Klarstein v's Burco setup

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Was going to use my inkbird as you do. Can I ask what temperature deferential you have set to maintain the mash temperature ?

I use Fahrenheit settings for mashing because I’m old school and the differential is 1 degree (about 0.5C).

I’ll be brewing another batch of Czech Pilsner on Sunday so if there’s anything you want me to take a picture of, let me know.

 

[jayk34]

Thank you. It definitely won't be in the same league as yours but I have to bottle a Czech pilsner kit from Brewferm this morning.

Waiting for the post to arrive over the next few days with all my bits and pieces. Have to try and hide them quickly before my missus catches on what I've spent

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Thank you. It definitely won't be in the same league as yours but I have to bottle a Czech pilsner kit from Brewferm this morning.

Waiting for the post to arrive over the next few days with all my bits and pieces. Have to try and hide them quickly before my missus catches on what I've spent

Hoping your wife will be out when the delivery comes? I don’t have that trouble, my wife is happy for me to spend money on my passion.

It sounds like you’ve made a decision on which way to go if you’re waiting for a delivery?

 

[jayk34]

Hoping your wife will be out when the delivery comes? I don’t have that trouble, my wife is happy for me to spend money on my passion.

It sounds like you’ve made a decision on which way to go if you’re waiting for a delivery?

To be honest she is not too bad, it's usually a rolling of the eyes and nothing more than that.

Yes, went for a 30l burco/cygnet, grain bag, hop spider, Greg Hughes book, tap conversion kit, thermometer. I also ordered 10mm cooper pipe and push fit connectors from Toolstation to make my own wort chiller after reading some great posts on the forum.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

To be honest she is not too bad, it's usually a rolling of the eyes and nothing more than that.

Yes, went for a 30l burco/cygnet, grain bag, hop spider, Greg Hughes book, tap conversion kit, thermometer. I also ordered 10mm cooper pipe and push fit connectors from Toolstation to make my own wort chiller after reading some great posts on the forum.

It’s all about to get very exciting for you and I wish you the very best of luck!

 

[starseeker]

Good luck with your new kit and keep us updated :)

 

[moto748]

Can I ask what temperature deferential you have set

Only if you ask nicely!

 

[Gerryjo]

The best thing is the satisfaction you will get from the modifications small or not that you will make and tasting great beer as a reward.Good luck going forward...

 

[ColinGee]

Brilliant piece of kit. The mash temp holds steady and it comes to a rolling boil quickly. It feels solidly made and very straightforward to clean. Very happy with it and geterbrewed delivery was prompt and well packaged

I've not seen the Brewster Beacon before. It looks very solid and nicely made. Agree, the 100w increment idea is really neat.

I'm looking at a Robobrew and this looks a good alternative, and unlike Robobrew stock availability doesn't seem an issue!

What research did you do and what alternatives did you look at before you bought?

 

[brydo]

I've not seen the Brewster Beacon before. It looks very solid and nicely made. Agree, the 100w increment idea is really neat.

I'm looking at a Robobrew and this looks a good alternative, and unlike Robobrew stock availability doesn't seem an issue!

What research did you do and what alternatives did you look at before you bought?

Being honest availability was a factor. Geterbrewed had them available and had a video reviewing it. Also a YouTube video by pubshed I think were happy with it. I liked the tutorial guides from brewelution themselves as well.
For me the price of £350 was within budget as well. I couldn't justify spending any more as in just getting back into brewing and will probably only brew about 6 or 7 times a year.
The extra filter plate and water gauge on the side of the unit are nice features too. All in I'm very happy with it

 

[ColinGee]

I thought I'd share my experience as I've learned a lot from this thread and want to give something back..

I bought a 2nd hand Buffalo 30ltr last year and went about converting it.

First up came a tap conversion then a thermostat bypass with simmerstat (don't touch the cheap DPDT switches on ebay, they meltdown!).

Simmerstat doesn't do exactly what I thought it would, rather than controlling the power of the boil it cuts out and in again. Not a dealbreaker as I've worked out the ideal breakpoint but would be nice to master it, any ideas greatly appreciated.

I then set about trying to source a grain basket which proved fruitless, at least in my price range, so I made one from a cut-down fermenting bin, a splashguard, some threaded stainless rod and dome nuts. Works a treat; strong, good mesh gauge, and easy to keep clean.

This is then suspended for sparging using some hooks I made from stainless steel tent pegs. Bit fiddly but it's cheap, and means no welding, screws or leaks.

Apart from being basic and lacking proper temp control the only real drawback is the height of the tap which currently adds an additional 8ltrs to the mash water (although I can get this down to around 7), so it restricts grain bill size.

I've just bought a mini mag pump and am in the throes of sourcing a mesh screen for the top of the mash, so I can recirculate the wort (if I'm lucky the Robobrew top screen will fit perfectly).

If that goes well I may install the pump internally, fit some fixed pipework and might also fit a pump inlet onto the boiler floor bypassing the tap. This will also solve the extra mash water issue.

That will probably be it but I might, just might buy an inkbird to finish it off.

So far the outlay including boiler is around £150 so the integrated pipework and inkbird would take it to north of £200. Not sure that's economical.

Hope this is of interest, comments and questions welcome.

 

[roboto]

Looks like a good setup ColinGee, have you considered adding a dip tube to the back of the tap so that you're drawing fluid from the bottom of the vessel? A couple of elbow pieces would let you use the Bazooka tube as well.

 

[ColinGee]

Looks like a good setup ColinGee, have you considered adding a dip tube to the back of the tap so that you're drawing fluid from the bottom of the vessel? A couple of elbow pieces would let you use the Bazooka tube as well.

The issue isn't the height per sé, it's that combined with the amount it protrudes into the boiler , which means it fouls the grain basket. Hence the cut-out. Add the coupler for the bazooka and it's worse

I never use the bazooka as I always use a spider, so suppose I could cut off the thread to its minimum. If I end up fitting an outlet to the boiler floor there's little need for the tap.