AG advice

[stevezx7r]

I thought the FV's I use were heat resistant (one's a Youngs the other a Brewicon). If not I better rethink my strategy.

[Aleman]

The heavy duty ones can be unpredictable. My last ever brew in plastic saw me with 30L of 1.070 Mild boiling away, and I attached the feed to the boiler tap. Being Cack handed I slipped and the tap came away in my hand . . . .A three foot jet of scalding wort was the result. . . . Why is it the first thing you think of it to put your hand in the way . . . twice . . . Then I dragged an FV under the wort and caught it before rushing upstairs to jump under the cold cold shower. 20 minutes later I dried off and carried on with the brew.


Scary to think that my 3 YO was wandering in and out of the house during the brew, never ever brewed in plastic since

[steve_flack]

Stainless....it's not just shiny. It's pretty indestructable too (unless Vossy's around with his angle grinder )

[Martin the fish]

I'm currently using plastic FV's. I'm not saying they are good/great or bad, just saying that currently i'm using them. I plan to upgrade to stainless once i've ironed out most of the flaws in my set-up. If i had started off with SS i would be cursing now as i want a bigger set-up than i have. Not massively bigger just big enough to do a 50ltr brew.
Also i 'accidently' cut too big a hole whilst making my boiler and had to plug it. Not what you'd want with an expensive SS item.

Now i have done a few brews i have a better idea of what my equipment should do, doesn't do and how i'm gonna improve it. So i will be upgrading after a few more brews.

[Calum]

I certainly felt that my plastic boiler was an accident waiting to happen. That was when I decided to go SS and get a propane boiling ring for the boil. Infact, it was the easiest sell of any of my brewing equipment as I showed SWMBO just how flexible the plastic became when it contained boiling wort.

[Col Robinson]

I want to make sure I get the right kit and know how the whole process works before I have a go, something with a walkthrough would be good

I've got a walkthrough on me website - it's basic but then again so am I
www.sensiblemole.com

Have fun with your first AG!

[GTOrichie]

Are we talking about the pre-made plastic boilers, homemade boilers or both? As I was looking at the Electrum boilers, they seemed popular and a good entry level boiler to go for. I was going to get two, one new one and hopefuly one used from our local HBC (although there may be a chance of getting an enamel one if she gets offered a used one ).

[GTOrichie]

And cheaper I just noticed which is a bonus, Is a thermostat not really needed then?

[confused]

the boiler I just got with my kit off ebay is plastic, 10 gallons. I was surprised how much more sturdy it is than the normal fermenting bucket. I'm glad I didn't go down the once considered route of adding an element to one of those fermenters.

I'll go stainless in the end, I very nearly bought a stainless pot from nordic, I was outbid and decided not to go up - they'll have more and eventually one of themn will go for the opening bid. That said, If I had gone stainless from the off it would still be months before I was ready for AG. As it is I'm set to go now.

[stevezx7r]

I suppose if I were brewing with the kids around (not that I do anyway) I would buy a one off ebay - this would save me effort. As it is, I think I will try it out with a kettle element fitted into one of the FV's, heat it up water as a trial run and see for myself how flexible it gets. If it feels too unsafe I won't bother but either way I'll brew outside.

One thing I'm still unsure about - The amount of water required in the first place. If I'm making 23 litres of beer why do I need anything bigger than say a 25 litre container? I understand that some will be lost due to evaporation and dead space etc and it may bubble over a bit but going for a 33 litre to make a 23 litre beer? That's 10 litres lost somewhere
Also, I mix the grains with only a few litres of hot water then drain the wort into a waiting FV, why not top up with hot/cold water until I reach the 23 litre mark.

I must be missing something realy fundamental as everyone seems to go for the bigger boiler...

[Jrevillug]

It's the foaming and boiling over when the hot break happens- takes up a lot of space in the boiler.

I think.

[GTOrichie]

Thanks all very useful advice 33L it is and I've re-evaluated my list of bits to order, I sold my old kitcar today that I had to stop working on due to ill health so I should be starting sooner than I was anticipating.

[GTOrichie]

btw it's worth phoning Joe at LHB and asking him to fit a second element and the Brupaks hop strainer.

I have just had a chat with the guys at LHB it seems they are having a lot of trouble getting the elements needed to make the 33L boilers as the company making them can't match the demand. They keep getting told they will have some within a week but so far its taken nearly 2 months and still no stock has come in. They have offered to send the bin pre-drilled and strainer fitted to allow me to fit my own elements though, are kettle elements as good as the ones they use or are there downsides?

[Horden Hillbilly]

Check this post out, Kettle elements.

I bought a couple of elements myself recently from Here, they arrived within 3 days & they are good quality. They are the same type of element which the home brew shops sell when they have them in stock.

Edit: DaaB just beat me to it!

[GTOrichie]

Ok thanks for all the advice, I will give it a week or 2 and if they are still having problems getting the elements I will order the two buckets without them, by that time the garage should be cleaned and preped for the new kit