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Equipment or Toys?

Northern Brewer General
#1

So of all the homebrew equipment you have, which items did you get more because they’re cool than because you thought they would improve your process?

I made my own fermentation temp controller. I probably spent triple what I could have bought one for, since I fried not one but two raspberry pi’s interfacing the relays. Probably should have bought one.

Then there’s the stir plate which is probably more cool than actually necessary.

The first toy purchase was the O2 welding tank regular, and diffusion stone, but that was actually the wife’s idea…

So what equipment did you get because it was a cool toy?

#2

I just bought a propane lighter. It fits on the end of a small hand held propane cartridge, like the ones used in small cook stoves for camping.

I tired of burning the hair from my knuckles as I used a candle lighter to light one of my 170,000 BTU burners.

Equipment, not a toy.

#3

[quote=“JMcK”]So of all the homebrew equipment you have, which items did you get more because they’re cool than because you thought they would improve your process?

I made my own fermentation temp controller.[/quote]
Same here, and same comment. Probably would have been cheaper (and a lot less time) to just buy one, but the one I made has the cool factor.

Have to say there is a bunch of equipment that I bought thinking they would improve my process, and in the end they didn’t. Have a bag full of pipe and tube connectors I don’t use, plus a false bottom for my kettle. But waste of money is different than toys.

#4

[quote=“JMcK”]So of all the homebrew equipment you have, which items did you get more because they’re cool than because you thought they would improve your process?
So what equipment did you get because it was a cool toy?[/quote]That’s a tough question as I build most of my equipment. Everything I made did improve my process. I guess the coolest toy I have is my fermentation/beer cellar room aka Bierkellar. Not only does it keep up to 700 bottles chilled, it also maintains a very good temperature to ferment up to 6 of my 15 gallon fermenters. More pictures here.
http://www.mullerbrau.com/Bierkeller.html

#5

Oh the Bierkellar is awesome. I’ve been wanting to build a fermentation chamber in my garage, but now you’ve got me thinking about where I could put one indoors. Did you turn a spare closet into the chamber? What do you use to chill it?

#6

[quote=“BrandonReinhart”]Oh the Bierkellar is awesome. I’ve been wanting to build a fermentation chamber in my garage, but now you’ve got me thinking about where I could put one indoors. Did you turn a spare closet into the chamber? What do you use to chill it?[/quote]Yes, it was a spare closet in my basement. It holds 40-60 degrees depending upon the season. No electricity needed as it is cooled by the concrete walls. I have a whole page devoted to it here →
http://www.mullerbrau.com/Bierkeller.html

#7

Muller, i just shed a tear…

My brew toy is my single tier that I’m in the process of building. Yes i could have simply gone with a cooler, but i wanted a project too.

#8

When I grow up, I want a Bierkellar like Greg’s. If I didn’t live so far away, I would pay good toy money
to take a tour!

#9

I built a hop spider…never use it anymore so I guess I’m lucky it was cheap.

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