DIY All Grain Brewery

[brewmasterflex]

Hi I now have the cooling coil for my wort _ It works really well cools the lot so quick you wouldnt beleive it.

DSC00619.JPG (17.95 KiB) Viewed 3309 times

However I am now thinking of making a Boiler I have got two Asda Budget kettles £3 a piece, And the vessel to put it all in,
Only thing I am concerned about, Is wont the kettle elements overload or blow up if I leave them on for the 90 mins boil ????

How long do the elements last?

[farmhousekeg]

I am now thinking of making a Boiler I have got two Asda Budget kettles £3 a piece, And the vessel to put it all in,
Only thing I am concerned about, Is wont the kettle elements overload or blow up if I leave them on for the 90 mins boil ????

How long do the elements last?

They will be just fine providing you follow all the guidance on this excellent thread. Remove the switches as mentioned, use proper kettle leads and there's no reason why they won't last for years. Unfortunately I bought the £92 H&G twin element boiler before I found the threads on kettle element conversions on this forum but since then I have made an HLT using an old FV and a kettle. It works just fine. One item not featured on this thread is the fixing of a cover for the exposed electical parts but you can find some more info on using kettles along with a nice set of thumbnail pics by Chris at this link
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20513

[brewmasterflex]

HI Everyone I just finished the first part of my Boiler
Total cost so far £6
1. Got a Food storage bin FREE OF CHARGE from Royal Canin Dog Food it does have the relevent PDP PEP on the bottom and is made by HK plastics, and appears identical to the ones from Hop and grape.
2. Two AsDA Smart price kettles £6
3. Two old kettle leads which I had from the 1980s computer printers and stuff in the attic
4. Two Old PIR alarm covers, That were hanging around my garage

All need now is a hop strainer, which I might just use 15mm pipe, or a manifold type system like my mash tun>>??

I tried to get the TAnk connector and ball valve from Screwfix but out of stock so they are on order, Everyone must be building them!!!??

[brewmasterflex]

MY PLan was the PIR sensors with a hold cut out for the kettle lead to go through would also allow the neon light when turned on to show up. I glued the pir covers onto the bin with a glue gun, Which on testing I think was a mistake as the glue goes soft again when the bin gets hot with the boiling wort.

DSC00634.JPG (9.85 KiB) Viewed 3166 times

DSC00636.JPG (8.26 KiB) Viewed 3166 times

DSC00635.JPG (6.35 KiB) Viewed 3167 times

[brewmasterflex]

More pictures

DSC00632.JPG (9.43 KiB) Viewed 3171 times

DSC00633.JPG (8.95 KiB) Viewed 3169 times

[jdt199]

HI Everyone I just finished the first part of my Boiler
Total cost so far £6
1. Got a Food storage bin FREE OF CHARGE from Royal Canin Dog Food it does have the relevent PDP PEP on the bottom and is made by HK plastics, and appears identical to the ones from Hop and grape.
2. Two AsDA Smart price kettles £6
3. Two old kettle leads which I had from the 1980s computer printers and stuff in the attic
4. Two Old PIR alarm covers, That were hanging around my garage

All need now is a hop strainer, which I might just use 15mm pipe, or a manifold type system like my mash tun>>??

I tried to get the TAnk connector and ball valve from Screwfix but out of stock so they are on order, Everyone must be building them!!!??

Looks great! Nice on on the free bin! When are you doing your furst test run?

[rodneybellmont]

Amazing

[MisterNETTO]

Wow, That looks awesome Brewmaster.

My brother has got a cracking set of hands on him hes really good at making things, I might ask him to make me one. Although Dave said hes gone off the rails

[mixbrewery]

3. Two old kettle leads which I had from the 1980s computer printers and stuff in the attic.

Please be careful and keep a close eye on those leads.
Old computer leads are not rated to run at loads for the elements from kettles.
They will get very warm. I think they are only made to handle 10amps.
Make sure each one is plugged into a seperate switch/socket on the circuit and not just a twin socket trailing extension lead.

[Flibblebot]

...Got a Food storage bin FREE OF CHARGE from Royal Canin Dog Food it does have the relevent PDP PEP on the bottom and is made by HK plastics, and appears identical to the ones from Hop and grape.

Have you got any more info on the food bin? Is it a special offer somewhere? Can't find anything on their website...

I glued the pir covers onto the bin with a glue gun, Which on testing I think was a mistake as the glue goes soft again when the bin gets hot with the boiling wort.

IIRC, you can get extra-strong glue sticks as well as the bog-standard ones. I think (although I might just be making it up) that these are less susceptible to going soft once they've cooled and hardened. Failing that, an epoxy glue (like Araldite) would probably be better, although more difficult to remove if the element goes wrong.

I can't talk though, my cover is held on with a bit of gaffer tape at the moment!

[minyork]

Hi,

Great thread and some ingenious ideas!

I just got hold of an Igloo 48 cool box and am going to convert this into a mash tun. I've already made the manifold following the instructions in this thread but was wondering about making it exit from the underside of the tun rather than through the side as shown above. Is there any reason why the manifold should exit at the side, I thought exiting on the underside would reduce wastage........

Any advice greatfully received

Thanks in advance

Mark

[jamesb]

I just got hold of an Igloo 48 cool box and am going to convert this into a mash tun. I've already made the manifold following the instructions in this thread but was wondering about making it exit from the underside of the tun rather than through the side as shown above. Is there any reason why the manifold should exit at the side, I thought exiting on the underside would reduce wastage........

It saves having to find something to sit the tun on to clear the tap.

Even with the tap on the side, you can take advantage of the syphon effect to minimise loss though so it doesn't really matter.

[brewmasterflex]

Thanks Guys

I will check the cables I hadnt thought of that, Ooops

IS there really stronger glue for a glue gun?

[brewmasterflex]

...Got a Food storage bin FREE OF CHARGE from Royal Canin Dog Food it does have the relevent PDP PEP on the bottom and is made by HK plastics, and appears identical to the ones from Hop and grape.

Have you got any more info on the food bin? Is it a special offer somewhere? Can't find anything on their website...

I glued the pir covers onto the bin with a glue gun, Which on testing I think was a mistake as the glue goes soft again when the bin gets hot with the boiling wort.

IIRC, you can get extra-strong glue sticks as well as the bog-standard ones. I think (although I might just be making it up) that these are less susceptible to going soft once they've cooled and hardened. Failing that, an epoxy glue (like Araldite) would probably be better, although more difficult to remove if the element goes wrong.

I can't talk though, my cover is held on with a bit of gaffer tape at the moment!

HI I ordered a sack of food from www.petplanet.co.uk and it came free of charge. I already had one as well which I got from a rep who was outside pets at home about a year a go, She gave me one for nothing as well, I think if you look on Pet planet they are always giving away something new, Email them if its not on the site now, I just checked and they are giving away toy boxes. I bet if you did email them they would have one lying around for you

They are identical to the ones in the brewshops I checked even made by the same companyt HA HA Free

[bevanjon74]

Don't mind me...
I had a question about kettles but have moved this to a separate topic...