Jim's Beer Kit

And a Happy New Beer!

he said that he'd need to install THREE double-pole isolating switches, one for each of the elements Are the elements on a plug n socket? if so they count as an isolater Hi, Hippy. No, each element is switched by: A single-pole relay in the control panel A single-pole MCB in the brewery Consumer Un...

Update: I found an electrician on mybuilder, and he came round yesterday. After explaining what I wanted doing on the brewery, he said that he'd need to install THREE double-pole isolating switches, one for each of the elements. :shock: When I said I didn't want that, he told me it was the regulatio...

Even if the water is super-minerally, won't the steam be pure? :-k After several years my pressure cooker has developed a good chalky deposit under the waterline, this being London, but the lid and valves are perfectly clear. I know it's 'safety first' with pressure cookers but I just can't see the ...

I'm a fan, especially for milds.

McMullan wrote: Jars no more than half full.

Are we talking about canning wort? Because I just leave a few centrimetres at the top and usually get a good seal.

I have a Prestige hi-dome and love it. I can just squeeze two one-litre kilner jars into it, or a single one-litre conical. I fitted a pressure gauge on the lid and can confirm that the heaviest weight gives 15psi if it's hissing loudly but intermittently. If it's just whispering along then the pres...

Thanks for the replies chaps. Yeah, I guess I'll ask the spark -- if I can get hold of one. None of them seem to want my custom. :( But future expansion of my brewery isn't a factor. I've been brewing for ten years now, and although I've sometimes wished for a smaller set-up I've never once wanted a...

At the moment my brewery -- which runs two 2.4kw elements simultaneously -- is hard-wired into the kitchen ring main. This seems to work fine, a touch of warmth in the cables after an hour but nothing more. Obviously I'm careful not to use the kitchen kettle at the same time. Now I'm getting an elec...

There was a long thread about microscopes a few years back -- might be worth a look.

I bought one and played with it a few times and then put it away in the cupboard. It was fun, but I can't really say it was useful.

Do you mean a HERMS? RIMS is when the wort is heated directly by an element. HERMS is when the wort flows through a coil immersed in hot water. If HERMS, the 400W element is rather weedy and might be too slow to counteract temperature changes in the MT. My HERMS pot contains 4 litres and has a 2.4 k...

Thanks for replies, chaps. I think I won't bother, then. The on/off switch on the fuse box will do instead.

I'll guard against Punk IPA clones with ceaseless vigilance, especially at flameout.

Just wondering if it's worth adding an emergency stop button to my brewery. I see a few people here have them. Do they ever actually get used? Or are they mostly 'panel bling'?

Since they're carrying the current for two kettle elements I imagine they'd have to be pretty hefty...

Even if the element's drawing less than 13A, running it from a 13A socket for an hour is far from ideal.

By the way, did anyone else get much browner hops than normal? My Fuggles, my EKGs, and the EKGs I planted in my sister's garden in North London had lots of brown/dead cones which had to be discarded. I see Barneey's were rather browned too. Anyone else get this ... and is it the weather or somethi...