I'm thinking about selling my electric BIAB setup, and changing to a larger, simpler system.
Background: I brew in my garage, which is on the opposite end of the condo from the kitchen. This inevitably makes for numerous trips for little odds and ends throughout the brewday. All water collection and cleaning happens in the kitchen as well, as there is no running water in the garage. Plus, I do my own vehicle maintenance, so right now there's a constant battle between brewery needs and shop needs in the garage.
I've been brewing extract lately, and to me it's just not as fun as all grain. Mashing is probably my favorite part of homebrewing, relying on extract has made me brew less often.
By not being tied to a 240V circuit, I hope to move my brewing to our front patio, which is much closer to the kitchen. This also places me in an area of the building where I may be able to wash some of my gear outside. The downside of brewing there is there is no electricity, to even run a pump I'd have to run an extension cord from the garage.
The requirements for any upgrade would be:
1. Ability to do 10-gallon batches
2. No moving pots of near-boiling liquids. While I can lift heavy pots, in my mind moving heavy pots that are close to boiling is one of the greatest risks in homebrewing. 150oish mash water doesn't trouble me as much, near boiling liquids do.
3. Affordable-In hindsight, I spent way more than I needed to on my first system. It works, and I know some folks want that type of precision. Honestly, at some point down the road I may go back to an electric system, but that will be many years from now. Also, affordable systems are also more flexible, so I'd be better able to change things out as I find ways to improve the system.
4. Simple setup: I want to minimize any assembly required each brew day.
So here's where I need help. I'm pretty much set on Denny's cooler batch sparge setup for my mash tun. Relying on gravity to move liquid as much as possible is going to mean some sort of brewing sculpture. I'm not sure I can fit something like the Blichmann Top Tier in my garage without taking it apart each time. Any other simple sculptures out there? The patio is two steps up from the garage level, so any sculptures would need to be fairly easy to move up them.
Between work and school I'm not able to brew as often as I'd like, so doing ten gallon batches would help me have homebrew available more of the time.
Also, does anyone else have tips for AG brewing in a home where space is at a premium? Am I nuts to consider selling my current system, should I just stop griping and use what I have?