Steptoes cheap and cheerful ag build stage 1, & now stage 2

[lord groan]

I've been longing to try AG for a while but funds do not permit spending much, so I'm trying to put together the basics for as little as possible. then I can try an AG brew or two before deciding if I want to carry on, and if I do - getting SWMBO to agree!
I'd be grateful for any advice or comments on what I'm doing
(I've never posted any pictures before so this is a first attempt)

HLT, an old tea urn I swiped from an office refurb at work a few years ago, I would have used it as a boiler but it's too small, it holds 20l so I can heat enough to start a mash, and while that's going, heat enough for the sparge. It is insulated, the lid too, and has a stat which I've set to 80c, it's even got a sight glass which I've marked off in litres.



Mash Tun - a mango chutney barrel with homemade tank connector made specifically to accept a 15mm pipe on the inside, siphon tube inserted and SS braid from flexible tap connector looped around to act as a filter. Then a stainless folding vegetable steamer flipped over and supported on a small stainless dome (which has slipped to one side in the picture) to protect the braid underneath from getting crushed. Is 2 filters OTT and unnecessarily complicated?



MT insulated box made from polystyrene boxes

Costs so far £8.25p
Am I going in the right direction so far?
Cheers

[crafty john]

Very inventive, it will make beer so go ahead and make some Welcome to the dark side

[Belter]

Very inventive, it will make GREAT beer so go ahead and make some Welcome to the dark side

[jaff]

+3

[Cazamodo]

Good luck! Looks good so far!
I wouldn't say two filters is OTT, at least you have peace of mind the braid wont collapse mid sparge.
How well does that box insulate the MT? Does it fit in snug or do you pack the cavity with something to help insulate it to?

[far9410]

+4
have you got a boiler sorted?

[lord groan]

Thanks for the encouragement!

cazamodo - the MT is a snug fit in the box, but of course its a round tub in a square box, I've cut 4 triangular cross section lengths of polystyrene to drop into the corners when I close it up and cut a disc that fits snug in the lid. Having trouble measuring temp drop, I've got a glass stick thermometer but that drops fast when I pull it out of the water. 3 times I've stuck 13 litres in the MT and taken the temp, always been called away at the 1.5 hr stage or it was dark and I couldn't read the thermometer quick enough! Still, I did get one temp check after 4.5 hours! it had dropped (water only mind you)from 75c to 60c so I reckon it should work out ok for a standard mash period.
Far9410 - yup the boiler build is underway, i've got a few more things to sort before I post pictures, and I'm doing a chiller coil too, that's going to end up as the costliest part of the build by the look of it. Still considering copper prices that's not too surprising, you can't scrounge free microbore anywhere sadly.
lg

[Deller12]

I've been longing to try AG for a while but funds do not permit spending much, so I'm trying to put together the basics for as little as possible. then I can try an AG brew or two before deciding if I want to carry on, and if I do - getting SWMBO to agree!
I'd be grateful for any advice or comments on what I'm doing
(I've never posted any pictures before so this is a first attempt)

HLT, an old tea urn I swiped from an office refurb at work a few years ago, I would have used it as a boiler but it's too small, it holds 20l so I can heat enough to start a mash, and while that's going, heat enough for the sparge. It is insulated, the lid too, and has a stat which I've set to 80c, it's even got a sight glass which I've marked off in litres.



Mash Tun - a mango chutney barrel with homemade tank connector made specifically to accept a 15mm pipe on the inside, siphon tube inserted and SS braid from flexible tap connector looped around to act as a filter. Then a stainless folding vegetable steamer flipped over and supported on a small stainless dome (which has slipped to one side in the picture) to protect the braid underneath from getting crushed. Is 2 filters OTT and unnecessarily complicated?



MT insulated box made from polystyrene boxes

Costs so far £8.25p
Am I going in the right direction so far?
Cheers

I'm sure that set up will turn out some lovely beer enjoy

[Hogarth]

You dirty old man!

[lord groan]

Ahh you've sussed me out Hogarth ! I was hoping you'd mistake the name and think it referred to everything being built from salvaged scrap

[akka lakka]

Nice one, To make nice beer from bits and bobs you have scrounged plus your ingenuity gives you a feeling all your hard word has paid off.

Cheers joe

[Martin G]

Some on here have talked about no chill, where they fill a jerry can hot from the boiler. It sounds like these can be stored for surprisingly long times.

Only mention in case it is a more 'salvageable' option than copper pipe that you'd not considered. Maybe you've already considered it, there was a long thread and discussion recently.

[lord groan]

Stage 2

The boiler!


Made from a beer-line cleaner bottle, I checked with the manufacturer all their bottles are HDPE, so food safe, concerns about HDPE softening were answered when I found the wall thickness is between 7-8mm, a full boil didn't soften it at all! The insulation is a bit of an experiment as you can see. I used a can of builders foam to make a fitted jacket. Not too sure about it really
Steptoes boiler cost? - free hdpe bottle (bless the builder at my local pub>tesco express conversion), element £3.00 from wallpaper stripper bought as scrap from local tip/recycling centre, it even included the proper 3kw rated kettle lead. Tank connector, homemade £3.80. Tap -free from my box of plumbing bits.
Hop filter – left over SS mesh tube from compression hose used in MT. False bottom £1.00, cobbled together from kitchen SS sink strainer/veg washer thing. Insulation – £5.99
Total £13.79 not bad!

The Immersion chiller


I couldn't get copper free anywhere, not at all surprising at the moment. In the end I went to a scrap metal recyclers and convinced them to sell me 2 left over part coils of tube one was 6mm x 7metres one 8mm x 4metres, the 8mm went on both ends of the 6mm and was silver soldered giving two 8m tails, the inner coil was wound around a 2l lemonade bottle (10cm dia) and the outer around a 15cm piece of pipe.
IC Cost: Microbore £4.50, end fittings £7.72
Total £12.22

I've built a stand to make the whole lot work as a gravity fed system, and done a trial run using water only. I rechecked the MT heat losses with the temp probe on my new multimeter (SWMBO is the best!) only 1c drop after 90 mins! Really chuffed with that.
Now I only have to buy some grain and hops - whoohoo!
lg

[Deller12]

Stage 2

The boiler!


Made from a beer-line cleaner bottle, I checked with the manufacturer all their bottles are HDPE, so food safe, concerns about HDPE softening were answered when I found the wall thickness is between 7-8mm, a full boil didn't soften it at all! The insulation is a bit of an experiment as you can see. I used a can of builders foam to make a fitted jacket. Not too sure about it really
Steptoes boiler cost? - free hdpe bottle (bless the builder at my local pub>tesco express conversion), element £3.00 from wallpaper stripper bought as scrap from local tip/recycling centre, it even included the proper 3kw rated kettle lead. Tank connector, homemade £3.80. Tap -free from my box of plumbing bits.
Hop filter – left over SS mesh tube from compression hose used in MT. False bottom £1.00, cobbled together from kitchen SS sink strainer/veg washer thing. Insulation – £5.99
Total £13.79 not bad!

The Immersion chiller


I couldn't get copper free anywhere, not at all surprising at the moment. In the end I went to a scrap metal recyclers and convinced them to sell me 2 left over part coils of tube one was 6mm x 7metres one 8mm x 4metres, the 8mm went on both ends of the 6mm and was silver soldered giving two 8m tails, the inner coil was wound around a 2l lemonade bottle (10cm dia) and the outer around a 15cm piece of pipe.
IC Cost: Microbore £4.50, end fittings £7.72
Total £12.22

I've built a stand to make the whole lot work as a gravity fed system, and done a trial run using water only. I rechecked the MT heat losses with the temp probe on my new multimeter (SWMBO is the best!) only 1c drop after 90 mins! Really chuffed with that.
Now I only have to buy some grain and hops - whoohoo!
lg

Nice work

[crafty john]

+2