On Mar 23, 6:58 am, "Walter Venables" <wvenab...@charter.net> wrote:[color=blue]
> I am looking at getting into all grain but I am confused about setup. What
> is the difference between the 3-pot/3-burner system and the systems using
> one pot and 2-coolers.[/color]

The difference is overkill. A system with 3 pots, 3 burners and a pump
might be easier to use than a simpler system, but maybe not. There's a
lot more complexity. Both will make the same quality beer.

I can't imagine why a 5 gallon system would require two coolers. Can
you elaborate on where you read about this?

My system consists of two kegs. I heat the mash water in the tun and
add the grain directly to it. Then I transfer (via gravity) to the
boil kettle. Since I have to place the burner stand on the floor, this
procedure involves two heavy lifts -- one lift to get the mash tun
above the boil kettle, and another lift after the boil, to get the
kettle above the fermenters to fill them.

Some people solve this problem with a pump. Some solve it by buying/
building a stand to keep the vessels in a tiered configuration so
gravity does all the work. If you build a tiered system remember that
you still have to empty the grain out of the mash tun at the end --
nothing saves you from having to do that.

Scott