20l tea urn for biab?

[pms67]

Hi guys,ive been offered a 3kw 20l tea urn,can anyone tell me if i could use this for small biab batches and if so what volume could i expect to achieve, obviously the grains will take up a lot of room so not sure.
Any help welcome.
Cheers

 

[pms67]

Anyone? Please

 

[BeerCat]

I started of with an old burco boiler 20l max. You could do a 20l boil and end up with roughly 15l or you could brew it stronger and dilute it. It will work fine but i upgraded to an ace boiler when mine broke.

 

[pms67]

Ok,thanks mate

 

[BeerCat]

One thing i just thought of is you might get a lot of boil off with a 3kw element so you are probably going to have to top it up. You could probably get away with a shorter boil time though, maybe 45 minutes either way you will have fun. Best of luck.

 

[aamcle]

I use a 19 litre Burco for small batches, you could even use it for Maxi Biab - http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7655

aamcle

 

[pms67]

Ok thanks again, im wondering if i can use my inkbird to control the temp on this,not sure how high it goes though.
Im off to look for a recipe somewhere?
Haven't got a clue, only hops i have left are Mosaic and Sorachi Ace so i have a bit to do before i get started.
Is it ok just to top up during the boil then?
Cheers

 

[Leon103]

Just make sure the urn does a continuous boil. Some tea urns don't.

 

[Simonh82]

Ok thanks again, im wondering if i can use my inkbird to control the temp on this,not sure how high it goes though.
Im off to look for a recipe somewhere?
Haven't got a clue, only hops i have left are Mosaic and Sorachi Ace so i have a bit to do before i get started.
Is it ok just to top up during the boil then?
Cheers

You probably won't be able to use the Inkbird with a 3KW element. They are rated for 10A so ~2300W is about the max. Also the inkbird is on/off where as you want a continuous boil.

 

[aamcle]

You will need a proper controller, a PT100/PID/SSR combination when you have that what I would do is connect the SSR directly to the element bypassing the urn's own controls and use the controllers temperature probe. Let the controller manage the the urn, just don't let it boil dry!!

There are lots of build instructions on the forums.


aamcle

 

[BeerCat]

Ok thanks again, im wondering if i can use my inkbird to control the temp on this,not sure how high it goes though.
Im off to look for a recipe somewhere?
Haven't got a clue, only hops i have left are Mosaic and Sorachi Ace so i have a bit to do before i get started.
Is it ok just to top up during the boil then?
Cheers

Have a look at this thread post 272 http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54132&page=28 I have the stuff to make this but not put it together yet. Controller was less than £2 from China.

 

[pms67]

Goalposts have moved slightly guys and the 20l idea now scrapped.
I have a choice between a 30 l Buffalo boiler or a 30l Burco boiler.

Any advice most welcome.

 

[Chrissparky]

Got a 30l ace boiler off eBay this week, did my first biab today. I'm impressed, the one I got was marketed as a mash tun. It's a 30l boiler with false bottom and hop filter included. It has a digital temp reading on it that seems accurate. It seems to hold temp well over a 60 min mash. It's a double walled tank. I made a punk IPA recipe from diy dog today seemed to go well.

 

[BeerCat]

Goalposts have moved slightly guys and the 20l idea now scrapped.
I have a choice between a 30 l Buffalo boiler or a 30l Burco boiler.

Any advice most welcome.

What models? Post some links. A lot of people on here seem to use the ace boiler. I have one but would definitly like a 40l with 3kw.

 

[pms67]

I would mate but haven't posted a link in my puff 😱
Anyhow, too late,i have ordered a Burco 30l boiler from Aircon for £71 inc free delivery.
Wish me luck 👍