STEP BY STEP: DIY AG on the cheap

[manticle]

I'd appreciate a mod fixing the title to read "STEP BY STEP: DIY AG on the cheap"

Cheers.

I've been cracking on at this for several weeks. Did my virgin AG when I was half way through using a made-up method that worked surprisingly well until I threw a third of my beautiful wort all over the concrete. I reckon I've made just about every error and cock-up there is so this is not so much a how to as how not to. The only thing I can recommend from my experience is listening to others who've been there before and perserverance. When you encounter a problem, work your way around it. You'd be hard pressed to be more retarded than me.

Some of this has been posted before, some is new.



DISCLAIMER: This is how I did it - it is not necessarily HOW TO DO it. It worked for me but as you will work out from my manifold (ha, manifold, ha) mistakes, there are better alternatives out there.


STEP 1. BUILD A MASH TUN

You will need:

An esky (at least 20 - 25 L)
A brass thread
A tap
Some copper pipe
A cutting device (dremel, hacksaw or angle grinder)
Thread/plumber's tape
Shifter
file (diamond is good)
Cordless drill
Spade bits
PPE (particularly eye protection)
Elbows and t-pieces
Patience
Willingness to feel stupid








1. Drill out hole on the side of the esky.


Easy. Mark it up, if you're cautious like me, you'll pilot with a drill bit, widen the hole with a bigger drill bit then use the exact size spade bit to make the right hole.

• Fit the all thread.

• Fit the washers

 

[manticle]

Cover the exposed areas on either side of the tun with thread tape then screw on the washers till theyre nice and tight.

Make sure you have your assistant check that everything is sealed properly

4. Make the manifold.

Based on images from some website I can no longer find I thought it would be a smart idea to make the manifold from annealed copper so I could bend it to shape. This has worked well for someone in the universe and saves money on t-pieces and elbow pieces.

Unfortunately it's also painful and if you're not careful you may end up with 3 m of uselessly kinked copper pipe.

Maybe you could just cut the pipe into smaller pieces to make the most of a bad purchase?

Maybe you should just throw it way and start again?

5. Make the manifold part II

Buy the appropriate bits, begin from the beginning

Measure the inside of the tun. Allow about 10-20mm from each edge
Cut the copper pipe to size.

Fit the pieces together with the elbows and t-s.

Place inside tun to make sure it fits.

Woops, it doesn't.
That's right - it's good to allow for the extension from the t-s and elbows.
Cut down if need be.

Centre punch the pieces so they hold. You can solder them together or so I've heard. I didn't.

 

[manticle]

File the rough edges till smooth (I used diamond riffler files)
When ready cut slots - no more than 12 mm apart (or so I hear).

For some reason I cut mine on an attempted 45 degree angle (otherwise known as rough as guts angle)

USE EYE PROTECTION. Full face mask is probably good. I just used safety glasses and could feel little pieces of copper raining constantly against my forehead. Imagine that in your eyes while you're wielding power tools. On no account think- "it's just a little cut. I'll put the glasses on later". Little pieces of metal + eyeball = bad (fortunately not one of the mistakes I made).

6. Fit the manifold to the all thread.

Ah. Now, Here's the thing. I have no idea how. I tried a million things and none of them worked. Describing them all would embarrass me beyond my current level. Eventually I worked out that my pipe could be forced into the chromed brass t-piece I bought first time around (involved some grinding with the dremel to make it fit). There are better easier ways to do it.

Anyway here's mine:

Ready to go:

 

[manticle]

7. Test with water

It might be a good idea to fill your tun and make sure it actually drains and that it can hold a full eskys weight of water.
Thankfully mine did.

8. Now to brew:

First of all, pour yourself a nice glass of your last partial mash brew:

Add at least 1 L of boiling water to tun to pre-heat. Let sit 10 mins.

In the meantime have your first lot of strike water ready. On advice given to me here, I went with 9 degrees hotter than my desired mash temp (different systems will vary). I was aiming for 65 deg. Have on hand some boiling water and cold water to help adjust.

I would also recommend some equipment that I dont yet have a probe thermometer attached to the tun. I have a thermometer but I have to sit it in the tun while its potentially losing heat.

Add strike water. Let sit 5-10 mins (lid on)
Add grain
Adjust temp.
Cover with alfoil, cover and seal lid, mash
Start hi tech burner

Drain first runnings, re-circulate

Drain, sparge, drain again

Put hi tech boil pots on hi tech burner

Make mental note to buy bigger hi tech pots

Hot break beginning

Boil

Don't forget hi tech timer

Prepare hi-tech chiller

Make sure you start early in the day

Chill

As reported in another thread my first AG had way too much hops addition owing to spilling of several litres of wort (and other shenanigans) and came out massively bitter (not bottled yet but 80g of amarillo in 15 L is not a good thing) Todays attempt was a low bittered brew with the same proportion of the same grains, to be fermented on top of the first racked brews yeast cake. When done fermenting both brews will be racked into the same vessel, cold conditioned and then bottled.

If I can do it then any old retard can.


Beer

 

[matti]

Unbelievable
I though my gear was primitive.
Hehehehe

Gee I would have though the handle on the pot would have melted.
B)

 

[manticle]

Finally - thanks to:

Screwtop for PM'ed advice on mashing
Cocko for PM'ed advice on manifolds
Yardy for an easy to follow step by step on manifolds
Chappo for sending me his old manifold absolutely free (including postage). It didn't fit my tun but it gave me an indication that I was on the right track and was a magnanimous gesture from a person I've never met. I'll be helping a kit brewer go AG soon and Chappo's manifold will be put to good use as a result.
Butters for loads of great advice ever since joining
Brendo for demonstrating slightly higher tech AG than mine
Sappas for letting me taste all grain beer and offering me equipment loans and picking up my grain and lending me yeast and generally being a champ.

 

[manticle]

Unbelievable
I though my gear was primitive.
Hehehehe

Gee I would have though the handle on the pot would have melted.
B)

Made of sturdy stuff those k-mart pots.

 

[nardcooker]

Great work mate, get in there and get it done. Should be more of it !!!

 

[Cocko]

F*ARKIN MIGHTY mate,

awesome pic log and post/s

Seriously over the moon you got home!!

:super:

 

[manticle]

I nearly forgot; don't forget to cut your finger at least once:

Cheers

 

[warra48]

Really easy, isn't it, this AG caper?

Well done, no looking back now. Hope the beer's a cracker!

 

[clarkey7]

Top Work Manticle,

No turning back now. Go son.

Feels good to get the 1st one under the belt doesn't it. Hope it's a cracker.

PB :icon_chickcheers:

 

[Parks]

Awesome. LMAO!

This post epitomises the spirit of home brewing IMO. Getting in there, building some things, making mistakes, building a fire (very important) and making some brew.

Great work. I reckon posts like this which emphasise the fun you can have will encourage others.

I am yet to break my own AG cherry but hopefully the next month or so I will. It's also great to hear how simply 'being' a brewer entitles you to such generosities from fellow brewers.

Cheers!
:icon_chickcheers:

 

[raven19]

Nice posts there.

Love the pic of the Feline supervisor/inspector!

 

[brendo]

Manticle,

I love it mate... looks like a bang-up job and the ultimate in lo-fi with the webber burner

Believe me mate - had I not come across the set-up I have I would be running a set up that was relatively primative - just not quite that primative.

As I said the other week mate - it is the brewer that makes good beer - not the number of bells and whistles that the system has.

Good luck with the future brews on the system - looking forward to tasting some at a later date as you had some cracking partials with you the other week.

Cheers,

Brendo

 

[drew9242]

Haha.

Your setup looks identicle as mine at the moment.

except i put Braided hose in me Mash tun and i put me pots on the gas stove.

But it all works a treat and makes good beer. Just takes a long time and you only end up with about 18-20l of wort. Main reason while ill be upgrading soon.

 

[Scruffy]

You show 'em mate!!!

Inspirational.

 

[Phoney]

Good job manticle

 

[~MikE]

OMG love the burner

 

[chappo1970]

HooHar Macticle! Well Done mate I am absolutely stoked for you!

You are a deadset legend and demonstating where there's a will there's a way.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

Chap Chap