£40 well spent

[bitter_dave]

I got a brupaks boiler and imersion chiller from the friday ad http://www.friday-ad.co.uk/ :



Pretty cool, huh

At the moment I mash in a bucket in a bucket jobby, and boil in a 30 litre plastic bin with kettle element (from leyland Homebrew). Am wondering whether to mash in the new boiler and boil in the plastic bin, or to use them both as boilers (one as a HLT).

Anyone used the brupaks boiler as a mash tun? BB - I know you have one, but I think you've just used it as a boiler

I'm curious to use it as a mash tun, but wonder if I might be better off just using the standard bucket in a bucket mt. I don't have any instructions with the brupaks boiler/mt - how might I use it? Perhaps it's worth using it as a boiler because the element will be stronger?

What do people think?

Her are some other photos... inside:


... with grain bag supplied with it:

[Jim]

Looks nice, Dave.

Is that one of those enamelled steel jobbies?

[DRB]

A steal at that.

[Garth]

too right, the boiler itself retail at £135....!

[eskimobob]

Superb buy that

I have one of these (I was given it by a friend) and I have used it to mash in as well as boil.

When I mashed, I used the grain bag and grille but I found it very hard to keep a stable mash temperature. It is enameled steel as Jim says and can lose heat quickly (would be better if it was shiny stainless in that respect). I did try using the element to keep the mash warm but because there is no circulation, you get hot grain at the bottom and cool grain at the top - not much convection in a mash of reasonabe thickness.

I have since made a coolbox MT and only use the Brupaks boiler for boiling which it does well. It is only a 1.8kW element as DaaB says but once boil is reached it easily maintains a vigorous boil. I usually wrap a towel around it while heating to get to boil more quickly.

It's a nice piece of kit though and what a superb bargain to get both for 40 quid - wow!

[steve_flack]

I've used one of those for several years. It's a nice mash tun but a bit weak as a boiler. I use my own copper manifold in it. As it's metal it doesn't keep the heat in well so you may need to keep an eye on mash temps.

[Bigster]

Nice find BD - £40 bargain ( there have been a few today ).

Note to myself - thats what an immersion chiller should look like.....

[Mr blue]

Got one them, yet to use it but should'nt be that long now. The instructions to mashing with it said

"To assist with heat distribution and wort clarity, the wort should be recirculated several times during the mash. Slowly pour of 2 - 3 litres of wort into a jug and gently pour onto the top of the grain bed."

[bitter_dave]

Cheers guys

I'm thinking about having a go at mashing in it, just to satify my curiosity as much as anything.

I stuck some water in it, turned it up to the higher end of the mash range on the dial, 64-67, but it cuts out early - at around 56 C. Am I using it right? I don't have any instructions so I'm guessing

Also the grain bag which came with it is a bit smelly, and has darker dots on it (mould?). What's the best way of cleaning it? If I stick it in some beach / vwp or boiling water? Perhaps it should go in the bin?

Finally, the tap is huge. Is there a plastic tubing i can attach to it? The stuff I have seems to be too small, and it is the widest in my local HB shop.

[Mr blue]

If it has the same tap as mine, I found that my 1/2 inch tubing fits inside the tap, it seems have grips inside.

[Vossy1]

Hi BD,

Ive had a good look on the web and can't find an instruction manual for the Brupaks boiler

Surely one of the fella's on the forum can scan it in for you. They can pm to avoid copyright issues

Anybody

[Mr blue]

Here's the instructions

[Vossy1]

Here's the instructions

Nice one Mr Blue

[Western Brewer]

Nice buy. I'm a delicated shade of green

Oh! And I see Elvis has joined our happy throng. Knew he wasn't dead, just wanted to have more time for home brewing rather than being on tour all the time

[bitter_dave]

Thanks Mr Blue and Daab (and Vossy for having a look for the manual). Your efforts are much appreciated)