• $51 Stock Pot
  
• $50 Igloo 10 Gallon Cooler
  
• $16 Ball Valve and Bulkhead
  
• $30 Brew Bag
  
  

1. Heat water in the stock pot on your kitchen stove.
   
2. Dump water into the cooler mash tun.
   
3. Drop the bag in.
   
4. Dump the grains in and stir.
   
5. Wait an hour.
   
6. Drain through the valve into your kettle.
   
7. Add more hot water as it drains.
   
8. Lift the bag and let the grains drain.
   
9. Continue your brew as normal.
   
   I'm assuming you already have a kettle, burner, brew paddle, and thermometer. Also assuming you have good water. You will have to buy crushed grain until you get your own grain mill. The ball valve can be upgraded with a cam lock quick disconnect and tube. I like to mash on my kitchen counter, so I have to move the kettle outside for the boil and a platform dolly is a big help with that.

Mash tun cooler (this is probably cheaper at your local hardware store or wal mart) Also, this isn't the only cooler that works. Pretty much any plastic cooler works. But you'll need a different false bottom if you use a chest cooler, which may allow you to mash bigger batches.

Weldless Ball Valve Just take the plastic valve off the cooler and screw this one on. Will work on most any cooler you choose.

False bottom Put this at the bottom, connecting the silicon hose to the ball valve and the top of the false bottom.

3/8" barb You'll need to screw this onto the ball valve on the inside of the mash tun to connect the silicon hose to.

Honestly, if you've already got a kettle that can boil 6 gallons, you're good to go there, and just add this to the mix. Otherwise, pick up a Stainless Steel Brew Kettle.

This whole setup comes in just under $200 but you'll need some hoses and some hose clamps as well. But I'm sure that if you shop around (even on amazon) you might find better deals than I linked. But that's the gist of it. And there's no need to stick with the specific brands I linked. But just make sure to stick with stainless steel for the kettle, ball valve, and connecting accessories and food-grade plastic for the cooler. And any hoses need to be high temp hoses. Silicon is ideal.

This is by no means the "only" way to do it, but a great start down the road. You may also choose to use a pump. It has advantages and disadvantages. You can make great beer with and without one.

Stand by:

Ball Valve

False Bottom

10 gallon cooler

False Bottom - Valve adapter

Please shop around. I have no doubt you could get some of this stuff for cheaper. I was restricted in that my only form of currency was Amazon gift cards. Especially the adapter could be built / constructed for much cheaper than I paid.

Additionally, instead of the false bottom / adapter, one could simply employ a Bazooka Screen instead of a false bottom, I have just read that false bottoms are more effective and less prone to problems.


DISCLAIMER - Always do your own research and make sure the parts that you are buying are all compatible and properly sized, etc. etc.

Having said that, the parts I listed above are exactly what I ordered and all fit together perfectly, I just needed to go out and buy a female coupler (to attach the valve to the hose from the false bottom) and a washer (per the included instructions with the valve, which had a additional washer for my configuration).

I built one and it was pretty easy and not very expensive considering. Warning: The following instructions are probably dangerous. This is what I did, and it's to demonstrate how simple it was to make.

1. Get a 10 gallon pot with a steamer basket.
   
2. Drill one or two 1" holes across from each other with a hole saw in the bottom of the pot, depending on how many elements you're putting in. Put some scrap wood inside the pot while drilling for support. One hole if you're doing it for 220, two for if you only have 110.
   
3. Drill another hole for the bulkhead valve.
   
4. Attach your electric elements. If you have 220. If you have 110.
   
5. Assemble everything.
   
6. Wire up the heating elements with some heavy duty wire. I covered the whole element backside with j b weld so that it won't short out.
   
7. Put some GFCI plugs on there to be extra sure.
   
   It's maybe two hundred bucks and when combined with an inkbird it makes biab a breeze.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Stuff-SS-WV2-Stainless/dp/B00420WMUU

the shank might not be long enough for a cooler. measure before you buy

Having a hard time getting a perfect seal with my new 5 gallon Rubbermaid cooler. I've tried numerous o-rings and washers that always result in a drip every few seconds. This usually stops after I dump in the grain, but it's just really annoying. Using this ball valve setup

Any help with this one? Cheers!

Yes, cooler as a mash tun. My setup is:

Ball valve (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oFpqDb0236QSQ)

Coleman 48qt cooler
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coleman-48-Qt-Performance-Marine-Cooler-3000003702/206851499

Silicon tubing for transfer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079X3SCFV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UGpqDb43MYVWT

Custom Wilser Brew Bag
https://biabbags.webs.com/

I did not bother with insulating the lid of the cooler. I simply place a long piece of aluminum foil down onto the mash. Works perfectly.

I started with a 20 gallon Winware Aluminium kettle, a custom bag , ball valve, a clip on thermometer, and a couple of Aquatainers for no chill. I miss the simplicity of that setup.

Great. I was going to add a no weld ball valve to it as well.

edit: this one actually: http://www.amazon.com/Weldless-Bulkhead-Stainless-Steel-valve/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=22WSWWQDSQRRM&coliid=I193MJG09G8FHZ

If you look at the product you will see it is commonly bought with [this ball valve] (http://www.amazon.com/Weldless-Bulkhead-Stainless-Steel-valve/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_z). Just remove the old valve (it is nylon) and put this in its place. Then connect the screen inside.

Upgrade. You can drill an AL kettle using dish soap as lubricant like a hot knife through butter. Step bit was like $6 at my local hardware store -- not the best ever tool but I only need one use out of it. And then this serviceable bulkhead+ball valve+barb is less than $21: link. It goes on sale for cheaper from time to time if you watch homebrewfinds.com. Even if you upgrade, it's worth doing this one and using it as an HLT or something.

I've done a bunch of 1 gallon all-grain batches (and a few 5 gallon extract batches) and want to try my luck with 2.5 gallon all-grain. I bought a 5 gal cooler and a ball valve kit, but would kind of like to swap out the barb on the ball valve for cam lock fittings to make it easier to clean.

What cam lock fittings are best for this type of setup? I'm guessing the "D Style" from looking here but it's a complete guess.

Look in craigslist, Hit yard sales for the water cooler or Chest Cooler and a Stainless Steel Valve

We used a weldless valve for the boil kettle: 1/2" Stainless Steel Valve Weldless Buldhead and we used this video to make the counter flow chiller.

I did ice baths for a full year prior to making all this equipment. While I made great beer, I was tired of adding those extra hours to my brew day so I built this chiller. It's seriously amazing. I was able to empty 6 gallons of beer into my carboy and have it cooled to pitching temperature in about 10-15 minutes.

(And sorry for some of the potato quality or motion blur photos. I'm not a professional!)

My plumbing in the cooler sits pretty flush with the inner wall. Basically the only thing exposed on the inner wall is the nut.

So I finally put my mash tun together last weekend. I hit a few small snags that I should have seen ahead of time based on reviews of the spigot I bought!

Items

• $20 Spigot
  
• $3 Coupling
  
• $8 Bazooka Screen
  
• $45 Cooler
  
  Total Cost: $76
  
  Time to assemble: 15 minutes +- 5 minutes for testing the seal
  
  Main suggestion - get either a false bottom or one of the short bazooka screens. The long bazooka screen is a pain to work with -- it barely fits in the cooler. I also heard there are spigots you can buy that come with a female connector so you wouldn't have to buy the coupling.
  
  Take a close look at the instructions for the spigot - it spells out how to put it together correctly but the diagram was super confusing to me for some reason.
  
  My primary frustration was that none of my local hardware stores had the coupling so I had to get and wait for it from Amazon. Lame!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00420WMUU/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-10-Gal-Orange-Water-Cooler-FG1610HDORAN/202260809

http://www.northernbrewer.com/universal-false-bottom

exactly what I have, works perfectly

I ordered this one about a year ago and have used it probably about 20 times since then. I love this pot and plan on installing a weld-less ball valve on it this weekend. Like what kds1398 said, the main downside is the size if you don't have a valve because once you get 7.5 gallons of wort in it she can get heavy. The only other really minor negative I can think of is that a lot of gunk and stuff gets caught and hidden under the little lip near the top, you just have to be careful when cleaning it but it's really no big deal. I would definitely buy this pot again.

I would stay away from that starter kit. Not because its bad per se but its not worth 180 bucks. And I prefer plastic buckets over glass carboys. If you want you can convert a cooler to a mash tun but I would start with BIAB and you then can increase the complexity of your system as you see fit.


Here is my recommendation of equipment. I am function over form driven when selecting my gear. I find that these items serve their purpose at a reasonable price and are of good quality and unless you want to start doing 15 gallon batches they should serve you well.

Starter Kit

KAB4 Burner

44qt Pot with basket

Ball Valve for Kettle

Thermometer

Bag for BIAB

I picked up a WinWare aluminum boiling pot for $40 last year, drilled a hole in it (I think that the bit was $20) and installed a $20 valve. Since purchasing it, I've used the bit for two valves, a thermometer, and two sightglass installs.

Edit: The pot

The Bit

The valve

Holiday Deal Valve Alternative

You might be able to find better deals on Cyber Monday, though.


All you need is a drill gun and dish soap (the soap is a nice lubricant so you don't wear the bit down quickly)

You can look into stainless. Can't go wrong with 304 stainless. Also since this is all pre-boil sanitation is that big of a concern. Mine was stainless. Paid a little more but for the piece of mind it is nice.

I believe this is the one I got.
HomeBrewStuff 1/2" Stainless Steel Valve Weldless Bulkhead For Home Brew Kettle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_7yz6wbRPCZK53

That's actually a Bayou Classic, pretty cheap, nothing special.

Ball valve:

http://www.amazon.com/Weldless-Bulkhead-Stainless-Steel-valve/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330884675&sr=8-1

Themometer:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/weld-b-gone-thermothingy-2.html

with:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/1-4-npt-brewmometer-bi-metal-thermometer-w-adjustable-face-weldless.html

sight:
http://www.brewhardware.com/wlsightglass/49-weldless-sight-glass-kit

The key was 3-in-1 oil with a stepped drill bit.

I have the pot you referenced in the post and KAB4 burner that another poster recommended.

Pot is decent, but you can get better one. I've used it for a year so far, got a bit of a ding on a bottom, but it's ok. It's not super thick, but I guess it makes it lighter. What I would want in a pot is the markings for how much water is there. Another thing is having a valve there to drain the wort, built-in thermometer is nice too, i do BIAB though, so thermometer sticking out can potentially damage the brew bag. The valve you can buy yourself and drill a hole/install it - something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Stuff-SS-WV2-Stainless/dp/B00420WMUU/

The burner is good, I converted it to natural gas so I don't need to buy propane and worry about it running out in the middle of brewday.

The $40 is worth it to get a good silicone o-ring, washer, and SS parts, in my opinion. I got this one and I'm happy with it. I just don't think you'll save enough to make up for having inferior stuff.