Thermo pot with pre-fitted tap

[pswillies]

I'm planning a few brewery upgrades in the near future, including a Bergland thermo pot tun from ebay. I'm looking at the 70L, but it looks like it already has a tap fitted. Is this easy to switch out for a new valve, or does the hole require re-cutting?

I'd prefer to do the bottom drain mod, but if there's already a hole in the side then I guess that's probably the easiest way to go. Thoughts?

Either way, more shiny coming soon

 

[chastuck]

I'd forget the 70 and go for the 80L. The tap on the 70 is at the wrong height to be of any useful benefit. The slightly smaller 60L is also available without a tap.

 

[Fil]

I had a very similar quandry.. and went for the bigger 80l thermobox and fitted a bottom drain.

With the 70l i reasoned the side hole for the tap is too small for the standard 1/2" fittings commonly used, and
would therefore need NEAT working to enlarge, as the tap fitted is not easy to attach to either inside or out, And bieng on the side would need to rely on a syphon effect to drain with a minimal deadspace.

the heat retention of the thermopots is ledgendary so i reasoned the extra 10l capacity wont be that detrimental, and as i always seem to want to brew more.. biger seems beautiful, and i can now experiment with full volume herms mashing :)

And while i did hack the base for access with an angle grinder i managed to fit a concealed drain in the bottom ok :) so if i can do it..

 

[chastuck]

I had a very similar quandry.. and went for the bigger 80l thermobox and fitted a bottom drain.

With the 70l i reasoned the side hole for the tap is too small for the standard 1/2" fittings commonly used, and
would therefore need NEAT working to enlarge, as the tap fitted is not easy to attach to either inside or out, And bieng on the side would need to rely on a syphon effect to drain with a minimal deadspace.

the heat retention of the thermopots is ledgendary so i reasoned the extra 10l capacity wont be that detrimental, and as i always seem to want to brew more.. biger seems beautiful, and i can now experiment with full volume herms mashing :)

And while i did hack the base for access with an angle grinder i managed to fit a concealed drain in the bottom ok :) so if i can do it..

I can't vouch for this myself, but I've been told the available space on the bottom of some thermopots, as supplied of late, limits what you can do in terms of concealing the tap and pipe work for a bottom drain. Personally, I've always gone for fitting a skirt inside the existing bottom. This gives you more space to play with and you can forget the angle grinder. Also allows for a bigger tap - I always fit 1" BSP tap and pipe work.

 

[timbowden]

I bought the 70L from Bergland, with tap, and refitted a ball valve as per a how to on this site. Works perfectly and with the solar pumps I can pretty much all of the wort . Not worth the hassle of trying to cut a bottom drain in my opinion

 

[pswillies]

Thanks for the tips guys... will have a think about that.

:)

 

[Vossy1]

It's very easy IIRC, I remember Aleman posting up on how to do it somewhere I think :hmm: I'll pm him and ask :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Home brew builder does them ready built which makes it easy.

I know where the vid is that shows how I swapped the tap but the link is broken. I'll try and get the vid hosted elsewhere

 

[pswillies]

Thanks gents.

Just waiting on prices from Bergland and I'll get things ordered. Looking forwards to the fun of the build again

 

[Aleman]

I know where the vid is that shows how I swapped the tap but the link is broken. I'll try and get the vid hosted elsewhere

Well eventually found it . . . Someone has hacked the site that I originally hosted it at, and trying to get to it without the CMS working was fun

[youtube:1d2g2bpr]exPC1w8YBMA[/youtube:1d2g2bpr]

 

[The Goatreich]

Home brew builder

Holy moly, this site is EXACTLY what I've been searching for since going all grain. I am rubbish at building things, so buying high quality shiny brewing equipment is something I've wanted to do for a short while.

Time to start saving :)

 

[Monte Cristo]

Is there any reason why you can't have thermopots for all three vessels HLT, mash tun and boiler. Other than expense of course, just wondering? :hat:

 

[Fil]

thermopots do make great hlts and boilers, but if u use an immersion chiller the insulation on the boiler will be counter productive when chilling. but with a plate or cfc straight into the FV thats not an issue.....

And element holes thru the side are tricky to finish well, but burco style bottom mount elements dont need a finished touch on the bottom skin as its not seen :)

 

[Aleman]

Is there any reason why you can't have thermopots for all three vessels HLT, mash tun and boiler. Other than expense of course, just wondering? :hat:

I have one :) . . . Just a small one that will produce 20L, but I have a 38L HLT and Boiler and a 25L mash Tun and Fermenter

Effin femtobrewery Thread

 

[The Goatreich]

That is practically pornographic Aleman.

 

[Vossy1]

Thanks for sorting the vid A :thumb:

 

[bobsbeer]

Oooooo I do like brew porn. And this is just what I'm looking for. I was thinking of changing my HLT to a thermobox as it would hold it's heat better. Current one is a plastic bin with tesco element. I was also thinking of installing a HERMS coil into the HLT to act as the heat source. Has anyone done that? I know most seem to use a small vessel as the heat exchanger for the HERMS. Any reason for this rather than use the HLT with a coil? My MT is a 38lt thermopot, so a 38lt HLT should do the job admirably. I figured a burco element in the bottom, with an SS coil around the inside of the HLT for the heat exchanger. What size pipe should that be? I figured MrLard should be able to do the coil. Or is there anybody else who do that sort of thing better/cheaper?