Jim's Beer Kit

I cracked and purchased the hozelock pump

Cheers Roscoe - I do like the look of the Brewer's Hardware ones. Shipping is pretty steep, but if I get 3 the price works out pretty close to the plastic Agrtech ones (I'm assuming I can find someone to split an order with in this case). The 35oC seems to be the issue with the pumps, otherwise the ...

Morten, do you mind me asking how you getting on with this? I'm tempted to try the same...]

Scotia - where do you get your spray heads from? There doesn't appear to be too many UK suppliers...

Thanks!

I posted my (very basic) experiment here... http://w.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=31603&start=20 (I'm Mackiwi on the other forum) In brief, I found that at 3.4v the pump shifted 2.5l per minute, and below that voltage it stopped pumping. So voltage control didn't get me down to 1l/min...

I don't think they are magnetically coupled, so restricting the output will stress the motor. I went round the houses trying to control my solar pump down to 1 litre a minute. Never got there. Led dimmers, voltage control, PWM, recirculation valve, etc. Never came up with a way to control it accurat...

Hmm, given that a stainless compression fitting can easily cost £10, you don't have to get many threads out the die to make it pay for itself!

Scotia - do you think it's feasible to consider threading 1/2" BSP stainless pipe oneself, without specialist equipment? Using something like...

http://www.tap-die.com/contents/en-uk/p ... _dies.html

I'm interested in this too, for much the same reasons. Trouble is that stainless compression fittings for joining pipes and taps, etc, are very expensive. It seemed to me that it would work out ok if you could cut your pipe to length and tap the ends to screw into the usual 1/2" BSP taps/elbows/tees...

How soon after mashing are you taking the reading? you must let the mash proceed for 15-20 minutes, before then the mash may not have reached its final acidity level. Let the sample cool to room temperature, as near to 20C as possible. What is the grist/ liquor ratio? What is the ABV? A mash acidit...

Thanks for the reply guys. I'm measuring the alkalinity directly using a salifert kit. That is coming out at 1.2dKH, which I believe is 26ppm bicarbonate (using the Bru'n Water calculator). Like yourselves I was expecting not to have to do any acidification. My measured pH isn't far off what is repo...

Hi all, I'm looking for a little help. I'm clearly doing something wrong with my water treatment or use of Bru'n Water (which is a great spreadsheet, many thanks Martin). I'm aiming for a mash pH of 5.3, but getting 5.6. This has been the case for the last two brews, which is as long as I've had my ...

A wee update on this experiment... 1. As reported earlier, there was no difference in mash/kettle performance that I could measure. Volume, OG, efficiency was identical. 2. I reported that the fermentations had started to diverge, with the treated brew edging ahead. This trend continued, with the tr...

Cazamodo wrote:
Just as a rouch point, so far Ive been quoted $75usd for a 304 98L, and $42usd for a 201 100L

And then shipping costs...

And then import duty too? It would be interesting to know what all the extras were - has anyone purchased kit like this from China?

I bought a "degas" fitting from Barneey - I think it's an American couple that is like a Sankey but not quite, the beer-out doesn't quite engage with the spear. The result is that when you engage the coupler, the keg degasses through the beer-out port, without showering you with beer. I'm sure he ca...

Correct, the report is lacking any indication of alkalinity (which I find surprising). I emailed Scottish water asking for the figure, but no reply. However, I measured it myself with a Salifert kit at 20ppm, so that is the figure I'm using.