Drilling a hole in a tea urn

[bilhound]

Hi all,

So my first all grain brewday went very well - no issues with kit, no leaks and ended up with a good 20L of 'beer' at the end (aiming for 23 but the bazooka filter got a bit clogged). Also was very surprised at the fact I only lost 0.1deg in a 90min mash!

My only issue is the tap on the HLT (or tea urn) is not 'fast' enough to power the rotating sparge arm that I've purchased from the home brew shop. To fix this, I have purchased another ball valve tap which I plan to install into the tea urn, to connect to a little 12v pump that'll control the flow rate through the adjustable voltage on the plug.

My question is - has anyone drilled a hole through a tea urn for this purpose? It has an inner and outer wall like most, is the space inside under a vacuum? Will drilling another hole through it drastically reduce its structural integrity?

Thanks,

 

[mike-os]

Why not use the existing hole?

 

[Hoppyland]

Hi all,

So my first all grain brewday went very well - no issues with kit, no leaks and ended up with a good 20L of 'beer' at the end (aiming for 23 but the bazooka filter got a bit clogged).

Obviously I've no firm idea of your kit. But, if your bazooka filter is at the bottom or your mash tun, and you're also using your mash tun for fly sparging, then I suggest using aluminium foil. Works equally as well if you have a separate tub for sparging (I do).

Cut/tear a piece of foil that will cover the bottom of your lauter/mash tun.
Poke a load of holes in it (sweetcorn forks are v good). Put this over the bazooka. It will make a big difference to clogging in my experience.

 

[bilhound]

Why not use the existing hole?

A logical suggestion, but the current hole isn't big enough!

 

[mike-os]

Are you sure? Most will take a 1/2 inch nipple.... which should be plenty big

 

[Cwrw666]

If you're going to be using a pump, then why bother with a tap - just fit a pipe down inside from the top (like a syphon tube) but connect that to your pump.

 

[Robin54]

Thermal lance...sorted!!

 

[jayjt29]

Why not use the existing hole?

(If) its a Buffalo boiler, they have changed the size of the hole, used to be perfect now you have to make it bigger.

 

[bilhound]

It's literally a 30L caterers tea urn, cost about £50 new so couldn't justify spending another hundred on another SS bit of kit! I've taken out the current tap and sight glass which reveal a small hole - definitely not big enough for the replacement tap. I've got the home brew shop mash tun and 56L boiler - they're fine and as standard they take the 1/2 inch. It's just the tea urn!

As far as siphoning - ideally I'd like to keep the lid on as much as possible, my set-up is quite near the fusebox for the garage and the steam sometimes gets a bit close!

I guess I'll just have to get the drill out and tear the current hole a new one! If no-one has done it on here before then I'll happily take the punt and be the first - updates to follow (once I've come back from Aberdeen - off to brewdog this weekend!)

Thanks for all the advice chaps!

 

[bilhound]

FYI - this is the garage setup. Note the positioning of the electrics (man vs steam) and the tea urn at the top of the chain!

 

[Mickeywheelspin]

I'd suggest a Q-Max cutter to punch a hole rather than use a drill, cleaner and easier.

 

[mike-os]

If it is twin wall then the problem is you need to clamp on the inner skin only otherwise the gap between the two skins will fill with liquid

For hole cutting in sheet you want a step drill or cone drill really. .. amazon have some got about 10 or so

 

[bilhound]

Thanks for all your help on this guys - seeing as the pump will only be used for sparging, I've decided to manufacture an automatic syphon that'll be placed in when needed. This should mean there isn't as much steam as there would be at boiling temps.

Edit: I will add a couple of pics from the next brewday!