New kit on a budget

[mr_jolly]

I'm putting together a shopping list of kit to mash and brew my first barrel of beer but I don't want to spend any more than is necessary to get things off the ground. So to keep things simple I plan on buying two fermentation buckets (or similar), two kettle elements, and a tap (for the boiler), a cool box + piping (for a mash tun), and a friend's lent me a barrel

For the boiler I was looking at this from wilcos (mainly as it's cheap but also it is available, unlike some of the 10 gallon boilers which seem to have a backlog of orders):
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Home-Brewi ... vt/0075885

My plan is to fit two kettle elements into the sides of the barrel as per instructions found on various internet sites.

I was just wondering if anyone on the forum's used one of these types of barrel for boiling before and is it a good/bad idea?

Also, for mashing, Asda have cool boxes for £7. They are very cheap, have no insulation in the void but they seem to unclip (so I was thinking of unclipping the box inner from the outer and putting expanding foam in the void for insulation ).

Again I suppose I'm wondering if this is a good plan or should I look for a particular brand of cool box?

I'm tempted to buy the kit off the shelf but I'm going to be out of work soon so want to spend as little as possible without spoiling my chances of making a decent brew.

Your thoughts would be welcome...

Many thanks

[Capped]

You'll need a boiler with a wide top,not the one you linked to. I can vouch for the cheapo coolbox mash tun - it's what I use! I insulate it with that red hot-water tank lagging and it doesn't lose more than 2C over two hours. Only problem is that it's a bit flimsy and,like me you'll be looking for something more durable in due course. Certainly does the job,though.

[Jaz_Allen]

You'd be better off with one of these for your boiler:

55ltr food grade container

I have one for my boiler, it's only slightly more expensive than the 25ltr fermenters from wilkos, it's plenty big enough for 5 gallon (or even 10 gallon) brew lengths, and it reeks of garlic (it'll need a good cleaning when you get it). I will put a photo of mine on as soon as photobucket finishes their site maintenance.

[mr_jolly]

Ah that food grade container looks much more sturdy! I just ordered one so thanks for the tip

I've been looking for cheap kettles too but they all seem to have the element beneath the base plate which isn't much use.

I'm definitely going to go down the route of cool box for the mashing. May try a few other shops before I buy though as the ASDA one did seam very unsturdy.

Thanks for your help

[Jaz_Allen]

Sainsbury's £4.89 kettles have decent elements and the long plug pins. (also what I have hooked up to my boiler)

As far as cool boxes go, there is quite a leap in price from the £7.50 24L coolboxes (the same in asda, tesco, sainsburys and argos) up to the higher quality ones, I looked for a long time before picking up some coleman 37L ones for £34.99 each, there is a seller on e-bay that I wish I'd spotted does igloo icecube 48L boxes for £39.00 +£6.80 p&p (e-bay IGLOO boxes), they are easily big enough for brew lengths up to 10 gallons, and are by far the best deal I have been able to find on good quality large cool boxes (the place I bought my Colemans from has upped the price to £42.99, but do stock this alternative, Coleman Combo). If you don't want to spend in the region of £40, one alternative is to buy a fermenting bin from wilkos and wrap it in a couple of camping roll mats to insulate it.

[mr_jolly]

Sainsbury's £4.89 kettles have decent elements and the long plug pins. (also what I have hooked up to my boiler)

Thanks - your advice is very much appreciated

I'll call in at Sainsburys later to see if they have any. Out of interest what do you mean by "the long pins"? I notice that most kettles fit onto a base these days - does this make wiring the element to a mains lead more difficult?

[Jaz_Allen]

The cheap ones unfortunately do have a base to sit on, but the pin configuration on the back of the element is still perfect for an IEC (or kettle) cable. Some of the cheap ones have shorter pins which mean the connection isn't quite as solid, but the Sainsburys ones have the long pins.
Due to the heat involved, you should really use what are known as Hot IEC cables, as the plastic that the cable connector is moulded from is rated for high temperatures. I think they can be obtained from B&Q, I bought a couple off e-bay but the seller has sent me cold cables and I am still in the process of getting them to sort it out. There are a couple of threads on the forum which will explain how to remove the element from the kettle and fit it to your boiler, It's pretty easy really.

[chris_reboot]

avoid the PP plastic for boilers, use HDPE instead (Which I think is what you settled for anyway)

[mr_jolly]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions.

I'm hoping (now I've read your post, Chris) that it is HDPE. Is it likely to be marked in some way to indicate the type of plastic? It's "food grade" (not sure if that automatically implies that it is HDPE though?).

Well I now have the boiler, two kettles (from Sainsburys) and two kettle leads from homebase. Total spend so far £33 which I'm more than happy about.

Mashing kit next...

[Jaz_Allen]

It is HDPE and easily stands up to a good rolling boil. The next thing you may also want to look into is some tank connectors, 90 degree bends, ball valves and a length of 15mm Copper Pipe to make taps for your boiler and Mash tun.

[crunchysaviour]

Hi, Mr Jolly (still keeping out of Mr Jelly's way, I hope!).

I'm doing the same as you - buying or making a load of all-grain kit on a budget. I've almost set myself up with enough equipment for the first brew. The most expensive item so far has been the King Keg (about 40 quid - the two fermenters took the spend there up to 62).

For the mash tun cool box, I have one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Cool-Bo ... 337&sr=8-1 - this is £24 from Amazon (in the "More buying choices" section - I'm not sure why Amazon themselves did that). When I bought mine it was a little cheaper. This is the same cool box as used by the online brew shops for their own-brand mash tuns.
I have not actually done a brew yet, but here's my kit list with prices.

Note that I've had a lot of luck with free delivery and free parking so far!

Of course, I'll post some photos and so on, but so far what I've made is fairly standard.

[chris_reboot]

no, food grade doesn't imply HDPE.

(but I think yours is though).
see this linkon how I made my boiler (and there's other threads on the mash tun and immersion chiller)
all my kit came to £90 for all 3.

[mr_jolly]

Hi, Mr Jolly (still keeping out of Mr Jelly's way, I hope!).

Note that I've had a lot of luck with free delivery and free parking so far!

Were the tank connectors you got from screwfix brass? I can only find speedfit tank connectors (on screwfix site) and I was hoping to use copper or brass wherever possible in the HLT.

Thanks for posting your table of purchases though - I didn't know wilcos sold copper pipe!

[Hogarth]

avoid the PP plastic for boilers, use HDPE instead (Which I think is what you settled for anyway)

I disagree. Polypropylene has a higher melting point (around 150°C) than HDPE (110°C) and stays more rigid at high temperatures. The standard 33l plastic boilers are made from it.

[lewis1981]

search for 'tank coupler' on screwfix and that will give you the brass one that you want. i am unsure as to whether there are fibre washers to seal with these.