Unconventional use for brewing equipment

[Nicks90]

Today the heater in my small aquarium housing my betta fish, Drax, stopped working.
Only noticed when I went to feed him and saw the temp had dropped to 20c
Eeeeek, new one ordered for next day delivery, but what to do overnight?
I know, old heat belt!!! Will leave it on low, which I think is about 20w, and should stop the tank losing too much more heat, without risking the temp actually rising and boiling my little fishy.

So what else have people done with brewing equipment that's out of the ordinary?

 

[Stan's Brew]

Sous-vide and yoghurt in an all-in-one, bit of a faff and dedicated machines are better, next will be heating water for an outside tin bath (stainless pot over a wood fire, recirc pump),

Hope fishy survives

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Tried to deep fry the Christmas Turkey in the turboboiler. The auto cutout kicked in as oil got hotter than the boiling water and I had to replace the cutout and the fuse. Nice plan but poorly implemented. I did manage to finish cooking the turkey in a large pot with a gas burner. So christmas was saved.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Today the heater in my small aquarium housing my betta fish, Drax, stopped working.
Only noticed when I went to feed him and saw the temp had dropped to 20c
Eeeeek, new one ordered for next day delivery, but what to do overnight?
I know, old heat belt!!! Will leave it on low, which I think is about 20w, and should stop the tank losing too much more heat, without risking the temp actually rising and boiling my little fishy.

So what else have people done with brewing equipment that's out of the ordinary?

Seems like a good reason to get the parts for an ispindel and build one to monitor the tank temp. Gravity mon has software just measuring temperature, although if it's saltwater fish then you could build to monitor SG as well.
Brewspy will send you a text when thresholds you set such as temp or gravity are breached.

Could be a lifesaver.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Seems like a good reason to get the parts for an ispindel and build one to monitor the tank temp.

Just get one of the Wifi Inkbirds - will do the temperature monitoring and control the heater, Black Friday is the time to buy one as they're always discounted.

My Thermopen was meant to be for brewing only but gets used for cooking and has taken more measurements of river water than anything else.

I got a freebie brewpot which has ended up getting used for cooking, bulk cocktail making and general bin/place to put stuff in. And the missus uses its lid as an anti-spatter lid for our wok.

She also had a bit of a phase of snacking on crystal malt....

 

[sifty]

I germinated my Carolina Reaper chilies in my brew fridge. They were in little grow trays with LED lighting just needed a warm spot...

 

[An Ankoù]

Tried to deep fry the Christmas Turkey in the turboboiler. The auto cutout kicked in as oil got hotter than the boiling water and I had to replace the cutout and the fuse. Nice plan but poorly implemented. I did manage to finish cooking the turkey in a large pot with a gas burner. So christmas was saved.

Deep fried turkey?

Hmmm. Chocolate-coated, battered and deep-fried Brussels sprouts. Now that's what Christmas is all about!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Deep fried turkey?

Hmmm. Chocolate-coated, battered and deep-fried Brussels sprouts. Now that's what Christmas is all about!

Honestly I was very sceptical, but a brit now living in Texas told me it was the best and it really is great. Cooks in less than an hour, moist, wife has the oven to do rest of the trimmings in and me out of the kitchen.
Plus there's fire and danger, what's not to like.
Plenty of youtube videos showing how and how not to do it.

 

[An Ankoù]

Honestly I was very sceptical, but a brit now living in Texas told me it was the best and it really is great. Cooks in less than an hour, moist, wife has the oven to do rest of the trimmings in and me out of the kitchen.
Plus there's fire and danger, what's not to like.
Plenty of youtube videos showing how and how not to do it.

Must give it a go. It's what Christmas is for!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Yes, very important to have a big enough pot and work out the oil fill level to just cover the bird. Do this with water and mark your pot.
@An Ankoù suggest a practice with a chicken first.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

My advice on cooking a turkey