Brew Kettle

[periolus]

Hi!

I have been researching AG set up a bit and have come to the conclusion that with the space I would have in the garage (which is used mostly by my wife!), I would have room for a 3-tier gravity-fed system,but with CF chiller.

My main question at the moment, regardless of set up, is whether or not an aluminium boil pot at the end of the chain is alright, or should I be investing in stainless steel? Any tips on sourcing suitable vessels? I have been searching for stock pots on eBay - they seem expensive for steel, but not to bad for aluminium.

ALSO - before I forget - what on earth should I do for a boiler? Go to scrapyards? Get an old Burco from eBay? Advice gratefully received!

Best wishes and a Happy New Year!

Barnaby (periolus)

 

[Mark1964]

http://shop.ebay.fr/catering-service-fr ... ksid=p3686
have a look at these

 

[evanvine]

I still use a Prestige aluminium pressure cooker, my brewery is all plastic apart from my shiney chrome plated kettle (tea mashing).
SS is expensive, and if you read the current threads, lacking in chrome content!

 

[Vossy1]

My main question at the moment, regardless of set up, is whether or not an aluminium boil pot at the end of the chain is alright

Yep :thumb:

or should I be investing in stainless steel?

Optional but preferable IMO :P

ALSO - before I forget - what on earth should I do for a boiler? Go to scrapyards? Get an old Burco from eBay? Advice gratefully received!

Get the pot from the linked e-bay store above, then send it to forum user muddydisco for converting into a boiler :thumb:

Keep the questions coming B :thumb:

 

[periolus]

The Marmite Thermos, eh! Ooooh! This is getting exciting! How much does Muddydisco charge for conversion?

I have my Mash Tun all planned too. I have seen vids of conversions from cheap coolers, requiring dismantling, expanding foam etc. - BUT - with my envisaged setup, I might be better getting a Coleman Extreme (33L I think), which requires only the removal and partial refitting of the supplied drain tap to get going. Using the steel braid from some flexi-hose as the manifold seems good too! If not then I have 4ft of copper piping left from when we had our heating re-fitted. Already an extremely well insulated bit of kit.

We'll see!

Speak soon,

B x

 

[Sean_Mc]

Thanks Mark ....why did I read this thread :?

Had a good afternoon so treated myself to a new mash tun...an 80 litre one :wha:

 

[darrenwest1]

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12462&start=0

you will see 1 of md's boilers here on the right

 

[periolus]

Thanks to everyone for the replies - most helpful.

Darren - it looks like the Marmite Cocotte (70L) in your picture - is that the one? Would the Marmite Thermos (38L) work? I don't know if I would need 70L capacity.

Barnaby

 

[periolus]

http://shop.ebay.fr/catering-service-fr/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
have a look at these

Hi!

Right - some questions arising from this! I will be starting with a 3-tier system (gravity-fed) but looking to upgrade to RIMS later on. So - bearing in mind I will have a 33L mash tun, do I want to go for the 33L Marmite Cocotte to make a boiler with or the 70L model to hold additional water for any particular use during the brewing process? Also, there are Marmite Thermos vessels - could these be used for the boiler, as there is a 38L version that might be suitable.

Wotfink?

Barnaby x

 

[unclepumble]

A 33L MASH TUN WILL GIVE YOU SCOPE TO DO SOME PRETTY STRONG BREWS AT 23L OR STD ONES AT 50 I WOULD GET A 70L BOILER, AS IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY IN THE LONG RUN WHEN YOU WANT TO GO BIGGER,(BELIVE ME YOU PROBABLY WILL) AND YOU WOULD THEN NEED EITHER A 70 OR 100L HLT 100 IS BEST AS YOU WILL NOT NEED TO REFILL IT.

sorry only just realised I was shouting

UP

 

[Vossy1]

That's sound advice from up :thumb:

 

[periolus]

Sounds good. Actually - there is also a 66L version - is it worth getting that one? I am aiming to be able to put out roughly 46L In one go if I can, which will give me two FVs and then two barrels of beer. I am assuming that to get 46L of wort, you need roughly a third again to compensate for the grain? Is that about right?

Cheers for all the advice on this. I am making serious plans to cross to the dark side by the end of May. I am in discussions about a boiler conversion as we speak!

YAY!

 

[periolus]

So a 33L Mash Tun will definitely give me at least a 23L wort at the end of it and possibly allow me to fill two 23L vessels of a more 'standard' beer. Hmmmm. I was also looking at bigger MTs, as I thought I might need to match the size of the boiler. but if 33L is good then that's fine.

All I will want to do is produce up to 46L (2 x 23L bins) of strong or standard strength beers. I will be using converted Coleman Extreme cooler so they also do a roughly 48L, 66L and WAY higher sizes.

Wotfink? Defo the 33L?

 

[Vossy1]

I am assuming that to get 46L of wort, you need roughly a third again to compensate for the grain? Is that about right?

I made 46ltr batches as standard on my old system, typical grain bills were 8 - 10kg, and I used a 50ltr mash tun with 70ltr copper and hlt. Typical pre boil runnings stood at 60ltr ish, though naturally you may need slightly more/less depending on the vigour of the boil :thumb:

This is the 50ltr tun with a 'typical' mash, so still some room for stronger beers.

 

[periolus]

Nice one. Does it matter that I won't be operating RIMS = I will just have a gravity-fed 3-tier system? The 50Qt cooler provides 48L capacity I think, so as long as that does the job then I may as well think about that. 66L may be overkill. ALTHOUGH - woud 66L be good to give me space to build in a sparge arm later if I upgrade to RIMS?

Sorry for all the questions, but I need to get this right in the planning stages!

 

[Vossy1]

Does it matter that I won't be operating RIMS =

No, most people don't , view HERMS and RIMS as something some people like to do, they're far from essential and not needed to make great beer :thumb:

The 50Qt cooler provides 48L capacity I think, so as long as that does the job then I may as well think about that. 66L may be overkill. ALTHOUGH - woud 66L be good to give me space to build in a sparge arm later if I upgrade to RIMS?

Wez and a few others on the forum used to use the 66ltr coleman. From what I can see the only way they might restrict you is they are quite long, so you need a decent amount of grain to get a proper grain bed. They're probably not suitable for smaller batches, though I could be wrong.

Have a look here to give you some idea. You will find more examples looking through the 'brewdays' older pages, ie, pages 30-40

 

[periolus]

Cheers for the help. The 70Qt (66L) version does look pretty long (80cm). The 50Qt is only 65cm I think, so might be better for getting a good grain bed, as you say. The thing I struggle with is knowing how much room the grain takes up. Would a 48L mash tun provide 43L of wort? I thought grain might take up a lot more volume than that.

I am very excited about all this and am not hugely fussed about going RIMS or HERMS. As long as my Mash Tun holds temp, which was the reason for getting a Coleman cooler, then there will be no need anyway. The only pump I intend to have is for a CF chiller

Any thoughts you can give on the likely range of wort ouptput from a 50Qt (48L) Mash Tun would be very much appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[Muddydisco]

Cor V1 Your out of touch
Wez upgraded to Shiny TB early last year after his cool box split after many years good service :lol:

 

[Vossy1]

Cor V1 Your out of touch

As if :lol: would you care to read again :grin: :whistle:

Wez and a few others on the forum used to use the 66ltr coleman

Would a 48L mash tun provide 43L of wort?

Any thoughts you can give on the likely range of wort ouptput from a 50Qt (48L) Mash Tun would be very much appreciated.

No probs, but again, would you care to read again

I made 46ltr batches as standard on my old system, typical grain bills were 8 - 10kg, and I used a 50ltr mash tun

You lot are as bad as me :lol:

 

[periolus]

Sorry for poor reading skills - i have been looking after 2 poorly kids for 4 days and I am a bit braindead!! If your 50L Mash Tun was adequate for 46L runs then the 48L should be fine for me - I will get that one. I will maybe only need a 50L pot to make a boiler which would save me some space. The 70L would likely be a waste of space and dosh. Although there is sparging to consider, isn't there? Oh f**k, I don't know!

Okay - 50L MASH TUN - what size boiler, 50L okay or go with the 70L? Last question on this set up for now I promise!

B x