[Joe EOMFD]

hey everyone,

so, I'm new to home brewing and want to start out with an all grain set up first. the way I see it, extract brewing isn't involved enough and if I'm going to get into this whole thing i want to do it right. my question is; is their a cheap way of doing an all electric, gravity fed system? and if so does anyone have plans? I would also like some recommendations on some temperature controllers, ball valves, and such. any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks and CHEERS!

[JT]

www.theelectricbrewery.com
That should be involved enough for you!  It ain't cheap though! 
Blichmann Engineering sells a BoilCoil and electric Tower of Power that can replace some of the DIY equipment on that site. 

[klickitat jim]

Google denybrew cheap and easy. All the skinny you need to make the best beer with the least effort and most fun.

[JT]

Google denybrew cheap and easy. All the skinny you need to make the best beer with the least effort and most fun.

To be fair, I still use Denny's method, electric is just my method of heating.  For some, brewing outside isn't a good option. 

[tommymorris]

For the electric part you can build a heatstick. It may take two (on separate circuits from your breaker box) to heat a full boil. http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

[reverseapachemaster]

I don't know how cheap any electric system is unless you are using an electric stove and part of that gravity system is you hoisting stuff up. There are plans out there for heatsticks but personally I would not mess around with those unless you understand enough about electrical engineering to avoid blowing circuits in your house or starting a fire. You may also not have enough circuits available in one place to run enough heatsticks or other heating elements without having to do some rewiring in your home. I know some people are using countertop induction burners but I don't know how big of a batch you can do on those.

Personally I wouldn't start dropping a pile of cash on an electric brewery or rewiring your house until you have brewed some beer and made sure this is a hobby you want to get into. Most of us fall into the obsession but there are people who brew a few batches and decide it's easier to just go to the store and buy beer.

[S. cerevisiae]

Electric brewing and cheap are mutually exclusive.  The cheapest legal way to all-grain brewing involves an aluminum kettle, a cooler, and a low-cost propane stove.

With that said, I have seen a lot of people blow a ton of money on this hobby only to discover that technique, not technology makes good beer.  An experienced brewer can make better beer from extract than a beginning brewer can make from all-grain.

[morticaixavier]

Electric brewing and cheap are mutually exclusive.  The cheapest legal way to all-grain brewing involves an aluminum kettle, a cooler, and a low-cost propane stove.

With that said, I have seen a lot of people blow a ton of money on this hobby only to discover that technique, not technology makes good beer.  An experienced brewer can make better beer from extract than a beginning brewer can make from all-grain.

what's the cheaper but illiegal way?

[erockrph]

Electric brewing and cheap are mutually exclusive.  The cheapest legal way to all-grain brewing involves an aluminum kettle, a cooler, and a low-cost propane stove.

With that said, I have seen a lot of people blow a ton of money on this hobby only to discover that technique, not technology makes good beer.  An experienced brewer can make better beer from extract than a beginning brewer can make from all-grain.

what's the cheaper but illiegal way?

[S. cerevisiae]

what's the cheaper but illiegal way?

A stolen, I mean rented keg can be cheaper than an aluminum kettle.  I am still amazed at how many amateur brewers do not know that converting a keg on which a good faith deposit has been made is a crime punishable by a fine and/or jail time.

[Stevie]

I think they figure with the deposit, they own it. It works that way with co2 and propane. Mine is legal, it was decommissioned.

[S. cerevisiae]

I think they figure with the deposit, they own it. It works that way with co2 and propane.

I do now how propane and CO2 sales are conducted in Texas; however, in Maryland, the supplier remains the owner of a rented CO2 or propane tank, even buried propane tanks.   Now, one owns a swapped tank if one owned the tank that was swapped out.

Mine is legal, it was decommissioned.

Is it an AB sanke keg? 

[Stevie]

Mine is new castle I believe. Bought from a former club prez who purchased them from a distributor. Couplers were banged up so they were scrap or keggles. Cost was more than a $50 deposit.

Pretty sure I bought my co2 and propane tanks when I got them new. I am free to swap where ever I please. If I left a deposit on my propane tanks, I wouldn't have to sell them on my own when I move in the next year. I wish I could get my money back, now I have to settle for $15 on Craigslist or give them to a buddy that I know will appreciate them.

I don't think Airgas rents their tanks, at least not the locations I've used, if they did they would stamp something on them. Maybe they would buy my co2 tanks, but I'll just dump the gas and bring them with empty. sure as hell won't do that with propane.

Massive tanks for homes and co2 in the beverage industry maintained by a supplier, maybe your right.

Edit - forgot to mention that my old roommate bought a keg at a garage sale owned by our local brewery. He gave it to me to use as a keggle. I returned it and got a few 22's for him in return. I'm not a thief.

[tommymorris]

Edit - forgot to mention that my old roommate bought a keg at a garage sale owned by our local brewery. He gave it to me to use as a keggle. I returned it and got a few 22's for him in return. I'm not a thief.

Nice work there.

[S. cerevisiae]

Massive tanks for homes and co2 in the beverage industry maintained by a supplier, maybe your right.

The general contractor with whom we contracted to build our house had a propane supplier install a buried large-capacity rented propane tank.  We did not know that the tank was rented until we went propane shopping. The supplier who owned the tank was attempting to charge us three times the going rate for each gallon of propane, and no other bulk propane supplier would fill it without proof of ownership.   We kindly informed the propane supplier that we did not negotiate the deal and that we owned the land and held the note that was used to finance the construction of our home; therefore, the contractor did not have the authority to negotiate the deal.   We told the supplier that they could sell the tank to us for cost or dig it out of the ground.  They sold tank for cost because the removal cost was significantly higher than the profit that would have been made on the tank.   We later discovered that the contractor was set to get a percentage of each fill.