Suitable for Boiler?

[kane]

Hi guys,

What do people think about these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221001329369? ... 1423.l2649

I know people usually suggest the eurocontainers from copper kettle, and its hard to tell from the pictures if they might be suitable.

I'm wanting a new FV so it might be worth a punt, but i dont have a eurocontainer to compare the thickness to.

Does anyone have a micrometer to test the thickness of theirs?

Cheers,
Kane

[edit1now]

Contact the seller and ask what it's made of, and how thick the side walls are.

Polypropylene is good, polythene isn't, and ideally you want 3mm walls, as some thinner food buckets will sag under the weight of your element and other fittings.

[kane]

In this listing it states its polypropylene.
I asked the seller and he couldnt give me an exact thickness, but he said they seem to be about 2-3mm.
He said they were good quality and from germany ....

I think i might as well just get one and if its too thin, use it as a HLT or fermenter.

Kane

[darkonnis]

to be fair, that'd make a cracking fermenter and cheap too. Wonder how much postage would be on 3? at that price you cant really fall off.
I did see someone banding these about: http://www.dvfuels.co.uk/category.asp?catID=4 might be of some use to you, delivery is expensive but if you need 3 containers, this might be the way to go, especially with the huge sizes!

[edit1now]

For about £25 you could get a big stainless jar from one of those south Asian catering shops, supposing you have one nearby:


I know someone who has two 50-litre ones, either can be HLT or boiler as he has two elements in each.

[darkonnis]

thats a bloody good buy, but considerably more than the £6 i think he's looking to spend

[danbrew]

That ebay bucket looks very similar to the old style hop and grape buckets that made really solid boilers. Personally i think that's worth a punt...

[kane]

i hope so .... the deed is done! haha i will report back when it arrives.

Cheers everyone,
Kane

[kane]

Well the bucket has arrived, it appears to be very sturdy, but obviously i have no idea how thick it is compared to the eurocontainers - the holesaws I ordered haven't arrived yet so i can't measure the wall thickness until then.
However, the specifications suggest it is suitable for hot-filling so I have sent an email to the manufacturers to see what temperatures this actually corresponds to.

It's also slightly larger than i was expecting with a brimful volume of 34.4 litres!

Kane

[themadhippy]

Have a look on the bottom,should be a code stamped there EC30000 (30 litre) is what mine says,and its been a boiler for a good few brews

[darkonnis]

kane, you tried filling it with boiling water? thata sure fire way to find out if itll do the job or not

[kane]

I think the code EC30000 is just the code used for the eurocontainers that copperkettle etc supply, however this bucket is manufactured by groku in germany.

I also haven't had chance to drill holes yet to fit the kettle elements, but i will be testing outside when i do!

[darkonnis]

just bang some water from the kettle in and see what happens, that way you havent done anything to it and if it isnt any good as a boiler, you could maybe use it as a spare FV or something like that (provided its got a lid) Once you cut a big ol hole in it, it'll be knackered if its no good is all im thinking

[sam]

Any news on this whether it is suitable yet kane? looking at getting one of these for a new boiler myself

cheers

[kane]

Just received a response today, this is the reply they sent:

this article is also suitable for hot fillings.
It is with max. 80degrees filling possible, but plastic
buckets should be loaded less than 50 degrees.

They seemed pretty sturdy, although i havn't tested filling it with boiling water like darkonnis suggested (still might do for 'research purposes'). This response however suggests its not quite suitable.

I wonder what responses people have gained for ones considered suitable for boilers?
e.g. If they were actually manufactured to cope with 100C+ or people just think theyre suitable.

I have come across people using Youngs FV's without much trouble, and they seem much thinner than these buckets (I dont think i would trust one!)

Cheers,
Kane