BeerBorg

Some things are obvious, like my LBK's for example. But we all have equipment that the new brewer might not have thought of yet.

I use a digital thermometer that is meant to be stuck to a window. It records high and low temps every 24 hours. This is handy because you may check temps regularly and see temps in a 2 degree range, but with this thing you discover that the temp swing is more like 5-6 degrees.

Anybody else have something they were able to improvise and use?

Screwy Brewer uses a dial thermometer that probes into the lid of the LBK, and debated doing the modification to my LBKs, but I'm not having any issues w/ fermentation temps in the brew fridge since I have the controller.

I did the dial therm. in the LBK lid on all my LBKs, works great. Prob is, I'm so damn pissed at MrB for that phuq up of the forum I may never use them again. I'm seriously thinking of using them as flower pots, bout all they are worth to me now unless the pull their head out of their ass.... LOL

I plan on getting a new kettle, I keep saying it, I want a new 15 gallon one for my all grain brewing. The one I have comes close to boiling over on most batches.

(sorry for the small rant, I am sooo pissed at them at the moment)

we all are!!!

The last expensive piece of equipment I got was my Thermapen. http://www.thermoworks.com/products/the ... 7Aod-WkAqg
Expensive as hell but the most accurate thermometer in the cooking world. The wife uses it in the kitchen too.

How do link to a word or phrase in this forum? The URL code doesn't seem to work for me.

I use reptile heat pads in a soft sided cooler in the colder months to keeps temps stable.

I've posted this elsewhere, but new forum and all: I use steel pots as fermenters. MrBeer was great to start, but I find the LBK fragile hard to clean. I retired my last one last night after owning three in six and suffering damage or infection to all of them. Now I use 12 quart stainless or enamel pots from Walmart. SS are $9, enamel $14. No airlock, the lid works just fine. They are sturdy, very easy to clean, you can boil them if needed. The only problem so far was a krausen overflow once. I haven't even tried to think of a way to rig a blow-off. Two pots fit side by side in my 52qt cooler, providing easy temp control. I can brew 2-2.5g batches, or two 2.5s for a five gallon recipe. I'm liking it.

I always hated my LBKs when it came to cleaning time. They are dark and have a lot of hidden areas. White buckets were a real heaven send for me. I can easily see into them and all the surfaces are nice and flat and easy to clean. If a person wants to stay with small batches I highly recommend 5 gallon food grade buckets from lowes, drill a hole in the lid for a grommet for your airlock/blowoff tube. If you want the spigot drill a 1" hole and buy one of these

I might add that the cost of doing this is about the same as the cost of an LBK. But it is far superior. It is much easier to clean and if you accidentally put your wort in it too hot it won't warp. You can also measure out levels and mark the outside with a sharpie to know exactly how much wort you are putting in it.

I use a wallpaper tray to sanitize long items (tubing, racking cane, etc.) Best $5 I spent on equipment!

russki wrote:I use a wallpaper tray to sanitize long items (tubing, racking cane, etc.) Best $5 I spent on equipment!

Thanks Russki! My parents gave me all their home improvement stuffs when they moved which included that. Seeing as I have spent the last year ripping down wallpaper (SWMBO hates wallpaper) while redoing the house, I realize I will never use it for paper and now have a use for it. One of those "D'oh" moments as it is sitting right in front of my brew supplies closet and I dang near trip on it every time I open the door.

Now THAT is a brilliant idea!!

When thinking of buying equipment, take some time to consider where do you think this hobby is headed? Some people, myself included, buy equipment without thinking down the road. I bought a 5 gal pot, then an 8. When I bought the 8, I knew I wasn't going any bigger. Sure, I have to watch the initial boil, and when adding hops, but have learned what to look for, and how to add to prevent boil overs.
I guess what I'm saying is, don't buy the equipment twice if you can avoid it.

I've been wanting a thermapen for years for cooking/smoking. Now, Maybe I can justify it when I add brewing to the mix...

Yes I do the wallpaper tray thing too. It works great and fits along the back of the countertop, so there is always a handy sanitized place to put something down, and all the long things, spoons, bottle wand, hydrometer, etc all fit in there. I really like how cheap it is and how much it helps bottling, and brewing.

The other non-standard thing I use is sugar cubes (domino dots) for bottle priming. Each one is 1/2 tsp and no muss no fuss.

I use a grapefruit knife to measure out yeast nutrients. It is like 2 blades connected in a V lengthwise, so I can use the pointy end to get small amounts of stuff out. Like measuring grams of powders etc.

I use a small 1 liter electric kettle to make hot water for rehydrating yeast. I have a small glass and a 1/2 cup measuring cups that fits perfectly over the glass to cover the yeast + water while it hydrates up.

I have these cool measuring cups that work great for honey. They are a clear plastic tube, with a middle plunger piece that fits perfectly in the tube. The tube is marked with graduations. I think this is a pampered chef thing, and the idea is that one measuring cup can be used to measure out different amounts. Move the middle down and it goes from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup etc. Well with honey I pull it all the way out to the size I want to add, usually 2 cups, fill it with honey, and then just push the plunger middle up and it gets ALL the honey out instantly. I think it is cool anyway, and makes short work of dumping the honey (or any other sticky stuff, like LME, molasses, etc) without having to grab a spoon to scoop out the sides and bottom.

Monty

A 24" stainless steel ruler that i use to measure pre-boil volume and post boil volume.

I've measured the level every 4 quarts in all three of my kettles and recorded the measurements on my computer in my brewing folder! Makes it quick and easy on brew day!