just ripped out the old copper hot water tank from the factory, as we have a combi boiler now, and it got me thinking....
its an indirect hot water tank, with a copper coil inside to heat the water passed through it, much the same as this picture.
i recon if you cut the bottom off, flip the whole thing over, so the domed bit is at the bottom, you could turn it into a huge boiler!!!
1) its already got a built in chiller, you'd just connect a water supply to point number 4, an output to the sink/bucket at point number 3.
2) you could install a filter screen of some sort at the bottom(which was the top) so the connection where pipes 7 and 8 are attached, could be used to drain the boiler via a ball valve.
3) its got a handly hole for mounting your element in....
4) its designed to boiler stuff
5) its copper, which is great for heat transference.
6) i'm really bored just now and got a bit carried away with this idea.
obviously you'd want a new one, this ones absolutely knackered, but i recon it would be great! maybe something for JY to think about if his plastic boiler doesnt last the pace, but maybe a bit out of reg's league.
its a crazy idea....
Nice idea, they come with a few inches of insulation on the outside now so that should help too. Might be a bit expensive though (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro ... 6&id=10924) - I would guess the smithsofdean DIY jobs would work out cheaper...
this is from UK Homebrew:
Hi All,
After laboriuosly converting an 11 gall keg with two kettle elements, homemade screen (2 billion 2mm holes) etc. Only today it dawned on me that a really cheap but extremely good almost ready-made boiler could so easilybe made from an old domestic pre-lagged indirect hot water cylinder. Bit embarrassed with my slow wits here as I am supposed to be a heating engineer
Get a scrap one with a side fitted electric immersion element, cut it's top off and maybe crimp the rough metal edge around it's circumference. It has an inbuilt 22mm chiller coil (heat transfer-coil as was) and as a bonus it is pre-lagged with 28mm+ of polyurathene foam.
An old "direct" (without a coil) cylinder could make a great mash tun. Use cylinders with flat rather than concave bases though, concave bases may prove tricky to fit screens or manifolds around and perhaps leave too much liquor behind?
I cadged one from a customer today, it was left "marooned" in her loft.
I will let you know the outcome.
John H.
Hi All,
After laboriuosly converting an 11 gall keg with two kettle elements, homemade screen (2 billion 2mm holes) etc. Only today it dawned on me that a really cheap but extremely good almost ready-made boiler could so easilybe made from an old domestic pre-lagged indirect hot water cylinder. Bit embarrassed with my slow wits here as I am supposed to be a heating engineer
Get a scrap one with a side fitted electric immersion element, cut it's top off and maybe crimp the rough metal edge around it's circumference. It has an inbuilt 22mm chiller coil (heat transfer-coil as was) and as a bonus it is pre-lagged with 28mm+ of polyurathene foam.
An old "direct" (without a coil) cylinder could make a great mash tun. Use cylinders with flat rather than concave bases though, concave bases may prove tricky to fit screens or manifolds around and perhaps leave too much liquor behind?
I cadged one from a customer today, it was left "marooned" in her loft.
I will let you know the outcome.
John H.