New to All Grain - Boiler Required.

[louiscowdroy]

Hi,

I'm Louis from Harrogate.

I've completed 20 kit beers since last Aug, but now wish to move into "All Grain".

But, one problem......'Boiler' required.

To this end, would anyone know of someone or somewhere i could get a boiler from, for a reasonable price???

Anyones help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for any suggestions - Louis

[Dennis King]

I've bought 2 burcos in the past from boot sales, always worth a look.

[Crispy Hedgehog]

Keep an eye on the Article For Sale section of this forum and also the eBay section aswell. I too was in the same situation and was getting frustrated with the cost of things, however managed to pick up my 100 Litre Shiney on here - so it does happen.

[louiscowdroy]

Thank you, just found the articles for sale thank god. There's nothing on the Ebay really.......

I'll just have to be very patient..

Louis

[Fil]

have you considered making one from a suitable bucket,

http://www.copperkettlehomebrewing.co.u ... pp-buckets

and a kettle element or2.. the above site will cut holes for elements n taps i think foc.

not shiny but perfectly serviceable..

[louiscowdroy]

Will a plastic bin be ok and take boiling over and over again for the amount of time thats required buddy?

Louis

[orlando]

Mine does and it was second hand, don't knock plastic, works for most people. The quality of the plastic is important though, there are buckets out there that are a little marginal for a 90 minuite boil. Do a search on this site for recommendations.

[bigdave]

As long as its food grade plastic and is thick enough, it should beable to hold up to a boil! I personally would be wary of boiling large volumes of wort in a plastic anything as if it fails, at best you have a lot of sticky mess to clean up and at worst you could be hospitalized with severe burns!... but then thats just me.

[Fil]

get the right animal and you will have no probs, the buckets i linked to state suitable for boiler conversion, I have recently bought 2 60l ones myself. I rang the guy up and had a good long chat about brewing, he is a friendly bod, and suffers fools like me gladly, and had an answer for all my silly Q's .. my first boiler also plastic was a blue hdpe mango barrel, some knock these, it served me well for over a year, im upgrading for volume the boiler still works i just want to brew 2 kegs worth i one hit.

standard 15mm plumbing fittings make excellent taps and plumbing, a 15mm tank connector can be drilled or filled thru allowing a pipe to be pushed all the way thru giving connection options inside and outside the bucket. and Stainless steel braid makes a simple hop stopper.

HOWEVER!! i recently bought a tesco kettle for my new hlt build, the new ones are a bit more of a puzzle to strip of the redundant plastic n switch, and at least one member in here has had a first boil failure of an new tesco/asda element. the new one seems to be of a lower quality, an has a thinner element.. in the light of this i think i would consider using something like this :
http://www.copperkettlehomebrewing.co.u ... 6642a379c5
see
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49194

no Im not on commission about £15 more than a tesco kettle, but should last much longer and will not take a few fiddly hours to set up.. (removing the overboil protection, cut outs, switch etc)

its an easy build, drill holes for element and tap, seal test and brew.. but not for everyone, i have discovered i get just as much fun pottering about with equipment and trying to make it as i do brewing the beer, but your focus could be on the brewing and results..

[vacant]

HOWEVER!! i recently bought a tesco kettle for my new hlt build, the new ones are a bit more of a puzzle to strip of the redundant plastic n switch, and at least one member in here has had a first boil failure of an new tesco/asda element. the new one seems to be of a lower quality, an has a thinner element.. in the light of this i think i would consider using something like this :
http://www.copperkettlehomebrewing.co.u ... 6642a379c5
see
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49194

I can't see any reference to Asda kettle elements failing in that thread. I bought an Asda kettle in Jan and it's been fine. I haven't even removed cut-outs.

A couple of weeks ago someone I know had a Backer element melt after only twelve brews.

[Ringbolt]

I got one of these through Nisbets ebay store.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manual-Fill-W ... _500wt_922

Very pleased with the performance and the price. 40l capacity has proved to be just right for managing a 25l brew length. 32 litres or so of wort can easily be boiled without fear of spilling over the sides. 90 mins boil will evaporate 5 or 6 litres without the lid on. The boiler is stainless and cleaning has been simple matter of scrubbing with scotchbrite. Only downside is the tap. I replaced it with one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Viking-Home-B ... 099wt_1366

[Fil]

I can't see any reference to Asda kettle elements failing in that thread. I bought an Asda kettle in Jan and it's been fine. I haven't even removed cut-outs.

A couple of weeks ago someone I know had a Backer element melt after only twelve brews.

ok so its just the tesco ones that seem to be using cheaper lower Q elements.
tho it dont say much for the safety cut outs if left intact they allow a 90 min rolling boil to take place?
a lot less mucking about tho
main thrust of my point tho was that it seems budget element fitting may be becoming less attractive due to some budget elements having complex cut outs that may? need removal, and the trend for tesco elemnts at least to be of a lower Q than before and may not even be upto the job of an ag brew.. especially when i initially posted that the OP could consider a plastic bucket and "tesco" element solution.