Buffalo boiler thermostat and weldless sight glass issues

[bluekieran]

Hi folks, I've got two issues with my new Buffalo boiler.

1) Weldless sight glass kit is leaking at any tightness. I ended up drilling the hole at 9/16" as it wasn't going through comfortably at 1/2", though in retrospect if I had deburred the other side of the hole first I might not have had that issue. 9/16" is still a good bit smaller than the rubber washer, though, so perhaps if I can get the tube out of the L-piece to re-apply the PTFE, I might not have screwed it? I think it's leaking after the steel washer, not at the boiler wall.

2) The usual "rolling boil" issue. I've ordered a new cut-out and thermal fuse, but am wondering about the thermostat itself. The Burco Cygnet I ruined (by drilling a hole too low) kept a rolling boil quite happily, might I be able to swap in it's thermostat, rather than just moving/insulating the temp probe and needing to control mash temp manually?

 

[aamcle]

Site glass, take it off and put in back on using food grade silicon mastic to seal it.

The boil, throw away all the boiler controls and uses a proper pid/ssr/pt100 combo to control it, it's less bother and probably cheaper long term.

aamcle

 

[bluekieran]

Site glass, take it off and put in back on using food grade silicon mastic to seal it.

Mastic inside and out, or just outside?

The boil, throw away all the boiler controls and uses a proper pid/ssr/pt100 combo to control it, it's less bother and probably cheaper long term.

Hmm, I'll have to look into that. Any recommended solutions that don't involve me wiring up an entire solution in a plastic box like in this thread?

 

[aamcle]

The mastic goes inside and out.

I just put a cable on the boiler element to an ordinary 13 amp plug and plug into a control box. The box has the pid ssr and the cable to the pt100.


aamcle

 

[Dads_Ale]

Could you post a photo of your set up for the sight glass as the leak my be down the thread if you have an insert. The washer will seal the boiler wall but not any thread on an insert.

 

[bluekieran]

Could you post a photo of your set up for the sight glass as the leak my be down the thread if you have an insert. The washer will seal the boiler wall but not any thread on an insert.

It's this one:

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...glass&PN=weldless-sight-glass-14.html#SID=279

Edit: ... aaand looking at that photo I've put it together wrong. I've got the metal and rubber washers on the outside, and the nut and sleeve on the inside. Might work better the way it was intended! Though I may replace that rubber (I think it's rubber) washer with a silicon one. Oh, and they were still completely wrong about it needing a 1/4" hole.

 

[Dads_Ale]

That is a confusing photo.
If you re jig the fittings double check you don't have a leak path down the thread. A dowty washer might help as these stop liquid egress down threads.

 

[bluekieran]

Still hacking away at this. Ended up giving up on the sight glass - I may even engrave instead, though they're sending me some replacement bits - and enlarging the hole to use it for a weldless thermometer fitting I also had waiting.

Thermometer leaks too. Deburred the hole and used a **** load of PTFE tape, still leaks. I think the issue is that even at 20mm for an allegedly "half inch" thermometer, the hole is still small enough you need to *screw* the thermometer in, and as a result it doesn't quite sit flush (plus it strips some of the PTFE tape). I'm reluctant to enlarge the hole to 22mm though and completely f*ck it, so have added some sealant.

Question: is kitchen/bathroom anti-mould sealant food grade (or close enough)? That's the best I could find in B&Q.

Have also taken the bottom off and had a look at the electrics, and attempted to move/insulate the temp probe a little to fix the lack of rolling boil, but it still cuts out at 98C (pretty sure it's the thermostat that's cutting out still rather than the reset cut-out). I'm reluctant to go the full PID/SSR route yet, though, mostly because the additional expense is poorly timed - I'd need to pick up a dremel tool as well as whatever else. Draining the boiler at the moment so I can take another look.

Edit: attached some photos.

 

[bluekieran]

The thermostat is labelled "55.13022.670 105C 1723 56". I can see a load of 55.13022.010 (and also 55.18022.010) thermostats online that look very similar and are rated to 110C instead of 105... they look like one might be the trick for me.

The thermal fuse I can't even see (if there is one), as most of the wires are well wrapped. The auto cut-out I'm tempted to replace despite not having an issue with it yet, as I have a new one rated to 130C that should auto-reset and save us digging underneath for the reset switch while it's full of hot liquid (doable with 2 people, but I'd REALLY rather not).

Edit: actually scrap replacing the cut-out... the one in the Buffalo is 4-pole, and my "replacement" is 2-pole. I guess it's designed to cut both live and neutral. I could just join the neutrals and rely on it to cut live, but it's also slightly larger so it might be troublesome to fit to the bracket. I'll keep the spare around and see if I have issues with it cutting out on a test boil (and get myself a stainless paddle to try and keep the bottom clean).

 

[bluekieran]

The thermostat is labelled "55.13022.670 105C 1723 56". I can see a load of 55.13022.010 (and also 55.18022.010) thermostats online that look very similar and are rated to 110C instead of 105... they look like one might be the trick for me.

For anyone who catches this in google later: the 55.13022.010 thermostat fit perfectly and the boiler now holds an energetic rolling boil on "High". Am trying to sell the original thermostat on eBay as a spare to defray the cost.

 

[BeerCat]

Hi Kieran. I have just bought one of these so reading your thread with interest. You can get closed ended fittings to block unwanted holes so you may be able to fix your old boiler like that. Pretty sure brewbuilder sell them but cant remember what they are called. Maybe someone else will know. Most people seem to move the temp sensor away from the underside of the plate to achieve a rolling boil which i have just done but not tested yet.

 

[bluekieran]

Most people seem to move the temp sensor away from the underside of the plate to achieve a rolling boil which i have just done but not tested yet.

I did think about that, but was concerned it might affect it's ability to hold a mash temp. With the new thermostat I can select a temp between 39C and 93C using the dial. Let me know how you get on, though!