My new Mash/Lauter Tun

[MichaelM]

Well I had decided a while ago to do the jump to allgrain and today built my mash/lauter tun out of a 10 gallon Igloo cooler. I am pretty poor so I built everything myself including the bulkhead fitting. Basicaly besides the water cooler I have $10.50 in the manifold including the ballvalve and the bulkhead fitting. Pretty cheap if you ask me. Everything is built out of CPVC and braided hose.

Here are a few pics any questions just ask.

http://www.morganwhips.com/homebrew/mashtun.jpg


http://www.morganwhips.com/homebrew/mashvalve.jpg


(Ignore the copper 90 on the manifold I was short a 90 so had to make do for fitting purposes will pick up another cpvc 90 tomorrow lol. And the cross peices are slotted as well to pull wort fro the center)
http://www.morganwhips.com/homebrew/mashmanifold.jpg

[Otis_The_Drunk]

I was looking at the first picture and it got me thinking... Can he use is turned on it's side like that?
And if so, How does he keep the liguid inside?

Just kidding bro, nice job.

[dparsons]

Originally posted by Otis_The_Drunk
I was looking at the first picture and it got me thinking... Can he use is turned on it's side like that?
And if so, How does he keep the liguid inside?


You use them on their sides if you live at the equator.

[MichaelM]

LOL fine fine I fixed the pic just for you :) Actually I kicked myself after I uploaded it then decided I was to lazy to change it at the moment lol. But there you go, no more mashtun that can only be used at the equator.

Now I am getting impatiant to do my first AG.... Guess I will have to hit the LHBS and pick up some grain to do some simple pleasent beer....... Maybe a nice simple brown ale or similiar... Or maybe hold a first all grain ideas thread and let the forum decide what my firat AG batch will be LOL

[BrewDog]

Michael-

Best of luck with the first AG. Let us know how it goes.

1st AG batches are all over the map efficiency wise - I've heard of cases as high as 85% and as low as 50%. You should shoot for 75% in your calculations as a decent target.

Take some stress off of yourself by having a few pounds of light DME on hand before you start. Use your brewing software to figure out what your pre-boil volume and gravity needs to be for the recipe. Save those values for when you have finished actually collecting the mash runoff.

Then, given that pre-boil volume, calculate how many points per lb of DME you will need to fixup your gravity. Here's how you do that:

1 lb of DME typically creates a wort of 1.044 in 1 gal of water.
Take the 44 (from the 1.044) and divide it by your pre-boil volume in gallons. That will tell you how many points of gravity you will get out of 1 lb of DME in your pre-boil volume.

example:
Recipe calls for a pre-boil wort of 7 gals at 1.040.

44/7 = 6.28 points per lb. in 7 gals

Now, when you have collected your wort, measure it's gravity (pre boil). Let's say this wort comes in at 1.036. That means you need to make up 4 points of gravity in your 7 gal pre-boil wort.

4/6.28 = .636 lbs of DME - about 10 oz.

So, if you are shooting for a 7 gal pre-boil gravity of 1.040 and come up with a 1.036, just add in an extra 10 oz of DME to the boil. Adjust the numbers so that they are appropriate for your batch.

All this is so that you can concentrate on getting the feel of doing an AG batch with YOUR EQUIPMENT and not worrying about whether you will have enough fermentables for a tasty brew when you are done. Believe me, this technique works very well and it helps with the 'Relax Don't Worry' part of RDWAHAHB, especially for a 1st time AGer.

Once you dial in your techniques and your efficiency, then you won't need the DME (other than for your yeast starters).

Best of luck & HTH-

[brazilhead]

Actually I´ve read that the round coolers make a better filter bed than the rectangular coolers I and so many of us use, so it looks like a really fine setup. So anyway, what would be the problem with leaving the copper elbow in there?

[MichaelM]

Brewdog thats some really good advice!!!!! that should be stickied somewhere for newbie AGr's!

Originally posted by brazilhead
Actually I´ve read that the round coolers make a better filter bed than the rectangular coolers I and so many of us use, so it looks like a really fine setup. So anyway, what would be the problem with leaving the copper elbow in there?

Yes I do 5 gallon batches but I went with the bigger 10 gallon round so that I have more flexibility with my grain bill... Figured the smaller footprint of the round coolers will give me a better grainbed no matter how much or how little I decide to use....

And as far as the copper 90? it wouldnt hurt a thing to leave it in there but it doesnt fit very snug on the CPVC pipe and I am afraid of knocking it apart while stirring the grain etc... So just gonna do it right and pick up another cpvc 90 so I can glue it together.


I still havent decided on batch or fly sparging though...

[dparsons]

Originally posted by MichaelM
LOL fine fine I fixed the pic just for you :) Actually I kicked myself after I uploaded it then decided I was to lazy to change it at the moment lol. But there you go, no more mashtun that can only be used at the equator.


Hey, you gave us a look at your mash tun and entertained us all at the same time. That's a bonus.

[corkybstewart]

DP, why are all your posts betwen midnight and 3 AM? Just curious.

[B_rad1969]

Nice job!!!!! I went to the brew shop yesterday. I wanted to put a valve on my kettle. They were $47 at the brew shop. I thought... it's only a $7 valve and a few fittings. I go to Home Depot and spend 2hrs looking for pieces to put this thing together. I found everything then I went to look for washers. Couldn't find them so I gave up.:rolleyes: It was going to cost me almost $40 just to piece everything together. And a drill bit was $20 too. I'm not a mizer or anything but I hate to spend the money on a drill bit I'll only use once.

[MichaelM]

B-rad go to mcmaster carr online you can get the washers a stainless close nipple and a couple stainless locknuts for next to nothing. Or if you want something like the setups you see in the brew stores you will need

1 stainless coupling 1/2 inch
1 stainless close nipple 1/2 inch
2 stainless washers 5/8 inch inner hole would prolly work
1 brass locknut 1/2 inch
and a ballvalve
and a couple high temp gaskets(washers)

alltogether your looking at something like 9 bucks before the ballvalve and you can prolly get the ballvalve cheaper at lowes or HD unless you have to have stainless lol it struck me that mcmaster was alittle pricey on the ballvalves


And about homedepot and the washers... Yea I was kinda miffed about not finding any washers that where big enough at home depot... I wanted one to put on the outside of the mashtun where the fitting is as its not a very meaty fitting to help with the clampingforce... All I could find was 1/2 inch ones but that doesnt fit over a half inch male threaded fitting :( think I may run to lowes and see what they have when I pick up my CPVC 90 today

[B_rad1969]

I found 3/4in. but they were zinc. I didn't think those would work.

[BrewDog]

Originally posted by MichaelM
Brewdog thats some really good advice!!!!! that should be stickied somewhere for newbie AGr's!

I should have mentioned that technique comes from Ray Daniels' book. It and Greg Noonan's book are the 2 that I think every AG brewer should own.