The Right Boiler & Using a wort chiller properly

[paulywalks]

I currently use a stock pot on the hob as a boiler, its not ideal so wanted to buy a proper boiler to run off the mains.

Firstly can anyone recommend a particularly good boiler? Looking online there are quite a few that vary between £75 and £175.

Secondly, with my stock pot I submurge in an ice bath to cool to yeast pitch temp. With the boiler I assume i'll need a wort chiller coil. However the taps in my flat are all funny shapes, so i'm worried that I simply wont be able to get a tap fitting to work with what I have. Does anyone have recommendations on how to work with this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bigchris]

I've used a Buffalo boiler 40L for a couple years now. Generally available from Nisbetts catering supplies but typically £140, perhaps less on their e-bay shop. if you're patient then wait for their e-bay sale. Picked mine up for around £90 delivered. Sometimes they also appear second hand on e-bay.

 

[rpt]

I got my 40L Buffalo from the Nisbetts clearance store for £66 delivered. Apart from a slight dent it was new. I don't have a chiller. I use a no-chill cube, which is a 25L HDPE jerry can which was about £7 delivered off ebay. I just transfer the hot wort into it, squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it. It takes several hours to cool in my garage but you can actually leave it for days (or even months) before pouring into your FV and pitching the yeast.

 

[beermaker]

Easy enough to make one from a plastic fermenter and a kettle element. Get a cheapo kettle from the supermarket and you can take the element out and fit to the fermenter with a hole saw. There's a good how-to on here somewhere

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=9899

 

[krazypara3165]

I got my 40L Buffalo from the Nisbetts clearance store for £66 delivered. Apart from a slight dent it was new. I don't have a chiller. I use a no-chill cube, which is a 25L HDPE jerry can which was about £7 delivered off ebay. I just transfer the hot wort into it, squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it. It takes several hours to cool in my garage but you can actually leave it for days (or even months) before pouring into your FV and pitching the yeast.

Are they still doing used ones for that price?

 

[joe1002]

I got my 40L Buffalo from the Nisbetts clearance store for £66 delivered. Apart from a slight dent it was new. I don't have a chiller. I use a no-chill cube, which is a 25L HDPE jerry can which was about £7 delivered off ebay. I just transfer the hot wort into it, squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it. It takes several hours to cool in my garage but you can actually leave it for days (or even months) before pouring into your FV and pitching the yeast.

Are they still doing used ones for that price?

Yep, see here http://www.nisbetsclearance.co.uk/p-3931-ebcc193-b.aspx

 

[rpt]

I got my 40L Buffalo from the Nisbetts clearance store for £66 delivered. Apart from a slight dent it was new. I don't have a chiller. I use a no-chill cube, which is a 25L HDPE jerry can which was about £7 delivered off ebay. I just transfer the hot wort into it, squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it. It takes several hours to cool in my garage but you can actually leave it for days (or even months) before pouring into your FV and pitching the yeast.

Are they still doing used ones for that price?

Yep, see here http://www.nisbetsclearance.co.uk/p-3931-ebcc193-b.aspx

That's actually £84 inc VAT and delivery. Still a good price though. You'll need to change the tap and add a hop stopper (see my signature for a how-to)

 

[Dave1970]

The Buffalo does have it's weaknesses - if you do a search on here you'll find various "buffalo problem" threads There seem to be some that cause no problems and others that do. The good thing though is that because lots of people use them these problems are well known, and cheap (sometimes free) to sort out.

 

[Squiffy]

I use a Brupaks boiler, works well but could be a bit bigger. I have to keep some wort boiling on the hob to top up losses from steam to end up with about 23L. They are about £150.
Regarding the chiller, I made mine from 10mm microbore wrapped round a large paint can. It is a better size than the one's you can buy. If you use a length of hosepipe you should be able to get fittings for your tap and to connect the other end to the chiller.

 

[paulywalks]

Fantastic responses guys, thanks to everyone, think i'm up for a bit of DIY!