Current Rig

The current brew rig is a traditional three tier 5 gallon system.

The HLT was an old food grade bucket with an electric element.  The electric element was slightly underpowered and not stainless steel (hence subject to rust/corrosion).  The bucket eventually cracked around the inlet of the heating element rendering it useless.  There is not temperature control either the element is on or off.

The Mashtun is a round igloo cooler.  The drain plug was replaced with a ball valve and it has only a small singular manifold instead of a false bottom.  It holds temperature like a champ, but is otherwise devoid of any features.  The ball vale requires plastic tubing with an cramp fitting that is annoying to deal with.

The boil kettle is a no frills 10 gallon pot that sits on top of a propane turkey burner.  The lack of a bottom valve means I get to use some arm muscles transferring to primary.  The propane burner has a regulator, but is not automatically controlled.  The chiller is a home made copper coil that goes in before the boil ends for once-through cooling.  I have a pond pump for a ice bath but find simply hooking up to a hose is easier.

Brewing water is controlled by a dual outside faucet.  One side goes through sanitary hose to a trailer water filter used for brewing.  The other side goes through a standard hose for cleaning and chilling.