Which Urn do I ask for...

[robster62]

I keep coming back to the digiboil. Brew keg tap have it cheaper but I never see it in stock. Planning on treating myself after xmas

https://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/rob...ry/473-digiboil-35l-digital-boiler-2400w.html

Seems to be in stick at the moment.

 

[Saisonator]

I would look out for a second hand all in one system.
Should be able to find one being sold by a lockdown brewing kit collector.

 

[crowcrow]

How about one of these? Link here

I can vouch for the klarstein - love mine. I'd go for the 30 or 35litre one, as my 30 actually only goes to 27 litres to the max fill line.

It is a good bit of kit that does all I need. I've done 6 brews so far and very happy with it, my mate has over 50 brews with his. Shout if you have any questions but there are already a few thread on using them.

 

[crowcrow]

Ordered this urn. It’s £29.99 20L and probably a pile o carp and won’t be able to do rolling boil without modifications. But I thought hey it’s only £30 delivered. A project for lockdown

https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/lloytr...inless-steel-catering-urn-water-boiler-silver

Bargain! I'd been looking for a sparge water heater - I may have to make room for that!

 

[phillc]

I bought an urn which was advertised as 20L, but the "Max" fill line is only 18L and I can just about squeeze 19L in there. 20L would be absolutely right to the top lip.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B081RX953J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a decent urn and does a good job of heating the sparge water, but it's on the very edge of being big enough.

I brew in a Klarstein Brauheld Pro 35L:

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/?cl=det...&varselid[0]=ce01c0bcac0375f6b3509c8371f3b65a
Generally I'm using 13L strike water and the full 19L sparge, to get me to around a 20L-22L batch. Some is lost in the grain, some in the boil and I usually leave 1-2L in the bottom of the mashtun as it's full of crap.

Anyway, the point is - be careful with 20L urns and I wish I'd bought something with larger capacity.

 

[Ashman]

I bought an urn which was advertised as 20L, but the "Max" fill line is only 18L and I can just about squeeze 19L in there. 20L would be absolutely right to the top lip.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B081RX953J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a decent urn and does a good job of heating the sparge water, but it's on the very edge of being big enough.

I brew in a Klarstein Brauheld Pro 35L:

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/?cl=det...&varselid[0]=ce01c0bcac0375f6b3509c8371f3b65a
Generally I'm using 13L strike water and the full 19L sparge, to get me to around a 20L-22L batch. Some is lost in the grain, some in the boil and I usually leave 1-2L in the bottom of the mashtun as it's full of crap.

Anyway, the point is - be careful with 20L urns and I wish I'd bought something with larger capacity.

That looks similar to the el cheapo one I went for but yours has a thermostat. I also saw this 18L popup last night for £59(unsure about delivery). Quite low wattage but has some useful extras. Debating buying that aswell! Wife is going to kill me. Oh wait I’m waiting for the divorce!

https://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Home-L...8qvfm4&listtype=search&searchparam=Braufreund

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

How thick is the (edit stainless steel) on the burco? I was looking at the bufalo

I almost went for one of the cheapy cheapy ones then had second thoughts and got a decent one (Burco Cygnet 30L, £89 from Amazon but probably available cheaper).
My reasoning was that given the expected life of the thing the extra cost works out at peanuts per brew. Also I feel better giving some money to a UK company.
Very pleased with the Burco: can't fault it.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Do you run any pumps? I’m looking at the mp-15RM. However I’m not that sure of the benefits of using a pump.

If you're on a budget then you can get by with one of the cheap light brown 12v 'solar recirculating' pumps that are about a tenner from eBay. I have four and none has ever given so much as a hiccup

Edit: @Ashman I have a couple of these pumps too, and they are excellent (£10 off eBay)

 

[aamcle]

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/buffalo-manual-fill-water-boiler/gl349
try that at 40litres it has the space you need. Use a little cash for a proper controler PT100/SSR/PID you should be under 2hundred and be properly equiped.

 

[Ashman]

If you're on a budget then you can get by with one of the cheap light brown 12v 'solar recirculating' pumps that are about a tenner from eBay. I have four and none has ever given so much as a hiccup

Edit: @Ashman I have a couple of these pumps too, and they are excellent (£10 off eBay)

Oh I bought an old grain father controller (essentially a stc-200) that has a pump switch and a heater switch and thermostat. Plan was to connect up a pump. I will look at a pump. Struggling to find stainless pipes. Yes I’m on a budget but hacking together a system.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Oh I bought an old grain father controller (essentially a stc-200) that has a pump switch and a heater switch and thermostat. Plan was to connect up a pump. I will look at a pump. Struggling to find stainless pipes. Yes I’m on a budget but hacking together a system.

I use silicone hoses: they are cheap, flexible and easy to connect with barbed fittings :-)
On the subject of stainless etc you are fine to use different metals, just so long as they aren't directly in contact with each other. What you want to avoid is brass (or copper) touching stainless, as in the presence of acidic wort you will get a current flowing (basically it's battery) which will cause rapid corrosion. So long as you have a layer of non-conducting material between (or a bit of hose) you'll have no trouble.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I heard people say they've problems with mash recirculating pumps jamming up with debris, so I spent a bit of time making a decent filter to go 'upstream' of mine and touch wood so far I've had no problems... perhaps if you're doing BIAB you'll have no problems with this, but if you want to make a DIY filter then I recommend "30 mesh" stainless steel anti-rodent screening: the holes in it are 0.6mm which seems to work very well. You can buy it in A4 sheets (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083RXMS5C)

 

[phillc]

I use an inline filter like this:

That particular picture is from a US company called "Bouncer" I think it is, if you want to search for videos and stuff. However, I bought mine from China in a job lot and have some spares if anyone is interested.

I've found this type of filter is more useful than the bazooka style that came with my Klarstein:

This screws into the outlet at the bottom of the mashtun. The problem is, once it's full and blocked, there's no way to really unblock it or clean it, because it's at the bottom of the wort.

The "Bouncer" style can be put inline somewhere. I place it just after the tap but before the re-circulating pump. When it's full and blocked, turn off the pump, disconnect the filter, clean it, re-attach and re-start pump. It can be a little messy when disconnecting, with wort retained in the hoses (just disconnect over a bucket), but certainly easier than trying to clear something under 25L of wort.

The in-line style can also be used at bottling/kegging time to keep trub out of the beer.

 

[Gerryjo]

I almost went for one of the cheapy cheapy ones then had second thoughts and got a decent one (Burco Cygnet 30L, £89 from Amazon but probably available cheaper).
My reasoning was that given the expected life of the thing the extra cost works out at peanuts per brew. Also I feel better giving some money to a UK company.
Very pleased with the Burco: can't fault it.

That's the average price for a burco but they're solid..

 

[Gerryjo]

I use an inline filter like this:

View attachment 35002

That particular picture is from a US company called "Bouncer" I think it is, if you want to search for videos and stuff. However, I bought mine from China in a job lot and have some spares if anyone is interested.

I've found this type of filter is more useful than the bazooka style that came with my Klarstein:
View attachment 35003
This screws into the outlet at the bottom of the mashtun. The problem is, once it's full and blocked, there's no way to really unblock it or clean it, because it's at the bottom of the wort.

The "Bouncer" style can be put inline somewhere. I place it just after the tap but before the re-circulating pump. When it's full and blocked, turn off the pump, disconnect the filter, clean it, re-attach and re-start pump. It can be a little messy when disconnecting, with wort retained in the hoses (just disconnect over a bucket), but certainly easier than trying to clear something under 25L of wort.

The in-line style can also be used at bottling/kegging time to keep trub out of the beer.

The bouncer looks a better set up for a hop rocket than filter..

 

[Ashman]

I bought an urn which was advertised as 20L, but the "Max" fill line is only 18L and I can just about squeeze 19L in there. 20L would be absolutely right to the top lip.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B081RX953J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a decent urn and does a good job of heating the sparge water, but it's on the very edge of being big enough.

I brew in a Klarstein Brauheld Pro 35L:

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/?cl=det...&varselid[0]=ce01c0bcac0375f6b3509c8371f3b65a
Generally I'm using 13L strike water and the full 19L sparge, to get me to around a 20L-22L batch. Some is lost in the grain, some in the boil and I usually leave 1-2L in the bottom of the mashtun as it's full of crap.

Anyway, the point is - be careful with 20L urns and I wish I'd bought something with larger capacity.

I bought an urn which was advertised as 20L, but the "Max" fill line is only 18L and I can just about squeeze 19L in there. 20L would be absolutely right to the top lip.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B081RX953J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a decent urn and does a good job of heating the sparge water, but it's on the very edge of being big enough.

I brew in a Klarstein Brauheld Pro 35L:

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/?cl=det...&varselid[0]=ce01c0bcac0375f6b3509c8371f3b65a
Generally I'm using 13L strike water and the full 19L sparge, to get me to around a 20L-22L batch. Some is lost in the grain, some in the boil and I usually leave 1-2L in the bottom of the mashtun as it's full of crap.

Anyway, the point is - be careful with 20L urns and I wish I'd bought something with larger capacity.

Did you had a tap to it ?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I use an inline filter like this:

View attachment 35002

That particular picture is from a US company called "Bouncer" I think it is, if you want to search for videos and stuff. However, I bought mine from China in a job lot and have some spares if anyone is interested.

I've found this type of filter is more useful than the bazooka style that came with my Klarstein:
View attachment 35003
This screws into the outlet at the bottom of the mashtun. The problem is, once it's full and blocked, there's no way to really unblock it or clean it, because it's at the bottom of the wort.

The "Bouncer" style can be put inline somewhere. I place it just after the tap but before the re-circulating pump. When it's full and blocked, turn off the pump, disconnect the filter, clean it, re-attach and re-start pump. It can be a little messy when disconnecting, with wort retained in the hoses (just disconnect over a bucket), but certainly easier than trying to clear something under 25L of wort.

The in-line style can also be used at bottling/kegging time to keep trub out of the beer.

All the ready-made ones I saw looked a bit small in terms of surface area, so I made my own by folding an A4 sheet of '30 Mesh' stainless in half and sewing up the sides (using stainless wire) to make a sort of cushion that sits inside the Burco, with a bit of silicone hose leading to a barb fitted to the ball valve. Works well, but somehow those little hop seeds STILL manage to find a way in.

I've found that with this much surface area I've not so far had any problems with it clogging up (touch wood)

 

[phillc]

Did you had a tap to it ?

No. It came with a tap. Unfortunately, it's one that automatically returns to the closed position, which can be a bit annoying at times but I can live with it.

 

[phillc]

All the ready-made ones I saw looked a bit small in terms of surface area, so I made my own by folding an A4 sheet of '30 Mesh' stainless in half and sewing up the sides (using stainless wire) to make a sort of cushion that sits inside the Burco, with a bit of silicone hose leading to a barb fitted to the ball valve.

That looks like a quality piece of home made kit. Well done. I'm surprised something like this is not commonly available on the general homebrew market.

 

[Ashman]

Oops. After investigation it seems typical controllers and the iec spec c13/14 are only rated to 10 amps. I suppose I could always go lower urn output (sub 2000W looking at 1800W) rather than the 2500w variety I ordered with some trade offs. I assumed because kitchen kettles used similar connectors that I’d be fine but reading the spec’d no.
However looking you can get 2000w+ kitchen kettles but they have specialist connectors! Lower wattage kitchen kettles seem to have the traditional kettle (c13/c14) leads.