Distaster brewery 40 litre plastic build.

[Mephistopholes]

I am planning to upgrade from my first setup. a 19 litre unconverted thermobox, 25 litre bruheat boiler and very little else.

The first thing i intend to do is build a new 40 litre mash tun. below is an artists interpretation of what i envisage it will look like. the only thing not shown in the picture is a malt sack inside the tun holding the grain and acting as both a filter and a means to easdily and quickly dig out the tun.

First thing i need to do is find a 40 litre foodgrade sturdy tub. i've looked on ebay and found fermenting bins up to 33litre but no larger.

Anyone know where i could get something that would work? please bear in mind this is a plastic build so i am a trying to do this as cheaply as possible.

Any other suggestions or comments will be gladly recieved.

:

 

[tubby_shaw]

A couple of questions, how are you securing the plastic plate to the bottom of the tun to stop it lifting and the grain getting underneath ?
Why a malt sack? wouldn't a dedicated grain bag be better?
There are very few food grade buckets of 40 litres out there, I have looked at building a larger tun myself and the best options I have found are 40 and 50 litre clear food grade storage boxes such as THESE they are polypropylene and food grade the only downside is the shape

 

[Mephistopholes]

I really would prefer a round shaped tun.

Malt sack comes free with the malt. grain bag costs money.

i hadn't considered the securing of the plate really. wouldn't the weight of the malt in the sack hold it down? if not screwing it down would be an option although may prevent easy cleaning.

 

[AdrianTrace]

These are less than a fiver in tesco at the moment and are marked as foodsafe polypropylene on the bottom. Around 50L capacity (estimated 40cm average diameter, 42cm height gives 52L)

Horrible colours though...

 

[Mephistopholes]

Hell yes!! They look great (in terms of being the appropriate size shape and material for my needs) all i need to do is find a tesco big enough to be selling these things. might be a slight problem living in central london.

Thanks for the tip off adrian :thumb:

 

[Mephistopholes]

The material of this is polypropylene which is indeed food safe and heat resistant. i'm now starting to think that i could buy six black bins 80 litre size and build an 80 litre brewery on the cheap.

does anyone know if polypropylene would be suitable for a boiler?

 

[AdrianTrace]

According to Wiki, melting point of PP is 130-160oC so plenty for a boiler (and higher than HDPE). I was considering one of these as a boiler, or a PP kitchen swing bin.

The only thing I am unsure about is whether the foodsafe quality of this plastic remains at boiling temperatures or whether the colour will start to come out at that temperature?

 

[tubby_shaw]

The material of this is polypropylene which is indeed food safe and heat resistant. i'm now starting to think that i could buy six black bins 80 litre size and build an 80 litre brewery on the cheap.

does anyone know if polypropylene would be suitable for a boiler?

Just because it's Polypropylene doesn't make it food safe, check for the knife and fork symbol moulded next to the PP symbol on the base of the vessel :thumb:
Most black plastic isn't food safe

 

[AdrianTrace]

The coloured bins I listed above have that symbol, as do some of the £7 50L swing bins in wilkos. Do you know if that foodsafe still applies if you are boiling in it?

 

[tubby_shaw]

Yes, if it has the food safe symbol it means that there are no toxic chemicals used in the manufacture, so they cannot leach out :thumb:

 

[AdrianTrace]

:thumb: :

 

[Nogs]

Some interesting palstic info here chaps, nice one... didnt know about the knife and fork logo.

Good looking mash tun there M.

Have you seen daabs false bottom, plate design which may mean you can avoid a stand if that helps matters?

Happy brewing :

 

[Mephistopholes]

Thanks for the plastic schooling. I'm gonna have a look around the markets this morning and hopefully might be back this afternoon with the first part of my tun.

No i haven't seen daabs design. where would i look? The idea of losing a few litres to the false bottom doesnt appeal too much though and since i'm running off on gravity the tun will have to be mounted on something anyway. just wanna keep this nice and simples.

 

[tubby_shaw]

The plastic plate false bottom is a very easy build and is based upon Phils phalse bottom
It is basically a plastic (or other food safe) plate drilled with hundreds of holes, with a tank connector mounted in the centre and a take off pipe, they work really well
Here's mine

 

[Nogs]

Thats it, the post above is the same thing i guess. here's another link. I read about it G Wheeler's book BYOBRA

http://18000feet.mesb.co.uk/Daabs_False_Bottom/DFB1.htm

If the external tap has a down turn connected then the syphon effect should reduce the amount of waste. I like this design as it means i can use a fv but if your getting a dedicated tun then of course it may be a different for you.
Good luck with your project!

 

[darrenwest1]

as for the blue or pink containers my tesco direct has them for a fiver (chelmsford)
i am unsure about the knife and fork logo there is a fork type picture next to a cup picture
hope this helps

 

[AdrianTrace]

is the food safe logo to look for. It should be embossed on the bottom along with the

logo

 

[tubby_shaw]

as for the blue or pink containers my tesco direct has them for a fiver (chelmsford)
i am unsure about the knife and fork logo there is a fork type picture next to a cup picture
hope this helps

Yep sorry my mistake it is a glass and fork on the logo not a knife and fork

 

[darrenwest1]

thats the one

 

[mr_spin]

do the tesco direct ones come with lids?

edit - are these the Tesco ones?

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-1296.aspx