Trial Brew #4 - RIMS
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steve_flack
I'm not entirely sure. I think it's Incoloy but I couldn't find anything saying what it was anywhere. I'm planning on pulling it out and seeing what it's like during the week...
I guess that as it's meant to be in a central heating system they'd be pretty corrosion resistant.
I guess that as it's meant to be in a central heating system they'd be pretty corrosion resistant.
Last edited by steve_flack on Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SteveD
I read somewhere that if you're not noticing much of a result with Irish moss it could be you're not using enough. The dosage rate is often described as a teaspoon, or a lid full, but if the flakes are big, there's more air than substance. I used whirlfloc time before last and got masses of break material. There's a danger though - too much break removed from the wort and guess what, the yeast suffers through lack of protien and can ferment poorly or stop short.Andy wrote:I've used protofloc in my last two brews and the amount of break material which forms is much greater than I got with irish moss.steve_flack wrote:I used whirlfloc/protafloc which works better than Irish moss in my experince. I do remember looking into the fermenter thinking 'where's all the sh*t?'
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steve_flack
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steve_flack
Have you ever noticed that the shiny coating on kettle elements sometimes comes off after being used to boil beer?Andy wrote:Nice one.
My concern is that the element isn't designed to heat potable liquids and so if it isn't stainless then any plating or similar will come into contact with the wort (or dissolve into it over a longer timespan) with unknown results....
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Andy
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Yes, but kettle elements are intended to be used in drinking water and in water the coating does break up over time (and therefore potentially gets ingested by humans) 
If the towel element has the same coating as a kettle element then marvellous, job's a goodun. But do we know that's the case ?
If the towel element has the same coating as a kettle element then marvellous, job's a goodun. But do we know that's the case ?
Dan!
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steve_flack
As I posted before, I couldn't find anything anywhere to find out what it was. It doesn't look like stainless so chances are it's an Incoloy alloy. Incoloy is what you'd usually find on immersion elements that would be used in aggressive environments. My guess is incoloy 800. Both Incoloy and Stainless are used for potable water.
One thing I'd mention is that it doesn't really matter if your kettle element is OK in potable water. Beer is at pH4 after boiling - 1000 times more acidic than tap water (pH is a log10 scale). If the metal on your kettle element dissolves it's still in your beer. Both incoloy and stainless contain metals that are known to be toxic.
One thing I'd mention is that it doesn't really matter if your kettle element is OK in potable water. Beer is at pH4 after boiling - 1000 times more acidic than tap water (pH is a log10 scale). If the metal on your kettle element dissolves it's still in your beer. Both incoloy and stainless contain metals that are known to be toxic.
Would that suggest that something is being deposited on the element (causing dulling) rather than metal being eroded into the wort?DaaB wrote:My kettle element in my boiler come up as good as new after a soak in citric and they've made dozens of brews. I think that towel heater element has plenty of use in it.
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steve_flack
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steve_flack
It seemed to get a bit more roasty with a bit more aging - which is perhaps the opposite of what I'd expect. The recipe is fine as is but it's probably a bit more roasty than most commercial UK milds. If that's a problem then knock the pale chocolate down a smidgen. Notice the recipe use pale chocolate - this is different to normal chocolate in flavour.
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steve_flack