I have successfully brewed several batches with this setup before building my recirculating BIAB rig.
Here's what I was using as a Single Vessel Electric MLT/Brewkettle (that's the technical term!):
It's a 1650watt 30qt (7.5 gallon) electric turkey fryer, currently priced at about $85 on Amazon. I was fortunate to find one from Amazon Warehouse Deals for $64.
To complete my setup, I purchased a 22.5" Weber Grill Grate from Lowes, a roll of Reflectix foil insulation, aluminum tape, as well as some 5-gallon paint strainer bags. Total cost: less than $100.
I also replaced the 2-ft cord that came with the fryer with a 10-foot heavy-duty 14-gauge server extension cord I had laying around. DO NOT USE AN EXTENSION CORD LESS THAN 14-GAUGE!!!
I get 70-75% efficiency with my process, I can use up to 14 pounds of grain (max that fits in the basket), and brew up to 1.070 OG 5-gallon batches without adding DME.
Let me do a rundown of the entire process:
1. I use a folding table to set the fryer on, as I personally find it too high and uncomfortable on the counter:
2. I fill the fryer to the top of the basket with hot tap water (about 120F) - you can use cold water, but this will add 30-40 min to the process. I'm impatient! Incidentally, this is exactly 5 gallons.
3. I take the basket out, set the thermostat to max, cover the pot, and let it come to strike temperature (not quite there in the photo). The holes in the lid are perfect for a thermometer.
4. While the water comes to temp (takes about 20 min), I crush my grains:
5. I line the basket with a 5-gallon paint strainer bag:
6. And fill it with crushed grain:
7. Once the water is at strike temp, I turn the fryer off. I slowly lower the basket with the grain into the water. I like to pull the top of the bag up and hold it closed so that the grain stays in there. I then swoosh the basket around a bit, just to make sure the water has permeated the grain, and use a large stainless spoon (not pictured) to mix my mash really well for a few minutes. I then cover the pot, put the thermometer in, and leave it be for 60 minutes. Normally, it will hold the temp perfectly without the need to turn the fryer back on at all.
8. While my mash is going, I heat up 2.5 gallons of water in a separate pot to 165F (to minimize tannin extraction).
9. When the mash is done, I slowly pull the basket with grain up, and slide the Weber grate underneath:
10. As it's draining into the pot, I turn the fryer back on, and use preheated water from the other pot and my high-tech sparging device to rinse the grains and get my boil volume to about 6-6.5 gallons:
11. I sparge until I fill the pot to about 1.5" from the top and add a few drops of Fermcap-S to prevent boil-overs. I put the lid back on and wait...It takes about 20-30 minutes to start boiling - once it starts, I take the lid off. Here's the hot break:
12. I do 90 minute boils for all my batches to minimize DMS and sufficiently concentrate the wort. I'm not detailing the hop additions here as they vary by recipe. I bag my hops to have less kettle trub. 20 min before the end of boil, I put the immersion chiller in the pot, and set up my pump. Since I can't connect a hose to my kitchen faucet, I use a 320 gph fountain pump submerged in my sink with the faucet running:
13. After the boil is over, I turn the pump on, letting the discharge run into the drain. Once the temperature drops to 100F, I add a bunch of ice to the sink, and start recirculating water through it - this gets the wort down to mid-70s in 15-20 minutes total:
14. Time to siphon! The yeast is rehydrated and ready to pitch! The batch size is perfect for filling a 5-gallon Lowes bucket to about 4.5 gallons. This leaves plenty of gunk in the pot.
15. Blast the yeasties with some O2, and we're almost done!
16. Time to clean up! The inner pot comes out for cleaning - I put the heating element back in, and fill the whole thing with hot tap water and let soak for a couple minutes - all gunk just wipes off with a paper towel! The spout is great for draining the water into the sink. You can see the layer of Refectix insulation I put around the pot:
That's all, folks! About 5.5 hours start to finish with a 60 minute mash and a 90 minute boil.
If anyone is looking for a way to brew 5-gallon all-grain batches indoors, or just doesn't want to deal with propane, this is definitely a pretty simple option!
