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Post by imaretiree on May 21, 2017 18:32:34 GMT -5
So I'm looking at a move to all-grain. I've also decided that each year I am going to splurge and buy some decent equipment. I already have a cooler with the braided tubing filter I could use but I'm thinking I'm going to get myself a decent mash tun. I figure a 10 gallon tun is needed since I really am not going to need to make batches any larger than 5 gallons. so far I've seen:
From Canadian Homebrew Supplies: The Chapman 10 Gallon Thermobarrel Mash Tun:
A Chapman Brew Equipment product. Details: Fully Insulated Stainless Steel Mash Tun Recirculation port 2 inches from the rim Ports are 1/2" NPT externally and reduced to 3/8" NPT internallyBall valve, bazooka tube, and thermometer all included! Price: $359.95.
From OBK: Ss Brewtech 10 Gallon Mash Tun:
Foam insulated dual walls(304Ss) •Ultra high efficiency mashing •Gives clear wort •5 degree sloped bottom •Center drain •Conical bottom with drain •No dead space •Foam insulated lid for heat retention •Can not direct fire heat with burner •Internal volume markings starting at 1 gallon •Electrically etched volume markings •Volume markings in both liters and gallons •Includes false bottom with silicone gasket •Includes thermowell •Includes precision LCD thermometer •Includes high quality 304 Ss 3 piece ball valve
Price: $499.99
Anyone use either of these? How happy are you with it? Any other suggestions?
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Post by Alex Bullock on May 22, 2017 8:38:05 GMT -5
Hey Tony, what is your ultimate system going to look like? Will it be a 3 vessel system (hot liquor tank, mash tun, boil kettle) and will it be single tier (single level requiring pumps to move stuff around) or 3 tier (gravity fed with maybe a pump).
The reason I ask is because unless you plan on directly heating your mash tun then I see no reason to invest in a costly stainless option. I brewed with my cooler mash tuns and had great results with both batch sparging and continuous (fly) sparging.
Any reason your specifically moving towards stainless for your mash?
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Post by Stephen on May 22, 2017 9:04:39 GMT -5
I was gonna say exactly what Alex has said. We ended up where we did based on the fact we decided to do a 3 vessel HERMS system with pumps and the whole 9 yards. Is it needed? Not really. I've been thinking about going backwards and buying a cooler at CT when they go on sale for smaller batches. A coolers is light and easy to move and clean out and holds heat better than anything else. Realistically unless you are moving to a recirculating type system and intend on going all in then I'd stick to a cooler and spend my money on the fermentation chamber and other post ferment items. The strange thing is the mashing part of the process is the least critical (see all the brulosophy experiments on temp, time etc) and has likely the worst return on investment vs beer quality. Like I said, ours let's you do different temp steps but we could have skipped the SS mash tun and done the same thing with a cooler and saved money. Not that I regret it but it's just the truth.
Looking at these specifically I think they're both beautiful and have a few neat features. I know they perform on par with a cooler for holding temps too. That said they are just 10gal. I know that if you do a really big beer or want to try no sparge then you will be limited by that volume which probably won't be an issue but plausible to think about. The 5gallon batch cooler we used was 11.5 gallons and it's been maxed out a few times.
Frankly, like I said I would spend it elsewhere. If I was starting over and not building and sharing costs with someone then I'd get a coolers, a nice boil kettle with room to spare in it, a jaded immmersion chiller and maybe a pump and fittings to avoid lifting hot water. Then I'd go nuts on a fermentation chamber and fermenter options.
So...not that this is what you wanted to hear but unless you're going all out and doing a HERMS or RIMS and intend on spending north of 1K on a full system (which would be awesome and I'd totally love) then I'd stick with the cooler or if it's too small buy a bigger one and save $400+ and blow it on a bunch of other stuff.
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Post by Stephen on May 22, 2017 10:46:00 GMT -5
Also, another note based on Alex's mention "unless you plan on directly heating your mash tun then I see no reason to invest in a costly stainless option".
These two options cannot be directly heated at all. They're more of a fancy cooler made of SS.
As for which one...the SS Brewtech looks like its worth the extra $$ based on the false bottom, conical with central drain means no loss of wort.
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Post by Alex Bullock on May 23, 2017 8:49:35 GMT -5
My bad, to be honest I didn't see that they were not direct heat capable until after I posted.
I agree with Stephen. Wort production is a forgiving process but if fermentation is sub par then your beer will be sub par. Invest your money on a Kijiji fridge with an stc1000 temp controller and have tight control on fermentation temp.
I'm all about getting the toys and gadgets as well so go right ahead and get one of those mash tuns if you want to.
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Post by Stephen on May 23, 2017 19:32:46 GMT -5
Ya. Note above was devils advocate and low cash at hand comments.
I just want to reiterate that if I wasn't worried about money then I'd just do what feels right. It's a good product that certainly will be beautiful and useful.
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