Burco f46lr - Whats it made of?

[nath812]

Hi all,

New to the forum and i have to jump in with a question!

Im looking at an old Burco washboiler (model f46lr) which i have the understanding is:-

a) old

and

b) 46 litres

Now im commin' from using a plastic boiler DIY styleeee and saw this as a bit of a bargain but after reading about the washboilers i am thinking that this may be a copper inside jobbie. It looks shiney (hmmmmmmmm splurt :shock: ) in the inside and no signs of wear but a lot of stuff on the net says that copper isnt very good for boiling me wort up in. Is this true? I know some breweries have copper boilers, but I dont want to end up with something I wont use if its gonna be a problem.

Any light people can shed would be great as I want to change my boiler as im a shiney **** and I do wonder if my beer gets tainted by being boiled in plastic for 2 hours (probably not).

If it were made of stainless I would be well happy but if it is made of copper and people can put my mind at rest then bigger batches/less boil over it is!

Ta,


Nath

 

[Cussword]

Copper is fine, the breweries use it, & some people on the forum use converted copper hot water tanks :thumb:

 

[snail59]

Without pics I could be wrong. I think the term COPPER refers to the vessel itself in brewing a boiler is called a copper regardless of its construction. If you have what I think you have it will be a large boiler with 3 legs & stands on the floor. It will be galvenized outside and stainless steel or Galvenized on the inside. If its SHINEY inside its SS if its a dull silver/gray inside its GALV.

 

[snail59]

Nath I think I have found the one your looking at and yes it is stainless and fine as a boiler :thumb: . The thing you think is a strainer is infact an element protector to stop clothes and stuff touching the heating element :thumb: . It just pops off so easy to remove to clean. Its also an easy job to bypass the thermostat as well to keep it on a rolling boil. Looking at that Item I would say it has not been used for brewing so will need a dam good clean to get the washing powder residue out from under the element cover I know mine did

 

[nath812]

Nice one chaps, sorry I should have posted the link!

Fingers crossed then, only time will tell (said in a movie type voice)

If I do make it mine im gonna have to grab you for the thermostat if thats cool.

Ta,


Nath

 

[snail59]

No worries mate

 

[Tony]

Just as a side bit here (or an aside if that's the right context) A copper boiler (made of real copper) is fine to use as a boiler and even does nice things to the colour of your beer. The jury is still out however as to whether copper should be used as a FV.

'A Copper' has that name because it really is made of copper

 

[critch]

Just as a side bit here (or an aside if that's the right context) A copper boiler (made of real copper) is fine to use as a boiler and even does nice things to the colour of your beer. The jury is still out however as to whether copper should be used as a FV.

'A Copper' has that name because it really is made of copper

my copper is made of stainless....... ive hardly ever seen a modern system that utilises copper except in an expensive, decorative outer cladding.........

 

[Cussword]

Originally they were ALL made of copper, & we are still here, so it didn't harm our ancestors :grin: Of course I know that all water pipes were made of lead, & that is not good for us , but copper is OK.

 

[Tony]

my copper is made of stainless....... ive hardly ever seen a modern system that utilises copper except in an expensive, decorative outer cladding.........

Mine too! Sorry, should have qualified: I was talking historically.

Have to be carefully - historical mispronounced sounds like hysterical.