All Grain Starter Kit

[Zammo]

Yeah thanks, you've been a big help!

I got talking to someone today about tea urns (lol). She was saying that she bought hers from a catering supplier, so I did a bit of googling when I got home and found the following one, which is a fair bit cheaper than the one on ebay:

Buffalo 40 Litre Boiler £79.99 (30 Litre version £69.99)
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Buffalo-Manual ... il.raction

I also looked on Ace's website and you can buy direct from them, unfortunately only a 25 Litre capacity one:

Ace 25 Litre Boiler £75
http://aceuktrading.com/Joomla/index.ph ... &Itemid=75

Looks like Ace also do a dedicated Mash Tun, boiler but their out of stock. The main difference between this and the one linked is that it comes with a low fitted ball valve.

With each I think all I'd need to do is fit a ball valve, which I think even I could manage to do. So I can potentially save myself a lot of money!

[guypettigrew]

May be wrong, but I think the new Buffalo boilers have an oval hole which makes it difficult to fit a ball valve. Unless you're OK using a Q Max cutter and fitting washers and stuff.

Guy

[irv]

Buffalo 40 Litre Boiler £79.99 (30 Litre version £69.99)
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Buffalo-Manual ... il.raction

keep in mind that is ex vat
nisbet sell on fleabay too, prices are similar.

[Fil]

a 40l capacity will provide a hassle free boil even with a minor oversparge, a rolling boil can peak 5cm above the still liquid level, so boiling in a maginally tight on volume kettle can involve holding back a couple of litres of liquor or mopping up overspils

imho fitting a ball valve with 1/2" bsb pipe fittings (hex nipple, m20 washers and ptfe) is a doddle even if the hole needs a little fettling with a file or a qmax punch.

using an off the shelf catering urn MAY also require bypassing or upgrading the thermal switch employed as part of the boil dry protection. Beer can boil at temps over 110c depending on gravity.

[Zammo]

Can you buy the thermal switches pre-made?

[Fil]

Can you buy the thermal switches pre-made?

the thermal switches used in catering urns are there to guard against boiling dry and sometimes to avoid boiling.
can be found bolted to the boiler base underside
and will switch off when the temperature rises above its limit, cutting back in when its cooled sufficiently or in some cases by pressing a reset switch.

these for example switch off at 140C http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4PCS-KSD301-1 ... Hw3Fco_KgA a temperature a boiling beer shouldnt ever reach

bypassing by simply connecting the two wires connected to its 2 terminals with a heat proof ceramic connector is the easiest solution, replacing with a higher rated version is another option.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CERAMIC-CONNE ... 1705684657?
var=&hash=item463f0f66b1mlgCG7rr3zf_Tp0Df7m_3TA

scum/deposit build upon the element plate can also lead to overheating ..

A 'machine' such as the grainfather or ace brewery should?? have this covered, but an off the shelf catering urn wont be sold with maintaining a constant boil for 90 mins in mind..

fwiw when used with a reflashed stc1000 ovbs-pid controller and aggressive parameters, i both scorched the brew with a burnt on deposit AND tripped the thermal switch of my grainfather!!
(wich is awkward to reset to say the least with the reset button sitting centrally in its base!!

[Zammo]

Thanks for the info Fil.

Do you think its likely that the Buffalo, will require this mod?

[Fil]

Thanks for the info Fil.

Do you think its likely that the Buffalo, will require this mod?

difficult to say, for a start i dont have one myself. Boiler/element cut out is a fairly common issue, And the above is the fix search forum posts in here and globally with google for detailed accounts. Then for every post someone always pipes in that their kettle hasn't needed any mods

you have to also consider that your intending to push the boiler well beyond anything it was designed for, no one needs to boil for 90 minutes to make coffee or tea

[damohonda]

I recently bought this kit from Allgraingarage. After chatting with them via email I decided to skip ebay and go direct as it was cheaper. Response to emails were quick, however as soon as I had received my gods things started to go sour. The kit was missing the Hydrometer, Mash Paddle, Stirrer, Sterilizer, Beer Kit, basic recipes and set up.
The boiler was damaged, dented. One of the pipe fittings were missing and the black tray you get on the boiler was also missing. The packaging it came in was woeful and the fermenter was forced into a box and taped to"hold it together"
None of my emails were answered. Finally I had to claim through paypal. It's ongoing as we speak. Allgraingarage will not provide me with a label to send my items back although it clearly states on their website that they will. Therefore it will cost me money to return the faulty items.

I would avoid this company at all costs

[quote="Zammo"]Hi all

Me and a friend have decided to give all grain brewing a go, I've been researching kit on the Internet and also using the Home Brew Beer book written by Greg Hughes and I've narrowed down my choice to this starter kit:


http://www.allgraingarage.co.uk/product-page/bitter

Has anyone any experience with this? Also it use an electric boiler and I was wondering if its OK to use a Wort Chiller with it? I intend to get one made to the correct dimensions off of a person advertising on ebay.

Also the all grain starter kit doesn't actually have all the equipment we'd need to start brewing and I've attempted to create a list of all the basic additional gear we'd need. If anyone can see any glaring omissions please let me know!


Required Kit:
All Grain Starter Kit (Contains: Mash Tun 35L, Boiler 35L, Fermenter 26L, Connectors and Tubing, Hydrometer, Mash Paddle, Stirrer, Sterilizer, Beer Kit)
Buckingham 19 Ltr Steel Pot
or
Cool Box 35Ltr
Wort Chiller
Trial Jar
Pressure Barrel
Siphon
Ph Paper
Intermediate Vessel (1 Ltr Jug)
Hop Bag



In the list I've added a choice between getting a Buckingham 19 Ltr Steel Pot or a Cool Box. These would be used for the sparge water, which would either be boiled in the pot or boiled in the electric boiler and then put in the cool box until its required. Not really sure which is the best choice tbh.

Thanks.[/quote]

[Mashwor5]

I too have been conned by this company. Exactly the same issue as others - only half the order sent even though full amount is charged. Then very difficult to contact to try to get a refund for the missing items. Then... to add insult to injury - the items that have arrived are faulty! 'Rotating sparge arm'??? All it does is fall off or leak into the lid (which I'm sure will now go mouldy). Surprise surprise, no reply to calls, texts or emails. All made worse as I had already used PayPal to get a partial refund, I can't raise a claim against faulty items or claim on my credit card. Do not believe the website where it states faulty items will be replaced, that they contact you within 24 hours or that they value your custom in anyway.

[Fil]

Hi n welcome into JIms a friendly brewspot on the web damohonda and Mashwor5

thanks for the Name n Shame

sorry to hear about the bad vendor and problems, if you need kit there are plenty of good vendors out there catering to every need, the Brewbuilder, Powel, and Angel homebrew are all well respected suppliers of equipment, and if a diy build is up your street they will also sell you the ss pots etc for a shinny build, for PP buckets suitable for boilers check out the copper kettle online brew shop run by a brewer, and iirc they will make element and tap holes foc if you buy thier buckets for a boil kettle..