Life after PECO ?

[pvt_ak]

Done about 5 AG BIAB in the Peco now.
I get along nicely with it.
But I feel like there is more to be had now , and tidier , easier , more efficient brews to be done.

Any PECO users moved on and not regretted it ?

And if so what did you move to ?

Or PECO lifers ?


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[stigman]

I went for a keggle and a Rubbermaid mash tun after about 5 BIAB brews. I found em on Gumtree for about £80, carried on with the peco to boil in then the element melted the kettle lead. I then made my self a boil pot from another "legally" acquired keg. I can now get pretty much every last drop into the fv with my new hop stopper.

 

[IainM]

I'm an ex-peco that now does double brewdays, one in the Bulldog Brewer and the other a maxi-BIAB on the stove. I originally moved because I kept scorching the wort. In hindsight this is probably because, in search of high efficiencies, I squeezed the life out of the bag and probably got quite a lot of fine particles in the boil.

I have no regrets. The Bulldog Brewer is so much easier. No moving hot bags of hot grain, dripping and making a mess. No more waiting over hot liquor with a thermometer waiting to hit strike temp, and no more having to wrap up and insulate then unwrap to stir the mash. The recirculation gives good efficiencies and crystal clear wort, and better control and reproducibility. I've hears similar things be said about the Ace, Grainfather and Braumeister. You can still use the peco as a sparge water heater.

In fact, it made life so easy that I started doing a mash in the peco at the same time, to do maxi-BIAB or small batch on the stove. It works well this way, I did a bitter and a saison brewday before last, the last one was Munich dunkle and Bohemian pilsner, next up is Zombie Dust and a stout. After that I plan to have one batch which is ready quickly and a second which I can put aside for ageing.

 

[pvt_ak]

Cheers for sharing both.
It’s the simplicity I’m looking for in the all in one type system.
I was researching the Bulldog last night Iain funnily enough. There is a wide choice between that and similar . What made you go for the Bulldog over others ?


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[IainM]

Cheers for sharing both.
It’s the simplicity I’m looking for in the all in one type system.
I was researching the Bulldog last night Iain funnily enough. There is a wide choice between that and similar . What made you go for the Bulldog over others ?


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Grainfather and Braumeister were too expensive, and the ACE was out of stock, so the BB it was.

 

[GlentoranMark]

I bought a small 12v water pump from China for a fiver and recirculate the wort during the mash stage. I have the digital version of the Peco boiler and it holds the temperature very well. My next move is to replace the tap so I can attach the pump directly to it.

A Grainfather (while I want one) is just a fancy masher and boiler.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qKhiS_t8G4[/ame]

 

[MickDundee]

My Peco blew up. I replaced it with one of the Ace boilers Sony’s stil BIAB but I like the boiler much better.

 

[pvt_ak]

I bought a small 12v water pump from China for a fiver and recirculate the wort during the mash stage. I have the digital version of the Peco boiler and it holds the temperature very well. My next move is to replace the tap so I can attach the pump directly to it.

A Grainfather (while I want one) is just a fancy masher and boiler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qKhiS_t8G4

Any problems with the pump getting blocked ?


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[GlentoranMark]

Any problems with the pump getting blocked ?


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Not in 6 brews but it was only meant as an experiment. The pump isn't heat rated or food grade but I can't see any problems with it. If it does pack in I'll buy something that has both those qualities.

I'm using BIAB and recirculating the wort beneath the bag so not much grist is travelling through the pump.

It was something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Submersi...C-12V-3W-HC-/332432110993?hash=item4d667f7591

 

[photek1000]

My life after Peco BIAB is basically three Peco's :-)

After buying one and doing a few BIAB brews I decided I wanted to go three vessel, so I bought two more buckets off ebay (about £9 each), another element, some taps and insulation.

Much cheaper than an all in one, but does take up a fair amount of space.

 

[Slid]

Done about 5 AG BIAB in the Peco now.
I get along nicely with it.
But I feel like there is more to be had now , and tidier , easier , more efficient brews to be done.

Any PECO users moved on and not regretted it ?

And if so what did you move to ?

Or PECO lifers ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got the BIAB stuff from the HBC, which includes a PECO Boiler. I only ever did the one BIAB full length brew - a very nice Cascade IPA that came with the kit. I had been doing stove top for a while prior to this, usually adding a one can kit for a sort of partial mash brew.

I got a GF shortly afterwards and the BIAB equipment has always been very useful ever since, to heat up the sparge water and to separate grain from wort on the odd times the GF has got clogged up.

Wheat beers have been problematical in the GF for sure and I have found quite a few other ways to cock things up that David Heath never seems to experience.

 

[jceg316]

I went from a Peco to stainless steel to Grainfather. I replaced the tap on the peco with a SS ball valve and after many brews the plastic started to warp and leak around the tap. I also used to get a lot of issued with the element and kettle lead.

The SS setup was way more hardy in some ways, but had its problems in another. I turned it into a HERMS and at 50L was a bit too big for my needs. It was electric and used the same sort of element and controller the Peco used.

Now I use a Grainfather and love it. I'm not good at and I don't like the DIY aspect of equipment set up and just want to make recipes and brew, which the GF allows me to do very well. It's also smaller which was necessary as I no longer had the space I used to have.

 

[foxbat]

Peco lifer here with custom power regulator, though thinking of getting an Ace/Klarstein clone in the new year so I can do stepped mashes. That ability, along with greatly reduced manual effort during brewday is really all that you're buying with one of the Ace/Grainfather/Braumeister systems.

 

[wfr42]

Was very happy with my peco and enjoyed making beer i really enjoyed with "budget" equipment.

Unfortunately I burnt a wheat beer onto the element and upgraded to a 40l buffalo (and upgraded the tap). I like the concealed element and the 3 brews to date have gone pretty well.

 

[chesters-mild]

Just done my 12th or 13th brew on my digital Peco, I use a separate mash tun but use the Peco to heat the strike water etc.
Now have noticed the fuse cover on the mains plug has melted a bit and the plug was getting very hot during the boil. I think I'll replace the plug before the next use just to be safe, brew day worked fine no problems at all, getting a decent boil at 100c. so I don't think I'm over pushing the unit, any thoughts please?
Cheers

 

[foxbat]

Just done my 12th or 13th brew on my digital Peco, I use a separate mash tun but use the Peco to heat the strike water etc.
Now have noticed the fuse cover on the mains plug has melted a bit and the plug was getting very hot during the boil. I think I'll replace the plug before the next use just to be safe, brew day worked fine no problems at all, getting a decent boil at 100c. so I don't think I'm over pushing the unit, any thoughts please?
Cheers

You need a "hot condition" lead like this one. Being very noticeably fatter and heavy duty than ordinary cables they have a lower resistance and won't melt during long usage periods

 

[chesters-mild]

You need a "hot condition" lead like this one. Being very noticeably fatter and heavy duty than ordinary cables they have a lower resistance and won't melt during long usage periods

Ta for that foxbat, but the lead from the mains is fine into the Peco digital control box, it's the plug that's the problem.
Cheers

 

[jceg316]

Since I last wrote here I've been through several Peco buckets. They always fail and I've stopped using them. The elements break very easily, I don't think they were made for 1 hour boils.

 

[Clint]

I looked them all...I could get a grainfather if I wanted to but just had recurring doubts that something with so many switches and stuff would definitely go wrong...not because it was rubbish but because it would be just my luck! That would have done my head in! So I bought 2 32 litre pots from malt miller,one with bazooka and tap,a big blue picnic cooler with bazooka plus some digital thermometers. ...well won those made a wort chiller and cracked on. It's simple,easy and works. Nothing much to break,easy you fix. I think if I did feel lucky a gf it would be!

 

[foxbat]

Since I last wrote here I've been through several Peco buckets. They always fail and I've stopped using them. The elements break very easily, I don't think they were made for 1 hour boils.

How are you breaking the elements? If they're kept free of crud during heat-up stages then they shouldn't break. If (for example - not saying you're doing this) you don't stir while wort is coming to the boil and the element gets an insulating layer of caramelised sugars on it then the resulting heat build-up will damage where the wires are attached at the back. This applies to any immersion element.