Zapap Ag Mash Tun

[juzz1981]

Hi Guys,

As my first venture into AG Brewing, i have a couple of 20lt plastic buckets that i was going to use as a mash/lauter tun.. my question is has many people used this method and how well did it work.

Also with the bucket being a 20lt capacity, what is the max brew size i will be able to fit?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

The zapap buckets work fine - its a cludge and you'll almost certainly move away from it as soon as you are able - but it'll get you brewing and get you brewing cheaply.

You will be able to fit 5-6kg of grain in there at acceptable liquor to grist ratios and with a fly sparge or multiple batch sparges you will be fine to brew a single batch of beer up to about 6-6.5% abv

all figures give or take a decent amount of guestimation uncertainty

Go for it... what's the worst that can happen?? You stuff up a couple of buckets and have to do something different??

TB

 

[RdeVjun]

Hi Guys,

As my first venture into AG Brewing, i have a couple of 20lt plastic buckets that i was going to use as a mash/lauter tun.. my question is has many people used this method and how well did it work.

Also with the bucket being a 20lt capacity, what is the max brew size i will be able to fit?

As TB says, you don't have much to lose, but what is the size of your kettle? That could put an upper limit on your batch size but a high- gravity boil and post- boil dilution eliminates that problem.

 

[T.D.]

After around 7 years of AG brewing I have actually ended up back using a mash tun just like this. Its the one that G&G sells - 20L plastic bucket and 9" s/s FB. Great setup. As much as a lot of people end up moving to more "substantial" setups, this one really does everything you need for a single batch. I always use the batch size as a general rule of thumb for how big the mash tun should be. So if you are doing 23L batches that's a good size for the mash tun. But having said that, I have done much bigger batches in small mash tuns too, including a 34L double batch in a 25L pail. You can always tweak the liquor ratios etc to get the outcome you want.

One bit of advice I would give though in terms of mash tun size, is choose it based on your most commonly brewed batch volume, not your maximum volume. A lot of people brew single batches 99% of the time, but get themselves 50L mash tuns "just in case" they want to do a double batch. The problem with that is if you are doing single batches in a big mash tun you will have lots of head space, which is not good for temperature stability.

 

[jayse]

I used one for quite awhile and think they work great, some buckets however don't fit inside another bucket that well as they have a fair bit of space between the two at the bottom. Buckets that fit nicely inside the other and go almost all the way down I think are best as you don't have the excessive dead space.

My zapap is still going nearly ten years later however its now on olive brining duties rather then beer and does that job perfectly for that also.

 

[juzz1981]

As TB says, you don't have much to lose, but what is the size of your kettle? That could put an upper limit on your batch size but a high- gravity boil and post- boil dilution eliminates that problem.

The kettle is something that i need to work out, i only have a small one i use for extract brewing.
I guess I will need something in the vicinity of about 30Lt to make up a 20-23lt batch?

 

[juzz1981]

Dont know if anyone else has used this method, but looking at the G&G site in regards to the bucket/boiler.
I might make one of these since i have access to heaps of these buckets for free and a 2400w element should be cheaply obtained.

Since i dont have a big pot and burner, might be a cheap option for now.

 

[juzz1981]

Am going to make a BoD boiler and have come accross a 2200W stainless element on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-2200-WATT-HEATI...R-/290449384070

this would have to be a better choice than a conventional element yeah?

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=8272

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bandito]

I'm making a bucket mash/lauter tun for use this weekend. I got a single bucket today, and so far have cut the lid in a rough circle for use as the false bottom. I believe Nick started a thread on using the lid like this instead of two buckets. The cut down lid is ending up as just the flat part, so some forks or perhaps tubing will chock it up off the bottom. Then a few hundred holes in the lid, and a hole in the side for 1/2" OD silicon tubing with 3/8" OD hard teflon tubing pushed inside that is my preferred method of sealing tubing into a vessel - will be the output. This works by expanding the soft silicon, and is a nice fit for a 10mm spade drill bit (at least I think its 10mm). A bulldog clip will form the valve.

I'm not sure if it will work, if it doesnt then I'll just cut off the bottom of the ready drilled 5L bucket and put it upside down in the 20L bucket.

I'm thinking of spraying some filla foam (also known as messy as hell devils expanding foam), but may just opt for an old doonah.

I tried this a while back with a 5L bucket in a bucket, and was impressed by the fast lauter that 300+ holes provided. It seems to be a bit overboard, as the most I have seem anyone else have is like 12.

Here's a pic of the holes in the 5L version
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...st&id=36931

 

[juzz1981]

Why would you go to the trouble of drilling and manipulating a lid to use as a false bottom when you can just use a second bucket?

 

[Bandito]

I used one for quite awhile and think they work great, some buckets however don't fit inside another bucket that well as they have a fair bit of space between the two at the bottom. Buckets that fit nicely inside the other and go almost all the way down I think are best as you don't have the excessive dead space.

The buckets at the local fishing shop dont fit inside each other very well. There is a 10cm gap.

Your right though, the lid is probably too flimsey, so I'll cut the bottom off the 5L bucket, mabee glue the lid to the bottom of that and drill a hole in the side for the tube to go through. it sits quite nicely in the 20L bucket.

 

[jakub76]

The kettle is something that i need to work out, i only have a small one i use for extract brewing.
I guess I will need something in the vicinity of about 30Lt to make up a 20-23lt batch?

I bought a 40Lt Aluminum stock pot for around $85 from allquip. I have dialled my system in pretty well now and for a 90 minute boil with 24 litres into the fermenter I use ALL of my 40L pot space up to about 15mm from the lip. Even if you're only planning 22 or 19 litre batches you'll want the extra pot space for boil-overs and such.

 

[jakub76]

A bulldog clip will form the valve.

Wow Bandito...you've come a long way.

but seriously, it's good to see you putting your efforts towards actually make beer. Best.

 

[Bandito]

Wow Bandito...you've come a long way.

but seriously, it's good to see you putting your efforts towards actually make beer. Best.

Thanks Jakub, Bulldog clips rock on 1/4" ID silicon tube, I dont know why more dont use it. 1/4" ID silicon also comes in great connecting beer line for filtering etc too. I plan to do my first 20L batch with this setup this weekend, and time permitting, first biab too. Got to have me beer.

I sometimes use a couple of 12-15L kmart pots to boil in, never used a bucket o' death, the name puts me off. There was also a thread I once read that discouraged putting an over the top element in a plastic bucket. From memory it was due to the likelyhood of the bucket melting. Havent looked at the G&G one though.

That is a great price on the aluminium pot though. My stainless 35L cost like 250 from mash master I think it was. I just use one gas burner on the kitchen stove. The 35L take 2 hours to get to boil, the smaller pots less than half that.