DIY Neoprene boiler / FV / Corny Jackets

[conorm]

I was going to purchase a grain coat for my grainfather, but at £50 I thought there must be a more cost effective way of doing it. I currently just use a big old yellow site jacket!

And I thought it would be handy to have one for my FVs, and also my cornies as they are outside this time of year. So I thought about making a set of wetsuit type affairs from 1m sheets of the stuff. Neoprene seems to be a common material for this type of application and has the right chemical and physical properties, and is dead cheap.

TL;DR

Anybody done this before using neoprene or similar? Is it enough to glue/ bond the material, maybe with a overlap/ extra strip?

 

[Clint]

Some get the yoga mats or whatever they are from Aldi when on offer.

 

[James]

Many years ago I purchased neoprene sheets from Lomo and used self adhesive Velcro as the closure. Very simple wrap around the outside.
For the bottom I used a sheet of closed cell foam (packaging) for the FV to stand on.
Then I moved to brewbucket and a brew fridge.

 

[Polcho]

This is what I did with a yoga mat, £4 in TK Max.

It's the fermentor, but same sort of thing.

 

[MashBag]

For overnight stuff I also use a black sleeping bag. Fits a treat.

Some adhesive velcro on it too.

£5 off ebay.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Proper Heath Robison here

 

[Laner]

Check local charity shops for SoftShell jackets, £1 and the FV is covered.

 

[Clint]

My current fv jacket is the pure wool insulation that came wrapped round my dogs insulin.

 

[Laner]

My current fv jacket is the pure wool insulation that came wrapped round my dogs insulin.

I use a jacket as I can then run any heater cables etc up the sleeves, and use the zip as an extra temp control.

 

[SMP Brewery]

I use aluminium double sided bubble wrap for one of mine.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I looked at making a home made version a couple of years ago, but then Santa brought me a graincoat.

In short, whether you buy or make your own, if you can afford the time/money a jacket is well worth the outfits the effort. No more accidentally burning yourself on the hot metal, and you can reduce the power too.

 

[conorm]

Thanks everyone, great suggestions. I've just realised I've a load of 50mm foil backed mineral wool insulation left over from our house build. I can double it up and tape the edges and that will be perfect for the FVs and even the cornies.

 

[MashBag]

I use a jacket as I can then run any heater cables etc up the sleeves, and use the zip as an extra temp control.

All you need is a Halloween mask in the hood, and nobody would go near it either.

 

[RichK]

I made one from a camping mat

 

[Stu]

I use aluminium double sided bubble wrap for one of mine.

I did the same as this.

I bought some of this:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/superfoil-insulation-600mm-x-5m-radiator-heat-reflector-foil/449fe

And there was enough to do not only my all-in-one, but enough over to not only do a full cover for the fermzilla, but a regular FV bucket as well!

I bought some heat resistant double sided sticky pads. Even when boiling, they haven't come off.

 

[Cwrw666]

I stopped using a fixed in place camping mat insulater on my boiler as it made the boil too fierce. So for the mash I just wrap it with a light blanket then chuck a body warmer over it. Rarely get a drop in temperature of more than 1 or 2 degrees.