Ace electric boilers?

[donchiquon]

How is everyone getting on with their boilers? Any problems with the system?

Overall I think it's a a great piece of kit - the insulation, 1600 watt steady boil, ball valve, false bottom, bazooka, grain/hop bag. All for under a hundred quid!

Still very happy with mine. No problems to date. I use the false bottom during the boil and haven't had any overheats. Mashes and boils (again with bazooka and FB) drain perfectly. Only used the grain bag once in the mash and since then opted for Tony's method of bag-mashes.

I've ordered an ink bird 308S and have a solar pump and silicone hose ready to try and recreate the "Mash Monster" posted by Beercat earlier in the thread.

I was also thinking about ordering another to use as a dedicated HLT...which would then provide me with an extra false bottom to use in the MM.

Having said all that, I have only had it for a few months, so will defer to others who have tested it for longer!

 

[Tony1951]

Only used the grain bag once in the mash and since then opted for Tony's method of bag-mashes.

Did you mean bag-less mashes? :)

I found a snag on my last brew. I couldn't get the beggar to heat at all. The element must be bust, I thought. I had the base off and started following the circuit through from the power source and found it stopped at the timer........ GRRRRRRR. My own stupidity. I had inadvertently turned the timer knob while cleaning it after the last brew and it was stuck with the power turned off at the timer knob - a feature I never used and didn't think to look at. Turned it a smidgen and all was OK It hadn't gone wrong - pilot error.

I like the sound of these new ones with the false bottom... I might get another one and keep one for heating up my sparge water. My current method is hopeless - I use kettles and the cooker. :)

 

[donchiquon]

Did you mean bag-less mashes? :)

Doh! Yup - bag-less and grains roaming free! Must be the altitude...or the Northern Brewer ale I dug up earlier this evening!

On a separate note I also had another look at the disconnected 900w element on the newer boilers (including my own) and I think it's going to be pretty difficult to reconnect it as ACE have snipped it so short.

If anyone already has the 2500w version, this would be much easier to tinker with and modify.

 

[BeerCat]

Doh! Yup - bag-less and grains roaming free! Must be the altitude...or the Northern Brewer ale I dug up earlier this evening!

On a separate note I also had another look at the disconnected 900w element on the newer boilers (including my own) and I think it's going to be pretty difficult to reconnect it as ACE have snipped it so short.

If anyone already has the 2500w version, this would be much easier to tinker with and modify.

Let us know how you get on. Still debating whether to get one of these or a 50l pot.

 

[donchiquon]

Just finished another brew and thought I'd post an update on things, having tried some of the Mash Monster-type things from the video that Beercat posted.

I used a little brown solar pump (£10) to recirculate the mash - worked a treat and I ended up with very clear wort as soon as I started run-off.

I used an Inkbird connected to the ACE to keep the temperature of the mash up.

I sat a stainless steel fold out steamer on top of the mash so as not to disturb the grain bed too much.

The 900w disconnected element in the base of the ACE has been cut too short for me to use, but now I'm actually thinking of putting a diode in the circuit to halve the power of the 1600w heater during the mash recirculation.

This way the heat will be more gentle and I can keep a more stable temperature.

I then used the pump to sparge which also worked well. The false bottom and bazooka in the ACE drained well - no issues there.

It took an hour to get to boil, and then gave the usual stable rolling boil. I got 27 litres in and then added an extra litre after 20 mins.

 

[nigelnorris]

Just done my second BIAB mash in my ACE. Changed the stuff I cocked up last time and everything went exactly to plan. Added a dunk sparge to get enough water to ensure correct final volume, and thus came out with the expected final gravity. Hopped in muslin bags to avoid filter blockage, which defintely did the trick, whether that might affect flavour time will tell but I don't imagine much difference; the pellets had turned to slime in the bags so must have been plenty of water throughput. The false bottom works very well as a filter and caught most of the brown gunk before it hit the outlet filter.

Learned a new thing along the way, the timer on it is about as useful as the thermostat. Set it for an hour, after an hour by my computer clock I went to start getting ready to cool and noticed that the timer still read twenty minutes left.

 

[donchiquon]

Just done my second BIAB mash in my ACE. Changed the stuff I cocked up last time and everything went exactly to plan. Added a dunk sparge to get enough water to ensure correct final volume, and thus came out with the expected final gravity. Hopped in muslin bags to avoid filter blockage, which defintely did the trick, whether that might affect flavour time will tell but I don't imagine much difference; the pellets had turned to slime in the bags so must have been plenty of water throughput. The false bottom works very well as a filter and caught most of the brown gunk before it hit the outlet filter.

Learned a new thing along the way, the timer on it is about as useful as the thermostat. Set it for an hour, after an hour by my computer clock I went to start getting ready to cool and noticed that the timer still read twenty minutes left.

Sounds like a good result Nigel. I tried the BIAB method once before switching to Tony1951's method of just putting the grains straight into the boiler. Both work well, but I've now worked out that I get better efficiency with the grains free.

The bazooka and false bottom are probably struggling with the pellets. I try and make sure that some of my hops are leaf, which drop out first and provide a filter for the sludge when it settles.

I've not got the timer version, but agree that it's probably best to rely on other means of timing in order to avoid a mash or boil being switched off/on unintentionally!

 

[BeerCat]

So @donchiquon being a bit slow here but you mash in the boiler then i presume you have to clean it after draining and fill it up again to boil. Is that correct? Also what diameter hose do i need and how long? Will be getting one of these this week. Most interested to hear how you get along with the diode as well. Cool photos.

 

[donchiquon]

Hi Beercat

Yup - that's it. False bottom in, mash, then as I'm pumping the sparge water in, I drain the boiler into an FV below. Once the sparge has finished I dump the grain on the compst heap (as per suugestion from Tony1951!) and give the boiler and false bottom a quick rinse before using the pump to fill it back up with the wort.

The silicone hose is 12mm inside diameter, 21mm outside diameter and 3mm thick so it doesn't kink when it gets hot (like the clear plastic tubing which I had to hold "open" last time I tried!!!). My pump came with smaller barbs so I used some smaller gauge plastic tubing to pad the barb out so the silicone hose fitted. I've now ordered some new half inch barbs for the pump.

The only niggles with the system are the hour that the ACE then takes to bring the wort to boil and the 27 litre fill limit for the boil. I'm toying with the idea of buying a 50l boiler to sit on a buffalo induction hob I won cheaply on fleabay. Then I could drain the ACE directly into the boiler and get the boil going immediately at the end of the sparge.

The main problem with the ACE for me is that it has just lead to more hoses, pumps, processes, and fun....and quite possibly divorce if I am not careful. :whistle:

Enjoy!

 

[nigelnorris]

Hang on a minute. The first brew I did the filter clogged so I basically just tipped the lot into the fermenter and got on with it. Came out fine. this time I drained it all via the tap because the fiter didn't clog, and still ended up with almost everything in the FV. The point being everything's gone into the fermenter.

So why am I even emptying the thing out? Why bother with a second vessel at all? Surely I can cool it all in the ACE, chuck the yeast straight into that and let nature take it's course. The lid seals well and has a vent, why not just do the entire brew, mash, boil, ferment, in the ACE start to end?

 

[donchiquon]

Hang on a minute. The first brew I did the filter clogged so I basically just tipped the lot into the fermenter and got on with it. Came out fine. this time I drained it all via the tap because the fiter didn't clog, and still ended up with almost everything in the FV. The point being everything's gone into the fermenter.

So why am I even emptying the thing out? Why bother with a second vessel at all? Surely I can cool it all in the ACE, chuck the yeast straight into that and let nature take it's course. The lid seals well and has a vent, why not just do the entire brew, mash, boil, ferment, in the ACE start to end?

I usually find that when I drain off after the boil I end up with some cold break in the FV. From what I understand this is normal and many folk advocate that it is good for the yeast.

The majority of the hops (leaf and pellet sludge) remain in the boiler. I don't think you want too much of this in the FV, hence transferring to a separate vessel for fermentation. Someone with more experience will be able to say how letting too much hop matter into the FV might adversely affect flavour....

Having said all that, hat's off to anyone who mashes, sparges, boils, ferments...and drinks from the ACE. A cracking challenge!!! :lol:

 

[Covrich]

IIRC the dead space on my Ace wasn't much because I remember being concerned the small hop filter would touch the bottom element when the bag was on it.. But they may have changed since then and I sent mine back after a week because it was lethal.

 

[nigelnorris]

IIRC the dead space on my Ace wasn't much because I remember being concerned the small hop filter would touch the bottom element when the bag was on it.. But they may have changed since then and I sent mine back after a week because it was lethal.

The newest iteration has a false bottom which keeps eveything well clear of the filter, which is rigid and not likely to come into contact with anything of its own accord.

 

[BeerCat]

I am now the proud owner of a Ace Boiler. My Baby Burco overheated yesterday. Horrible smell coming from the extremely hot plug which is a shame as i wanted to use this to hear my sparge water. It got through about 65 brews though so i guess my dear father would of been proud.
Looking forward to fermenting a brew without hops floating around in it. As i didn't have a filter or a decent tap i just had to tip it in with whatever came with it.
Forgot to order any hose though. @donchiquon do you have a link for the hose you bought by any chance? Very much looking forward to trying this out. :)

 

[donchiquon]

I am now the proud owner of a Ace Boiler. My Baby Burco overheated yesterday. Horrible smell coming from the extremely hot plug which is a shame as i wanted to use this to hear my sparge water. It got through about 65 brews though so i guess my dear father would of been proud.
Looking forward to fermenting a brew without hops floating around in it. As i didn't have a filter or a decent tap i just had to tip it in with whatever came with it.
Forgot to order any hose though. @donchiquon do you have a link for the hose you bought by any chance? Very much looking forward to trying this out. :)

Sounds good!

I got mine from The Malt Miller - just pop silicone into the search box and it will come up. They only do one size. Looks expensive but when you get it you realise why - the walls are 3mm thick!

 

[BeerCat]

Cheers will order a few meters. Done my first brew today with the Ace and i must say i am very happy. You really cant grumble for the price. Got really nice clear wort out of it. Boil was perfect. I am gonna be making some really nice beer in this i can tell. All in all for under a ton i think its really good value for money!

 

[JonInLeeds]

Hello everyone.

I thought it was time I manned up and joined the forum having been winging the homebrew life now for 18 months or so. I was actually looking for something completely different. but I just came across this thread so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

I've been brewing in my basic ACE tea urn for 18 months now, BIAB technique with some sort of cooling rack/cake stand I found to keep the bag about an inch off the bottom. I'd bought it from the Normanton ebay dude, as I live quite close, I went and collected it for �£55. I took the old crappy tap off and fitted a proper ball valve hose connector on. I've probably done about 10 brews or so, and been happy with all of them (except brew no1 which we never ever talk about). I had a blanket of foil bubblewrap insulator stuff, that i'd wrap around it for the mash, and the temperature stayed fine.

I wrecked it last week (sad face), making my first pilsner. I think the crushed grain was quite floury and a lot sieved through the bag, and because I'd started with only 8 litre for a stepped mash there was a thick porridgy batter on the base/element that had sieved through. Not knowing this at the time, I turned the tea urn on, just to nudge it up a few degrees... and then smoke started billowing out, I guess the element had burned out. The rest of the brew evening was a disaster as I'd no way of boiling 20 litres in one vessel. So, trying to keep a boil on the go for 90 mins switching between 2 x 4 litre stock pots on the stove, a large saucepan and defunct tea urn is tricky business... ha. I'm hoping it'll still turn out ok.

Anyway, I thought i'd go buy a new tea urn, they're now �£85! yikes. So i bought a big old stove pot for �£40 instead, which I'll drill and fit the ball valve.

Summary:
For me, the ACE tea urn's main selling feature was, apart from the price, the thermostat, but in reality it's a bit inaccurate, so you kinda have to stand there with the real thermometer and turn it on/off manually. And the rolling boil I found to be far too ferocious, or when the thermostat kicked it, it'd go off completely. And, i think it's been mentioned before here, the top rim is a nightmare to clean.
What was awesome about the tea urn, is it's perfect size for a big colander i have that would rest on the top and the grain bag would fit in it. And it's also the perfect size for my stainless steel immersion wort cooler, i could drop the boil temp down to 24C in 10 mins.

I don't know if the newer ones / homebrew specific thermostats are any better, or if you can get a steady boil with them? but I did my first BIAB on the stove top and found it a lot easier to heat and maintain temperature, and a lot easier to clean. The only issue i have with the big pan is the wort cooler only sits in half the wort so i had to do a lot of swishing around.

I'll stop now, I've probably gone on too long. And, i only came on here to find some good (real) books to read.

cheers

Jon

 

[BeerCat]

Welcome to the forum Jon.
Can anyone give me some advice on sparging with the Ace. My efficiency was way down with my first brew. I have always done a dunk sparge but the bag seems a bit long to but in a FV of water. Any help appreaciated.

 

[nigelnorris]

Welcome to the forum Jon.
Can anyone give me some advice on sparging with the Ace. My efficiency was way down with my first brew. I have always done a dunk sparge but the bag seems a bit long to but in a FV of water. Any help appreaciated.

I did my dunk using a 15L FV, at that diameter the 4L sparge water I needed to use covered the [3.5kg of] grain completely. I just swirled it about in the bag a bit, left it for a bit, then squeezed it out and discarded the grain.

I'm not much into efficiency yet so all I can say is that my OG came out exactly as per the recipe.

 

[BeerCat]

I did my dunk using a 15L FV, at that diameter the 4L sparge water I needed to use covered the [3.5kg of] grain completely. I just swirled it about in the bag a bit, left it for a bit, then squeezed it out and discarded the grain.

I'm not much into efficiency yet so all I can say is that my OG came out exactly as per the recipe.

Thanks Nigel. What batch size do you do? I am aiming at 23l although might be a bot optimistic. Most recipes use 70% efficiency i think so you must do doing alright.