- Barry Masterson
- Equipment
- 20871
There are probably dozens of guides out there on the World Wide Web describing various ways to build a mash tun out of a cooler box and copper pipe. This is another one, but with as simple a combination of fittings as possible to build a cost effective mash tun as good as, if not better than, ones you might buy from a homebrew shop.
All of the pieces used here are readily available from most DIY stores. Have a look, use what you like, adapt what you don't, and above all, have fun making your own brewing equipment.
Read more: Building a Coolerbox Mashtun with a Copper Manifold
- Barry Masterson
- Equipment
- 23607
A wort chiller is probably one of the most useful pieces of equipment a home brewer can have, allowing you to quickly cool your wort to reduce the risk of oxidation, achieve a good cold break, and generally speed things up.
The simplest wort chiller design is the immersion chiller; a simple copper or stainless steel coil through which cold water is run while it is immersed in your wort, effectively carrying the heat away from the wort. Although a simple piece of kit, they can be expensive to buy ready-made, so it is definitely worth considering building your own. And to help you decide whether this is an option for you, here's a short illustrated guide to building your own chiller.
- Kev
- Equipment
- 12621
I’ve been needing a mash tun for some time now and after a long search through the mountains of junk I eventually found a long lost old ice box and decided to give it a go using what I could find around the house. I'm fairly useless at DIY etc so this proves that anyone can do it!
- freedgul
- Equipment
- 12465
Over Easter I decided to break out the brewing equipment and brew a pale ale. As usual getting my 25 litres up to boil was long and arduous... Never really making it to a decent rolling boil. I decided I needed to add some power. After a bit of googling I found a comment on an aussie forum where someone had taken apart an old kettle to add to their kettle. They also reckoned you needed at least 3000 watts to successfully sustain 25 litres at a good boil (The Electrim bin ships with a 2000 watt element.) As luck would have it I had an old functioning kettle to play with.