Brew sizes & best volume equipment

[EarwaxUK]

Sorry if this is a question that's been asked before but I've not been able to find an answer to this question elsewhere...

First off, I've not brewed for a long time and have no equipment so I'm looking at buying all new kit. I'm used to brewing with 30L FVs and equipment of that size. I want to be able to brew on the 30L scale so I'd like, but I also want to be able to fiddle with recipes and try things on a smaller scale (say 5L or 10L) and I'm wondering if it's possible to brew a variety of batch sizes using a single set of equipment.

For example, If I was using something like the equipment in the AG kit from THBS but I wanted to brew 5L or 10L, could I just reduce the volumes, use the same boiler and mash tun but ferment in a smaller, appropriately sized, FV?
I guess the dead space in the mash tun could be a problem but that could be easily solved by going down the BIAB route.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Speccy]

Not tried it myself, but as no one else has answered, I'd guess that trying to do a 5 litre brew in that boiler you'd lose so much as steam that it would be very difficult to calculate your pre-boil volume accurately, and also you'd be having to sparge like billy-o to produce enough wort to start off with so your pHs and things would be all over the place. An interesting challenge, but I'd be inclined to save this kit for bigger volumes and use stove-top BIAB for those smaller experimental brews.

 

[GHW]

I'd get a 30L set up and a separate 10-12L pot to do your 5L batches on your cooker. My electric cooker is rubbish but it managed to boil 8L or so wort eventually.

 

[wfr42]

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779

The above (if you havent seen it) details a simple stove top method using just a large stock pot (I did my first 2 AG efforts in a 15litre pan from amazon and fermented in a couple of demijohns). I think it's mentioned in the thread that there's no you couldn't use a standard fv for a small batch.

Small stove top brews might be easier to judge volume lost to boil off and have less dead space.

 

[Leon103]

If you decide to buy a kit similar to the one in your link check out the homebrew company same kit for a lot cheaper

 

[EarwaxUK]

Thanks for your replies everyone and sorry I've not been here to reply - I've been crazy busy with work who sent me to Ghent for a week and I returned home to find my wife (who's pregnant) had started nesting and had upended the entire house!

The more I look into this, the more difficult it seems to be able to have a one size fits all solution. Looks like it'll have to be separate brewing equipment...
And thanks for info about HBC - I'll have a look!