My first boiler...

[RedDread]

Morning.

I've recently started taking my hobby seriously, so am about to buy a boiler. I have my eye on a couple of models, but thought it a good idea to ask here for people with more knowledge than me as to their opinions.

First one is a 30 litre Cygnet by Burco which is on eBay. I know it's used extensively by home brewers, but I hear it needs a tweak to maintain a rolling boil. Is this easy to do? Unfortunately, as I'm a new user, the site won't let me post the URLs to them.


The second is a 30 litre by Homefront, available from Hygiene Supplies Direct, which I can't find any info on as to whether it's a feasible option for the home brewer. It's slightly cheaper, but seems to have a couple of safety features that could affect its usefulness, and I have no idea as to whether it'll be customisable or not.

Any help would be appreciated, especially if there are other models I should consider. My budget it small, hence my looking at these two.

 

[RedDread]

Incidentally, the Spam protection wouldn't let me post the word 'p r e m i u m' in the Homefront description, as it's a 'bad or non-English word', which seems a little excessive!

 

[BrotherMalice]

Not used either of the boilers you mention as I built my own, if you are on a tight budget it may be something for you to look into?
There is a great how-to about the process in the how to section :)

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=9899

 

[RedDread]

Thanks, Colin.

I've actually looked into the idea of making my own already, and while the idea appeals, I don't think I have the skills or the patience to accomplish that. Plus I'd like a big shiny boiler rather than a plastic one!

 

[BrotherMalice]

Yeah, I want shiney too, going to look into it more when/if I move house

 

[Baz Chaz]

30 litre boiler doesn't leave you with a lot of spare capacity for a 23 ltr brew, there's a fair number of us around who use a 40ltr Buffallo with a hop strainer and ball valve fitted, gives a good rolling boil and plenty of spare capacity. Nesbitts often have 'em in their sale, couple of threads to check out.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=23127&hilit=digit

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=30083&hilit=buffalo

 

[RedDread]

Hmmm. Food for thought. It's a bit more than I wanted to pay, but if it does the job better than something £20 cheaper, then it seems worth it...

*Edit - One question, though. Do I need a hop filter and ball tap fitted before I use it for all-grain brewing? I can't afford to buy those until next month and want to do a brew or two in the meantime.

 

[Dave1970]

The 40 litre Buffalo is reduced to £89.99 at the moment, loads of people on here have paid more than that & been happy with what they got. The extra capacity really does make life a lot easier
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Buffalo-Manual-Fill-Water-Boiler/CC193/ProductDetail.raction

 

[RedDread]

Yeah, I already have that page open in Chrome! It's £107-ish including VAT, which is £20 more than the Cygnet in looked at. Having said that, the 40l Buffalo are about £160 on eBay!

 

[RedDread]

Right. Ordered it. Thanks for the advice, everyone. Should be brewing a dry stout this weekend!

 

[LeedsBrewer]

Think you've made a wise choice. I've heard lots of people on here that love their 40L Buffalo. Can't wait till i've saved up enough to get one!

 

[Dr Mike]

I've only done one brew with it but can't fault my Buffalo at all. You can use them with the tap which they come with although I'm not sure how you can attach a hop strainer to it (pretty sure it can be done)

 

[Baz Chaz]

Just make sure you clean it thoroughly after use, don't let crud build up in the bottom particularly above where the element is :thumb: