The real miraculous thing about this stuff is that it sticks to simply everything. I needed something that would fill the tiny gaps in my plastic cooler (around the fittings). But I also needed something for the outside of my stainless steel kettle. And if I used it on my kettle - it needs to be able to withstand a boiling temperature (212+F). NO PROBLEM.

Initially I thought that I would do a one hour test, as that is about as long I need for my water and wort "not to leak". But after a few hours, I thought - why not let it sit overnight? And now it's been about three days and it's time to drain them. And I am pleased to say that I haven't leaked a single drop.

So to all of you home brewers out there - if you have a leak. Spend the extra $7 and get a little tube of this stuff. I expect that I will have to replace it over time or at least reapply it. But as of now, I am quite impressed. I even cracked it loose turning my ball valves and it's held it's form perfectly.

Onto the next stage!

Building the box was expensive, and time consuming. But buying a product like this commercially could cost thousands of dollars. I went the route of ordering most of my parts from China, and some of my parts from eBay. For instance, the box itself is a Siemens brand cabinet rated for high voltage electronics. New, it retails around $600. I bought mine new in the box on eBay for $42! But the temperature controllers for the Mash and Hot Liquor Tank were around $30 each. I was able to get a generic model from China that included three other parts for around $25. The savings really added up!

We also needed a couple of large vessels. That is, a hot liquor tank, a mash tun, and a boil kettle. One day I would like to own three nice matching stainless steel tanks. But that's an expensive investment, and so I went looking for less expensive options. That's when I found that there are stainless steel tanks everywhere. You just have to know where to look. Stainless cleans up and sanitizes very easily - so you don't need to be afraid of using used lab or medical equipment.

This tank can hold upwards of 35 gallons. You need some head space with a brew to avoid a boil over. But I can hit 25 gallons in this tank without any problems. We bought this from a couple out in the Cuyahoga area for a grand total of $100. It was not in the best shape (it has some dents and dings). But it's constructed from 304 stainless steel - and it doesn't leak. That's tough to beat!

Boiling this amount of water could be tough - so I actually added two electrical elements. One is a 5500 watt 220v element that is controlled by "the box". The second is a 2000 watt 110v element that is controlled by flipping a switch on the wall. Together - they can boil a lot of water, fast! How fast? We will have to see once we get at least 10 gallons to brew.

If you were keeping track, we only have ONE steel kettle. We still need two more. Finding another two large stainless vessels for $100 a piece might take a while. In the meantime - I bought coolers. Water will not boil in these. We just need large containers that can withhold temperatures up to 174 degrees or so. 

Brewing in a basement when you're 6 foot 4 is tough. Like most folks, I have ventilation and pipes of all sorts running everywhere. They tend to jump out and hit me in the head. In an effort to stop hitting my head on things, I thought I would keep count. Hence, "OUCH MY HEAD".

I still need valve, a chiller, and some temperature probes (thermocouples) to finish this monster. And did you notice that weird bag/net thing? We'll get to that one later!