Advice on boilers please - anyone near Leeds able to help?

[The Ginger Ninja]

Im looking to get a boiler so I can get on the way to AG. At the moment Im leaning towards a catering tea urn type thing. Just found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-ACE-30ltr...8?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item336509a886

Do you think it would be suitable? Able to fit a hop strainer etc? Would I need to / be able to replace the tap? What about the thermostat, will it keep a rolling boil? Seems quite cheap for that sort of thing...

Had thought about getting a large stock pot and adding kettle eliments etc but dont really have the abilities or equipment to do that.

Does anyone on here make boilers for a fee??

Thanks in advance!

 

[pjbiker]

Many have used burco's.
30L is a little on the small side but adequate to do 5gallon brews. At that price, my advice would be to go for a 5 gallon plastic fermenter and cut it with a cheap kettle element and a tap. You won't need to buy specialist drills and cutting gear for that. Use a plastic coolbox as the mash tun and 15mm copper pipe fittings 'a la' how to guides. Thats what most folks go for initially.
You can go bigger and add extra vessels later. ebay and screwfix are your friend.
If you wanted to have bits fabricated, contact muddydisco who is adept at creating things from steel for a price. If you are close enough to someone on here who has made stainless steel stuff, they may assist with some cutting/loan you the tools if you go for the 'nordic' pot option. The post on my signature shows the route I took. (don't buy an electrim boiler, make one yourself, don't buy an immersion chiller, make one for half the price from 10mm copper, yes its worth it)

nordic pots

 

[The Ginger Ninja]

Thanks for the reply, I only plan on doing 5gal brews so it being 30L is not a problem.

So if i was going to get one of these: http://cgi.ebay.fr/50-L-MARMITE-COC...Cuisine_CasseroleriePlats&hash=item2c5b945003

roughly how much would the taps and eliment etc set me back? I just need to see how much the total would be before ordering shiny things...

I think im too scared to make my own boiler what with the water and electricity thing and me being a cluts with no experience of wireing... So maybe i need the help of a fellow forum member! Muddy might be a bit far away...

If I was to purchase all the bits would anyone in the Leeds area help me put it together and drill the bits for me? Would happiliy reward them with moneys and beer

Come to my aid fellow brewers!

 

[BigYin]

Do you ever do any trips oop north?? I'd be more than happy to help - love building things, I do! However Falkirk, in central Scotland, is hardly close to Leeds :lol: :lol: :lol: :whistle:

 

[The Ginger Ninja]

Hmmmm as much as I would like a holiday up to Scotland I can't see it happening.......

Anyone closer?

 

[keith1664]

Thanks for the reply, I only plan on doing 5gal brews so it being 30L is not a problem.

So if i was going to get one of these: http://cgi.ebay.fr/50-L-MARMITE-COC...Cuisine_CasseroleriePlats&hash=item2c5b945003

roughly how much would the taps and eliment etc set me back? I just need to see how much the total would be before ordering shiny things...

I think im too scared to make my own boiler what with the water and electricity thing and me being a cluts with no experience of wireing... So maybe i need the help of a fellow forum member! Muddy might be a bit far away...

If I was to purchase all the bits would anyone in the Leeds area help me put it together and drill the bits for me? Would happiliy reward them with moneys and beer

Come to my aid fellow brewers!

An approximate costing for a shiney boiler

Cost of the pot £46
Kettles are £5 each so £10
Tank connector £3
Ball valve £5
I used 2 IP66 junction boxes to cover the elements £7
Electric flex to upgrade what comes with the kettle £5
Copper pipe and plumbing fittings £20 (you won't need a whole length)
Q max cutters £24
Cobalt drills £10

So £130, but bear in mind that when it comes to making your HLT and mash tun you'll already have the q max cutters, drill bits left over tube etc.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Im looking to get a boiler so I can get on the way to AG. At the moment Im leaning towards a catering tea urn type thing. Just found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-ACE-30ltr...8?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item336509a886

Do you think it would be suitable? Able to fit a hop strainer etc? Would I need to / be able to replace the tap? What about the thermostat, will it keep a rolling boil? Seems quite cheap for that sort of thing...

Had thought about getting a large stock pot and adding kettle eliments etc but dont really have the abilities or equipment to do that.

Does anyone on here make boilers for a fee??

Thanks in advance!

I might have one for sale in a few weeks, I'm upgrading from 70L to 100L, it's from Nordic and is about 8 months old.
All the holes are cut, all that is needed is an hop filter and tap.

 

[Aleman]

Is Blackpool close enough??

 

[tankard]

I am near to you... and can give you two options...

I am converting a burco, which I am happy for you to come and have a look at if you're interested. I notice the ebay tea urn you linked isn't a burco so I don't know how easy/ hard they are to convert...

Alternatively, I may have a 10 gallon boiler I can sell you, but it needs a bit of a tidy up and it's at my brothers house. The problem with the latter option is time is not my friend at the moment so it would depend when you were thinking of getting things started...

 

[The Ginger Ninja]

Thanks for all the replys,

keith1664: Thanks for the info, much appriciated. £130 is a little more then I can afford at the moment so I think I might see about secondhand shiny. Failing that I get a birthday every year.......

BarnsleyBrewer: YES PLEASE Pm'd

Aleman:Blackpool is a tad on the far side, unless you own a B&B and fancy putting me up :party:

tankard: If I cant get a second had shiny then I may look at the Burco route again. Have you already got the burco your using? if so where did you get it from? What modle is it? How much are you expecting the complete finished product to have cost you?


You guys are the best : : :

 

[pjbiker]

A home made pre-used boiler from a friendly forum member who's upgrading would be an excellent solution for you and an opportunity to gain their advice.
Well done team :thumb:
Another turns to all grain (I hope).

 

[StubbsPKS]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but would the 33L version of that pot be big enough for 5 gallon brew lengths?

I don't plan on upgrading my brew length anytime soon, so I would be perfectly happy to make a small set on the cheap for now.

Also, Mash tun? Or would I be better off just converting a cool box?

Bear in mind that I have no drill and/or qmax cutters. I am, however, in Edinburgh which isn't too far from Falkirk :whistle:

 

[Aleman]

Also, Mash tun? Or would I be better off just converting a cool box?

There is no comparison between a cool box and a shiney thermobox . . . I'd sooner make a insulated mash tun from a FV and a couple of camping mats than use a cool box as a mash tun again. :evil:

In my femto system I use the 38L thermoboxes as HLT and Boiler and a 24L Thermobox as the mash tun. . . .No issues doing 23L batches in that . . .In fact the mash tun was deliberately chosen to limit the amount of grain I can get in it so that I cannot be tempted to brew longer brew lengths

 

[Ceejay]

Hey AM,

There is no comparison between a cool box and a shiney thermobox . . . I'd sooner make a insulated mash tun from a FV and a couple of camping mats than use a cool box as a mash tun again.

Could you explain your reasoning behind this? I'm just curious, as lots of us use cool boxes and it seems to be the way a lot of people go when they first start out.

 

[StubbsPKS]

Also, Mash tun? Or would I be better off just converting a cool box?

There is no comparison between a cool box and a shiney thermobox . . . I'd sooner make a insulated mash tun from a FV and a couple of camping mats than use a cool box as a mash tun again. :evil:

In my femto system I use the 38L thermoboxes as HLT and Boiler and a 24L Thermobox as the mash tun. . . .No issues doing 23L batches in that . . .In fact the mash tun was deliberately chosen to limit the amount of grain I can get in it so that I cannot be tempted to brew longer brew lengths

Excellent... I may have to look into these shinies then... I told myself I would make some cheapos from plastic, but these look SO nice.

Would I be able to throw this right onto the stove rather than mess about with kettle elements?

 

[Aleman]

There is no comparison between a cool box and a shiney thermobox . . . I'd sooner make a insulated mash tun from a FV and a couple of camping mats than use a cool box as a mash tun again.

Could you explain your reasoning behind this? I'm just curious, as lots of us use cool boxes and it seems to be the way a lot of people go when they first start out.

A thermobox mash tun will last a lifetime, and is properly insulated with at least an inch of PU foam.

The majority of cool boxes have **** insulation, are undersized for the quoted volume, and are a stupid rectangular shape :evil: give the amount of work required to get one up to a suitable standard, converting a plastic bucket for mash tun use is pretty simple

 

[Ceejay]

I see - Kinda makes sense. I guess you're talking about a FV with a false bottom, as a slotted manifold would be a bit of a PITA for a round FV. It's probably way cheaper; I got a 32l cool box which is plenty big enough for my needs, but was expensive to set up. An insulated FV is essentially a plastic version of the shiny thermo-tun and is probably a cheaper, better option.

I'm very happy with my mash tun but I kinda wish I'd gone the other route now. If only from a cost perspective.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

A thermobox mash tun will last a lifetime, and is properly insulated with at least an inch of PU foam.

The majority of cool boxes have **** insulation, are undersized for the quoted volume, and are a stupid rectangular shape :evil: give the amount of work required to get one up to a suitable standard, converting a plastic bucket for mash tun use is pretty simple

Too true Aleman, they're also prone to splits in the plastic after repeated use because they're designed for cold liquids not 80c.

BB

 

[tankard]

Have you already got the burco your using? if so where did you get it from? What modle is it?

I have already got my burco which I bought second hand locally from a local advert. It's a cygnet 28l and (whilst I haven't used it yet) I'll be using it for 19l brew lengths. Tap and hop stopper are dead easy on this one and i plan to bypass the switch/ thermostat to achieve the rolling boil