Plastic Buckets Of Doom

[bonk]

Hi All,

well its been a long long process and a journey of many many months (ie years) but i finally have managed to put together a brew system that has gf approval, which means i'm not in trouble for boil overs anymore in the kitchen :lol:

being on a tight budget and having a cupboard full of my old fittings and stuff i built the following system. The only thing i didn't build was the mash tun, but i did modify it to work with what i got - mainly the tubing i got. I forgot to to get photos of it in action but it worked well and went better then i expected. Only a few leaks on the mash tun.

whilst not the most sexy looking setup it works rather well.

inside pic of the brew kettle:

yep, the evil kettle elements are back. got to boiling in about 20 mins and had a solid rolling boil going until it was time to stop. pick up tube is one of the stainless mesh things found in the plumbing section cut to size and clamped. with a nice whirlpool i got bugger all debris and hop material going into the heat exchanger.

which brings me to:

some people might notice its one of the first batch of mash masters from about 3+ yrs ago. yes i used it once and then moved and had to ditch a lot of my stuff. the bracket is some of the mechano looking stuff that i bolted together and then to the frame. It got its first work out yesterday and managed to cool using darwin tap water to pitching temp fairly quickly. Very happy as it was only the 2nd time i have used it in 3yrs.

Things i want to get next is a pump to save my lifting buckets around and a pre-chiller for when the weather heats back up to the 30s.

 

[Fents]

nothing wrong at all with that setup. perfect for anyone on a budget, well done!

my first tun was a pail with a plastic false bottom, such an easy idea.

 

[Leigh]

Looks like a nice brewery Bonk. Do you have an idea of how much it set you back?

Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Buckets o death are great, I don't know why somebody doesn't start building and selling them, or importing the UK version in knocked down form and sourcing the plastic locally:

http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/A...________18.html

I had one in the UK and brought it with me, it lasted for a couple of years before it went to God. As a barebones system you really only need one bucket o death and a spare fermenter to collect the sweet wort - a 'two vessel' system - although because the bucket is a bit small for a full boil you have to use a slightly different procedure than BIAB or three vessel.

If they were available here I'm sure it would change the face of home brewing and would certainly get more people into AG for around a $150 layout.

I love the way you have painted HLT on that vessel so that it turns out looking correct from that angle.

 

[Adamt]

If they were available here I'm sure it would change the face of home brewing and would certainly get more people into AG for around a $150 layout.

See grain and grape.

 

[raven19]

Echoing the comments here on a great setup there.
Its now AG all the way it seems!
Well done.

 

[muckey]

brilliant setup. should hopefully inspire a few people as to how easy it is to setup for AG.

 

[bonk]

See grain and grape.

thats where i got the mash tun from.

the other buckets came from the usual place for about $10 each. the kettles cost $16.

the other parts i had and didn't need to buy much else for the system. the stand is one of those bolt together jobs - think it was a 4 shelf unit. i just used all the bracers that came with it to make it as sturdy as i could and they cost around $25. fittings umm they are around $14 for the brass ones, i want to get stainless and some temp probes for my computer controlled system i have planned

i built it using the 20L buckets as its the right size for my fermenters (10-15L). i wouldnt go with the 20L for a full sized brew but i know pool shops have 40L buckets. I use to have one and used two kettle elements in it and it worked well.

i think the main saving with the doom buckets is the buckets themselves. if i could have afforded the whole setup in stainless i doubt it would have as it allowed me to get the extra bits with the money i saved. the kettle elements are also a nice bargin, pre wired, switch, led for when on and a nice fitting o-ring.

i know there are better systems out there, but this gets me brewing with more ease and no more carting pots around the house. it also took about 1 hr off my brew day!

 

[Steve]

Nothing wrong with that. My first mashtun was a bucket, the same as that with a plastic false bottom. Whats in yours? Mine also had polystyrene stripes gaffer taped lengthways on the outside and bottom for better insulation.
Cheers
Steve

 

[eric8]

See grain and grape.

I think Bonks looks much better than the G & G ones. How much was the element?

 

[crundle]

i know there are better systems out there, but this gets me brewing with more ease and no more carting pots around the house. it also took about 1 hr off my brew day!

There are no better systems out there than the one that lets you make good beer. Shiny is nice, but doesn't improve your beer. And with everything nice and white, your setup looks very clinical indeed!

If you have taken any photos of your build, you should post them up or better yet make an article to inspire others. Your system looks great, I would personally love to see more detailed photos of how it goes together, there may be some great ideas for others to use!

Crundle

 

[Sammus]

I think Bonks looks much better than the G & G ones. How much was the element?

looks like the commonly used cheap kettle elements. Find any kettle at a reject shop or whatever for about $10 - they all have that element in it. Runs from a standard computer style power cord.

Want to make it better, spend $15 on camping mats from the reject shop and insulate everything will hit strike temp quicker in the hlt, and get to boil quicker too. I'm assuming you already insulate the MT somehow, chuck a dooner around it or something after mashing in. A little extra can't hurt though

 

[eric8]

Sammus,
thanks for that. I do BIAB and use a 3 ring, so was wondering if that might be quicker, but then would have to worry about mashing out with the bag in it.

 

[Bribie G]

Eric, if you're referring to the mash stage then Sammus is spot on re the doonah. When I've doughed in I simply lag my urn with a sleeping bag plus a feather doonah and walk away for 90 mins. About a 2 degree temp drop which is negligible.

I didn't realise you could cannibalise a cheap kettle, what an excellent method for building a cheap BIAB setup with a 40L bucket and a couple of elements, it would be a fraction of the cost of a Birko or a Crownie.

 

[mt mellum]

I didn't realise you could cannibalise a cheap kettle, what an excellent method for building a cheap BIAB setup with a 40L bucket and a couple of elements, it would be a fraction of the cost of a Birko or a Crownie.

how do I stop the bag burning on the kettle element? a screen over the top to allow the bag to sit on? I was off to buy a 50 l pot and 3 ring burner but if I can do it this way cheaper then why not? I've got two 1400 w elements in my (water) distilling instrument I can borrow.

 

[Fents]

^^^ use a cheap cake stand to keep the bag of the element.

 

[manticle]

Hi All,


whilst not the most sexy looking setup it works rather well.

I reckon it looks great. Such budget, DIY affairs are very inspiring to a partial masher like me.

More construction photos please.

 

[eric8]

bring up the old question, which is cheaper, gas or element?

edit: and the other question which is faster?

 

[Bribie G]

how do I stop the bag burning on the kettle element? a screen over the top to allow the bag to sit on? I was off to buy a 50 l pot and 3 ring burner but if I can do it this way cheaper then why not? I've got two 1400 w elements in my (water) distilling instrument I can borrow.

As I've posted a few times you don't need to apply heat during mashing - a sleeping bag and doonah wrapped round the pot / urn / bucket does a perfect job. The only time you need to apply electricity or gas is when getting the liquor up to strike temp and when boiling the wort. And at those times the bag isn't in the pot. Of course you have to have a good tight fitting lid as you can't wrap an unlidded pot.