[rightasrain]

I'm thinking of moving to all grain soon.

I was thinking a 100qt pot, 70qt cooler, and a propane burner. If I have everything to do extract brewing is that all I need to buy? I would like to be able to do 10 gallon batches. Excluding the parts to convert the cooler of course. Is a lid for the pot important?

Here is what I found in case it helps.

Mash Tun
http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_247729_-1?Ntt=coleman+xtreme&Ntk=All  39.99

Propane burner
http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_27741_-1?N=77985508 29.99

Pot
http://www.instawares.com/win-ware-100qt-aluminum-stock-pot.alst-100.0.7.htm 74.97

[dhacker]

Those, plus the parts and fittings to make a manifold for the tun and a drain for the brew kettle , , ,

[dannyjed]

I don't use a lid.  You can also check out Denny's site to see how to use a SS braid for your cooler.  This is what I use and I have never had a stuck run off.

[tomsawyer]

A lid isn't essential but it does come in handy at times.

Is your chiller going to be adequate for the larger volume?

Also, you'll probably need a hot liquor tank, just a cooler or something to hold the preheated sparge water since you'll be lautering into your pot.

And I would start saving for a March pump to save your back.

Have fun, AG adds a nice dimension to the brewing hobby.

[bluesman]

Assuming your going with a gravity fed system, you may want to consider a tiered sytem unless you incorporate a pump. In the case of pumping, you can utilize a single tier system.

There are several options and you may want to consider any potential upgrades into your current plan. I've used a three tier gravity fed system and I now have a single tier system with two pumps that works well.

You can get started with a converted cooler, kettle and burner.

[nateo]

I'd also recommend a pump for 10gal batches.

I have the KAB4 which is 210,000 BTUs and I wish it had a bit more oomph for 10gal batches. I'm not sure the burner you have picked out would work. I brew outside and it's usually fairly windy. I built a little windscreen around the burner which helps.

A pot with a spigot is really nice, too. I'd buy one with a hole predrilled, or be prepared to drill your own. I got a 100qt pot with a little spigot. I just replaced the little spigot with a bulkhead fitting from bargainfittings.com. I had to ream the hole out a bit to get it to fit.

[richardt]

I use two coolers (one 10 gallon round for HLT, the other 20.5 gallon rectangular for MLT).  Both have SS spigots attached.  The MLT has a bazooka braid, as well.  Look up Denny's website for a good reference if you haven't already seen it.

SS brewpot with a tri-clad bottom is more expensive but you can find some reasonably priced ones at instawares.com.
I got the 20 gallon SS pot w/ lid for under 200 bucks.  Use a cheap step drill bit to make your hole in the SS pot and attach a weldless bulkhead and spigot.  There's a thread that talks about all that on this forum.

I do recommend the lid to keep the airborne particles from falling into the wort while chilling/whirlpooling.

I use a 2 qt plastic scoop as my vorlauf / grant container.  I also use a smaller 5.5 gallon SS pot (from Walmart) as my collecting and transfer vessel during lautering/sparging.  No pump is needed and everything stays on one tier (patio table).  I shut off the spigot and transfer after collecting 3-4 gallons at a time (no strain).

Make your own 50 ft immersion chiller--look at hamiltont's IC pic for a sweet-looking one that's easy to build and would work for any batch size.

[nateo]

Here'd be my pick if I were buying a new kettle. Kinda pricey, but ready to go out of the box.
http://brewhemoth.com/penrose-kettle

[rightasrain]

Thanks guys. Its getting out of my price range. I really don't want to buy equipment until I can afford to buy what I want rather than waste money just upgrading later. Maybe when I get done with school I'll have more cashflow. But I do know exactly what I need now.

[tygo]

Thanks guys. Its getting out of my price range. I really don't want to buy equipment until I can afford to buy what I want rather than waste money just upgrading later. Maybe when I get done with school I'll have more cashflow. But I do know exactly what I need now.

You don't want to jump right in with a Blichmann Top Tier stand and conical fermenter? 

In addition to the items you listed in the OP an immersion chiller should be all that you need to get started if you don't already have one.

[morticaixavier]

You also don't NEED a 100 quart kettle. a keggle is only 15 gallons. I use a 50 litre kettle to great effect for up to 10 gallons. (Granted at 10 gallons I have to keep a pretty sharp eye on it to prevent boil overs) and IC is a must I think but one can be made from a 50 foot coil of copper (buy a box of it and it is pre coiled) and a couple compression fittings. I think all said (not counting the kettle which was a) a gift and b) more expensive than I would have picked for myself but I love it) was under $100.00. 70 quart coleman extreme, bit of plastic tube, stainless braid hose, hacksaw to remove the braid from the hose. copper piping and compression fittings. I think I even got a couple lengths of hose for the end of the chiller.

[richardt]

My $0.02:  Use a cooler (rather than a keggle) for a mash tun.  Single infusion mashing is easy, if doing AG. 
Plus, every real man should have a cooler, anyway!  Just swap out the spigots (or just run a hose through the plastic outlet like some do--see denny's website for an example).  It'll reduce your cost and space issues.

[dhacker]

The Coleman Extreme makes a great MT . . stick with that and you will be fine.

And whatever you do, never, never ever give in to any temptation to buy a red cooler for your mash tun.

Real home brewers only use blue . . . 

[rightasrain]

You also don't NEED a 100 quart kettle. a keggle is only 15 gallons. I use a 50 litre kettle to great effect for up to 10 gallons. (Granted at 10 gallons I have to keep a pretty sharp eye on it to prevent boil overs) and IC is a must I think but one can be made from a 50 foot coil of copper (buy a box of it and it is pre coiled) and a couple compression fittings. I think all said (not counting the kettle which was a) a gift and b) more expensive than I would have picked for myself but I love it) was under $100.00. 70 quart coleman extreme, bit of plastic tube, stainless braid hose, hacksaw to remove the braid from the hose. copper piping and compression fittings. I think I even got a couple lengths of hose for the end of the chiller.

Well Kegs are illegal in my state so technically I could get fined for having a keggle. In all honesty I know a brewer that uses one and I doubt I would ever get in trouble. I do live next to a jerk police officer though. Of course I would have to go out of state and get it myself as it's probably illegal to ship them too. I have heard 15 gal are just barely enough for a 10 gal batch considering the amount of water that gets boiled off. Plus that 100 qt is only $10 more than the 80 qt., so thats why I picked that pot. Keggle's would be a great option if I wasn't at risk of fine though. Also after talking with my more experienced brew friend he mentioned that the price of propane on an efficient burner can  easily pay for itself when you consider the extra propane you have to burn on an inefficient burner. So just as nateo suggested I'm going with a better burner. I was recommended the blichmann burner. I think they only make one style of burner. http://www.homebrewing.org/Blichmann-Top-Tier-Burner--Floor-Standing-includes-regulator_p_1384.html. So I might just wait or I might just buy this setup piece by piece when I can afford it.

[nateo]

I haven't really thought about propane efficiency. On my KAB4 I'll use about 7lbs of propane per 10gal batch, maybe 4-5lbs for a 5gal batch. Propane here would be $0.80/lb if I had to pay for it, so that can add up.