Upgrading my ACE boiler...

[AdeDunn]

Probably, I'll have a look before it goes to the tip, see if there is anything that I can fix. I could smell burning cable insulation whilst brewing, but we have neighbours who burn wire regularly, so I assumed they were at it again... Seems maybe not though... lol

On the bright side, at least it went out brewing a nice Mosaic single hop APA.

Oh, and my wife has pretty much given me the go ahead on either a 30L Brewdevil or Hopcat (the Klarstein version is more expensive for some reason...), just need to get the pups vaccinations sorted out first though. I fielded the idea of a DIY build too, but she vetoed that. Seems I did her head in just adding the pump system to the ACE.....

 

[AdeDunn]

Uhm, well I found the problem, it wasn't exactly difficult to be honest....



I guess I really could smell burning cable insulation.....

 

[BeerCat]

Wow i wonder what caused that? Are you going to rewire it? When my burco went it melted the plug socket!

 

[AdeDunn]

My wife literally told me not to even try... I reckon she's worried what it might do given another chance... lol

So now have 2 plans in place, a short term one, and a long term one.

For the short term, I've ordered the parts to fit an element to my 33 litre SS pan (including a pizza tray to act as a false bottom, nice big grain bag etc), so I can at least still brew.

Slightly longer term, we're saving up for a BrewDevil system. This was surprisingly my wife's decision. I think she's had enough of me DIYing my own kit.... lol Once I have that, the stockpot will be used as a sparge water heater, so will remain useful.

 

[Bigcol49]

Wow i wonder what caused that? Are you going to rewire it? When my burco went it melted the plug socket!

Hi!
Tried out my 40 litre Buffalo with a test boil - the live pin on the plug got really hot, so I'll check out all of the mods that I've made - probably a loose connection somewhere.

 

[foxbat]

Hi!
Tried out my 40 litre Buffalo with a test boil - the live pin on the plug got really hot, so I'll check out all of the mods that I've made - probably a loose connection somewhere.

Sounds like your plug isn't a true "hot condition" lead. I'd shelve it and replace it with a proper heavy duty item. A fire in your wall socket isn't worth the risk.

 

[Keats]

Had a look, posted a link to some lubricant that might help your solar pump not to stick so much.

I know it doesn't help you anyway, but I am very relieved it's a different pump. My wife would have killed me dead if I had bought a pig in a poke...

My boiler came with pretty near everything to be honest. Bottom upwards: small bazooka (replaced with a longer one, with a coarser mesh, as the small one blocked stupidly fast...), stainless steel false bottom, BIAB bag. I've been mashing with it all in, then once the grain is out of the way I removed the false bottom. I tried leaving it in, but instead of the whole hops forming a filter over the bazooka, they formed one over the false bottom, but let a load of fine trub reach the bazooka and clog it up.... So I whip the false bottom out before I boil, the fine trub just goes around the sides as no gasket so there's a .5 or so mm gap around it in places which the hops don't cover very well. I get the odd bit of grain still gets into the boiler though when my wife misses the BIAB bag slightly whilst pouring for me... Since I started doing a vorlauf I've caught them all back in the bag though, or in the stainless steel colander I pour the wort through.....

I know I'll need to watch my flow whilst mashing too, read about the bent false bottom. That's part of the reason for the mini ball valve on the outlet of the pump, so I can start it quite slowly so as not to end up with too much pressure on the bag.

Ooh, another question just came to mind. Do you chaps clean in place, or dismantle and clean it that way? I currently take it up to the bathroom and clean it like I do with my FVs, soaking them in percarbonate, then giving them a rub with a clean dish sponge, then rinsing over and over with clean water. I take the head off my shower (and remove the washer) and use the pipe as a hose pipe to fill and rinse.:nod: I think my wife gets fed up of having to put the shower head back on when I don't bother...... :thumb1:

Anyway, will definitely take pics once it's together.

Oh, and as well as the U bend made of 2 elbows, I'm going to use one of these for the return: https://www.brewbuilder.co.uk/1/2-pickup-tube-xl.html. See if I can get a bit of a whirlpool, or at least push wort through the immersion chiller when chilling, using that bend in the end. Might need bending more though to work, hoping not though.

Where did you get your replacement bazooka filter? The ones I've seen screw in but the one with my Ace is attached with a jubilee clip.

 

[AdeDunn]

You have to buy a 1/2" BSP socket at the same time. Screw that onto the bazooka thread, then screw the socket onto the thread on the back of the boiler tap. I will mention, I had to bend the end of the bazooka to get it to fit.

This pic the socket is screwed on to the bazooka already.

 

[Keats]

You have to buy a 1/2" BSP socket at the same time. Screw that onto the bazooka thread, then screw the socket onto the thread on the back of the boiler tap. I will mention, I had to bend the end of the bazooka to get it to fit.

This pic the socket is screwed on to the bazooka already.

View attachment 13947

Thanks Ade, hadn't thought of that but obvious really!

 

[AdeDunn]

Thanks Ade, hadn't thought of that but obvious really!

It's a bit fiddly getting the bazooka on and off, but compared to messing around with the stupid jubilee clip system it's a doddle...

 

[BeerCat]

Sounds like your plug isn't a true "hot condition" lead. I'd shelve it and replace it with a proper heavy duty item. A fire in your wall socket isn't worth the risk.

They come pre wired.