkBastard]

Off topic:

briber,

I did two 65 litre batches in just over 6 hrs with my 3 (actually 4) vessel.

I thought BIAB was supposed to be quicker?

tnd

LOL

 

[RdeVjun]

That's interesting Bribie, spousie says sometimes I'm robotic! Maybe I ODed on CBT and mindfulness psychosomething...

Mind you, WRT the 36L doubles, a bit of sugaz helps! h34r: Within style of course... B)

 

[stux]

Off topic:

briber,

I did two 65 litre batches in just over 6 hrs with my 3 (actually 4) vessel.

I thought BIAB was supposed to be quicker?

tnd

a 3V BIAB system would get 3 batches done in 4 hours.

If you tie up a vessel for 3.5 hrs, then you can't start another batch for 3 hrs.

 

[stux]

That's interesting Bribie, spousie says sometimes I'm robotic! Maybe I ODed on CBT and mindfulness psychosomething...

Mind you, WRT the 36L doubles, a bit of sugaz helps! h34r: Within style of course...

Relatively easy to do the double maxi's in a 50L

BUT I found it very hard when I shot for a triple

As you would know, the true limiting factor is the end of boil volume, and what gravity that means you need to attain, and thus the efficiency that can be achieved

 

[Bribie G]

a 3V BIAB system would get 3 batches done in 4 hours.

If you tie up a vessel for 3.5 hrs, then you can't start another batch for 3 hrs.

my point exactement. Which is why I bought a second urn to do simultaneous doubles. However you could mash #2 in a bag in an esky while #1 is boiling in the urn, then whilst the urn is transferring into the cube, hoist #2 and get it draining then tip into the urn to boil.

Hmmm rubbermaid....................

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[stux]

my point exactement. Which is why I bought a second urn to do simultaneous doubles. However you could mash #2 in a bag in an esky while #1 is boiling in the urn, then whilst the urn is transferring into the cube, hoist #2 and get it draining then tip into the urn to boil.

Hmmm rubbermaid....................

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Or go Partigyle with a handy pail

 

[Bribie G]

Hey do I read RdeV's post correctly that he is regarded as a lurve machine?

 

[RdeVjun]

No, not necessarily! However, with the mo left over from Movember, apparently the porn career has taken off big time. :lol:

 

[RdeVjun]

I would hope double Maxis are a piece of piss in 50L stux! Fair enough that a triple was challenging- didn't see the report, but I may have missed it. A triple Ordinary Bitter is a whole different ballgame to triple ESB though, so it really depends...

 

[stux]

I would hope double Maxis are a piece of piss in 50L stux! Fair enough that a triple was challenging- didn't see the report, but I may have missed it. A triple Ordinary Bitter is a whole different ballgame to triple ESB though, so it really depends...

http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=628

My mistake was expecting 83% like I get for single batches, and double maxis

In truth I had 75% Into Boil, and 72% Into Fermenter.

And knowing what I now know, that was actually a f$%king good effort

I'm fairly confident that my current CE based Calculator would've been able to predict it accurately, but I don't think I'll ever try that one again... I'm hoping for 98L pot from Santa