Slow / Cheap Start?

[PureGuiness]

I really want to start AG brewing but can't buy all the kit in one go. I have a cool box but don't want to hack at it (I use it as a coolbox). I was wondering, if I bought a boiler could I mash in the coolbox and then tip into a sparge bag fitted to an FV before running off back into the boiler?

I know I could mash and sparge in the bag but I thought that the coolbox would be better for mashing as it is already insulated.

[Mitchamitri]

Chris X1 or adm are your man on this I think - am not the expert but theres no reason at all why you couldnt do it that way - I believe though you need to be gentle as the only time you should be adding much air is post boil / pre ferment. You could always make your hop strainer (e.g. copper pipe with slits in it) and rather than drill through the cool box just run a syphon tube off it. Cool boxes are £7 in Poundstretcher.......

[Drafty]

The most expensive bit of kit is the boiler. If you've got one of them sorted then you could either try an extract brew or sort out a mash tun (as you already suggested). If I were you I'd just give it a go with what you have, but another cheap alternative is to use the fermenter as the mash tun - follow the directions for the false-bottom mash tun and wrap it in a couple of camping mats. If you already have the bits and bobs for making the mash filter then that is really cheap. You only need a handful of parts, so if you don't have them see if you have a mate who does the odd bit of plumbing and swap some help for a beer or two. Again, I'd try with what you have before trying to jazz it up.

I'm sure there are more sophisticated approaches, but this brewing lark isn't all that complicated really. Give it a go and see how it turns out!

Matt

[vacant]

Just mash with a bag in the FV, don't worry about the cool box. Wrap a blanket or duvet round the FV and secure with rope if your don't want to spend any money. I use a single foam camping mat (around £3) which I cut up and stuck on with gaffer tape. Mostly only a single layer, though I had enough spare to make a double layer of insulation around the FV from the base to top of mash.

[adm]

If you can afford to buy or make a boiler, then I think a simple answer is to just adapt the coolbox with a mash manifold. You can still use it as a coolbox afterwards - it doesn't become exclusively a mash tun!

You'll need a few feet of copper pipe, some elbow and T fittings, a tank connector and a tap, but that's about it. Search on here for coolbox mash tuns or similar - there's been lots of folk have made them and you'll find plenty of nice pictures of how to build a copper manifold ad how to fit a tap to the FV.

Once you're done mashing, just pop the manifold out and you're back to just having a coolbox again! The only difference is it will have a tap on it - which is useful anyway.

[Eric]

The way you propose is the way I do it and it works. You can manage without the coolbox but I also use it to keep the last batch batch of sparge water hot to free the boiler to catch the wort and get the boil more quickly. At £7 from ASDA for a 24 litre box I find it good value.
One bit of expenditure I would advise is to replace the grain bag with DaaB's False Bottom, you'll find it if you click on the "EQUIPMENT" section at the top right of all pages of this site. Four plates can be bought for a pound at ASDA although you can find better for a little more and combined with the fittings the cost is little more cost than a bag. It takes just a few hours to build and somewhere on this site, Jim has a shown how he built his. Mine has a copper pipe and olive with the nut from a compression fitting push fit into the back of the tap. Easier to fit and clean as well as a near perfect filter.

Good luck.

[PureGuiness]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll have a think about what to do.

I'm not that handy or accurate with drilling or plumbing so I was going to buy all the kit (apart from possibly the IC which I think I could manage myself). I think I'll get the boiler first (it's a bit difficult to do anything without this), and buy the mash tun later on.