Which Boiler?

[wetdog]

The idea of an AG is bubbling in my mind but my one concern is the boiler. I've always thought I would get an electrim 5G boiler but I'm worried that when the wort is boiling, it will make a mess everywhere.
I've heard you can put the lid on but surely thats not practical?
so do I look for a bigger bucket, say, 6 / 7 gallon..
or some sort of mesh cover
or only boil 4 gallons of wort
or lay loads of protective coverings
or are my fears unfounded

[adm]

Why not just buy a 10 gallon boiler and futureproof yourself. Hop and Grape do a nice one. You can order it with one or two elements, and with or without a thermostat (personally, I don't see a need for the thermo, but having two elements is nice)

It's actually a 60l container, so should easily hold a 10 gal brew without too much risk of boil over - I've only ever done 5g brews in mine though. Pretty much impossible to boil that over in one of these....

[brewzone]

I only ever boil upto 85% of the capacity of the boiler.

So for a 23 boiler I would only fill to 19 litres.

Top up with the additional wort every few minutes to keep the wort from foaming to much during the boil and to compensate for evaporation.

Hope this helps

[wetdog]

I did see the 10 gallon H&G boiler but can't ever imagine doing a 10 so might be a bit on the big side for me although I do see the point as regards not being able to boil it over

[ade1865]

I've done 1 AG brew, and I bought th H&G 10gallon boiler, and to my way of tinking it juts made everything very easy. no need to worry about any toping up and keeping an eye on things, just let it get on woth it. the most relaxing day i've had for years

[orable]

I'm now using an H&G twin element 10 gallon. Really superb boiler, with a 5 gallon brew length now worries ever about it boiling over and the twin elements make getting to the boil fast. Once it's boiling shut off one of the elements and it holds a steady rolling boil. I used a 5 gallon burco before but that needed near constant babysitting.

[adm]

I did see the 10 gallon H&G boiler but can't ever imagine doing a 10 so might be a bit on the big side for me although I do see the point as regards not being able to boil it over

The other good thing about it that because it's big, you can store all your other bits of kit inside it!

[ADDLED]

Or make one; the H&G 60litre bin costs £18, fitted with a couple of scrap kettle elements or 3kw immersion elements (£9.00 each from BES.co.uk) and youve got a £66.00 boiler for half price. If youre feeling industrious you could also make a hop strainer for a fiver, less if youre using offcuts from an immersion chiller plus a few 90 degree angles)

[wetdog]

I've had a look at the 10 gallon bucket on H&G for £18.99. would this be safe to use as a boiler?

[anomalous_result]

Yes. I made a boiler out of a 33L variant and posted pics of it here.

I would recommend getting it without the tap and getting a spare boiler tap instead, just to make sure it's capable of handling the heat.

[wetdog]

cheers mate, I'll get one ordered. good tip about the tap too, I was going to get one fitted. just got to find a couple of kettles now then I'm on my way

[Bongo]

i picked up 2 tesco value kettles yesterday at £4.92 each,2.2 kw and no cutting needed either just 3 screws to undo and 3 wires to pull out.

[ADDLED]

The elusive Tesco value kettle; Ive heard they exist, but Ive never seen one. Im going to have another look tomorrow though.
Ive just bought one of those 60 bins and theyre solid as a rock. Was going to put a 3kw immersion element in but I might go the kettle route instead as a chat with the man at the local plumbers merchant told me it needs a nut on the inside and a special spanner to tighten. this sorta cancels out the cost benefit
Any thoughts on this from anyone?

[Bongo]

i know what you mean owen i went shopping today and they had all gone so have to keep an eye out,as for heating personally i'd go for 2 smaller kettle elements over a 3kw but i'm just being cautious and don't want to melt anything, i drilled out the 40mm holes for the elements today and am gonna put the tap in soon.[/img]

[Piscator]

Save yourself a trip - I've just liberated 2 Argos Value kettle elements today which are identical and at £4.92 an absolute bargain.
And of course with Argos you can check availability and reserve in advance.