Boilers

[beardybrewer]

Hi, this is my first post. Great to find a site in europe as we all have the same equipment and suppliers.

I am interested in doing a full wort boil and have been thinking about getting an electric boiler. I've been spending far too much time on US forums which had be looking at a gas setup and drilled kettle. Any thoughts on the differences?

In regards to boilers, I'm considering a Bruheat or H&G's 10gal double element. I should preface this with I do extract brewing using specialty grains and hops (logistically there is no practical way to get grains in Galway but I'm very happy with the beer I produce). I use BeerSmith to formulate my recipes and have been using the extract late method to keep my IBUs up. I figure a boiler would be handy way to graduate to a full boil and better hop utilization/clarity.

I'm very curious about the temperature control on these units. Are they typically for just boiling water and then turning down the thermostat to maintain a rolling boil? Or could it be used for a partial mash as well?

In addition I understand a mesh bag must be used in order to protect the element. Is this at all cumbersome? How often do you need the replace this?

I'm willing to bet quite a few people use boilers here and I'd love to learn more as its only recently occurred to me to go this route, plus the initial outlay is much less than a SS kettle.

Cheers!

[eskimobob]

I've been spending far too much time on US forums which had be looking at a gas setup and drilled kettle. Any thoughts on the differences?

I'd say stick with electric. Easier and simpler.

In regards to boilers, I'm considering a Bruheat or H&G's 10gal double element. I figure a boiler would be handy way to graduate to a full boil and better hop utilization/clarity.

Well quite a few people here have made there own boilers quite simply. Check out DaaB's pages. I use a Brupaks boiler which has a thermostat however I only now use if for boiling. It's 1.8kW and only just enough to maintain a rolling boil when full on. I have heard other people use the twin element plastic boilers to reach boiling point quickly then turn one element off - the second one maintains the boil.

I'm very curious about the temperature control on these units. Are they typically for just boiling water and then turning down the thermostat to maintain a rolling boil? Or could it be used for a partial mash as well?

Well I used to mash in my Brupaks boiler but since I have progressed on to having a separate coolbox mash tun and a Baby Burco tea urn for HTL, my brew day is much shorter and less frustrating.
I used to find it difficult to maintain an even mash temperature with the boiler, the grain at the bottom near the element was too hot and the grain at the top was too cold.

In addition I understand a mesh bag must be used in order to protect the element. Is this at all cumbersome? How often do you need the replace this?

Yes, I used a grain bag when mashing in my boiler and also a steel mesh to keep the mash bag off the bottom where the element is. They work ok but are a bit of a faff. Never replaced it - they last if you look after them and wash and dry them carefully.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forum...

[Frothy]

As EB says most people use plastic buckets with a couple of £4 kettle elements.

Moving to full boil you'l no doubt start collecting lots of shiny things
A counter flow cooler for starters. There are some great plans on here for making one using 8mm microbore and a hosepipe.

Std equip:
30L thermos coolbox mash tun with slotted bottom
5gal plastic boiler
cooler
30L plastic fermentor

The only thing I will say is that with these volumes of hot wort a tap is essential. If your following american recipes which are mostly 19L(5gal us) then 25L stock pots can be picked up for £20-30 and you could use them on a gas hob if you've got one. A plastic heat resistant tap costs ~£3.

Matt
http://www.willmottw.fsnet.co.uk/brew/equipment/

[beardybrewer]

Well quite a few people here have made there own boilers quite simply. Check out DaaB's pages.

I did a search and found http://www.18000feet.com/ -- what link was I meant to check out? I didn't see any page describing a DIY boiler.

I use a Brupaks boiler which has a thermostat however I only now use if for boiling. ... I used to find it difficult to maintain an even mash temperature with the boiler, the grain at the bottom near the element was too hot and the grain at the top was too cold.

Thanks for that. I gather for mashing its quite a hassle but for simply steeping specialty grains perhaps it will be good enough?

Yes, I used ... a steel mesh to keep the mash bag off the bottom where the element is.

That sounds like a good idea. Was this a DIY job? I was thinking of notching the top of the bucket to hang the grain bag.

As EB says most people use plastic buckets with a couple of £4 kettle elements.

Would love to see some DIY pages on this. What about the thermostat?

Moving to full boil you'l no doubt start collecting lots of shiny things. A counter flow cooler for starters.

I have the H&G immersion chiller. It working great especially as tap water is as cold as ice water right now. Will this be insufficient for a full boil?

[Frothy]

About controlling a boiler.
http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=660

there are other discussions too - you just have to wade back through the pages of posts in the equipment forum. Andy and Daab have a better idea of the where the decent pages are.

immersion chiller should be fine at this time of year. What are you hoping to do for your first full boil brew? I got on quite well with partial boils.

Matt

[eskimobob]

I did a search and found http://www.18000feet.com/ -- what link was I meant to check out? I didn't see any page describing a DIY boiler.

Sorry, I thought DaaB had a page on this but I see it says 'Coming Soon' - pull your finger out DaaB
No pictures unfortunately but have a look at this

Yes, I used ... a steel mesh to keep the mash bag off the bottom where the element is.

That sounds like a good idea. Was this a DIY job? I was thinking of notching the top of the bucket to hang the grain bag.

It actually came with the brupaks boiler but you could probably make something similar I would imagine. Notching the bucket sounds possible too though.

I have the H&G immersion chiller. It working great especially as tap water is as cold as ice water right now. Will this be insufficient for a full boil?

That will be find for a full boil. I use a CFC myself but I believe that immersion chillers take about 30 minutes to chill a full boil.

[eskimobob]

Yes Sir EB Sir...will do Sir, sorry it wont happen again Sir

That's a good chap

[Vossy1]

Yes Sir EB Sir...will do Sir, sorry it wont happen again Sir

As a Monty Python fan the following phrase comes to mind

'Get on with it'.....'yes get on with it'

[beardybrewer]

Hey guys thanks for all the great information. I'm hard pressed to even find a painters bucket for grain storage let alone the correct type for a DIY boiler. I'm still debating between Bruheat and H&Gs 10gal double element with thermostat (£76 vs £98 respectively).

Frothy: I'm using BeerSmith and have been compensating for my tiny 4l pot with extra hops. Its not so much that I have a style in mind which requires a full boil. I'm just hoping for an overall improvement by boiling all water, more controlled steeping (maybe, depending on the controler), better hop utilization, and clarity for the odd time I do lighter beers. I could probably do quite well continuing with the extract-late method but I think 4l is too small so while I'm upgrading, I may as well go the whole hog. I have gotten some good hoppy beers out of it and just recently dry hopped a Marzen (yeah, I know I'm a bit late) with hallertauer hops and it turned out great!

A couple of follow on questions:

So I'm done steeping, remove specialty grains, and bring the water to a boil. If I'm pouring in LME extract, wouldn't I need to worry about the concentrated wort sinking straight down and singing on the coil? Of course I'd turn it off for a few seconds before adding LME/DME but I wonder if it would be problematic. Am I better desolving it separately?

If I'm just using LME/DME and hops, would I need to bother with the bag or could I skip it?