Heater for SS Brew Bucket

[Uncle Albert]

Hello gents,

New to forum and brewing in general, but get the feeling this could be nearly as addictive as fly fishing!

Some questions I need educating on...

Going to take the plunge and buy good stainlesss steel from the outset. 1 x SS Brew Bucket and 3 x AEB 19l kegs.

Problem I have at the moment is that I will need a heater for the Brew Bucket as I live in the Cairngorm NP..... What should I go for?

Also, once I keg the beers, I intend to keep them in my garage which can get a bit nippy in winter, say - 10 once a year. What will happen to the kegs? Issue for me during the whole process is keeping the temperature up, not down.

Finally, I think I have found a CO2 supplier down the hill at Glenkindie Garage, but I am not sure what regulators, hoses etc I will need.? Widget thingy? Do I even need the fancy CO2 stuff?

I intend to buy my kit from the malt Miller, but no communication via email yet as only found about kegs and new bucket at the weekend.

Intended brews will be wheat beer, leave style and some real British ales.

Cheers

James

[lord groan]

I'm not an expert on heating brewing bins, my own heater is an ancient low wattage Boots brew belt which goes on a 25l fermenting bin in a cupboard, a central heating room thermostat powers the belt. This setup seems to keep everything pretty stable for me but I'm in Hampshire and the climate is a wee bit softer down here! Would wrapping your brew bin in an 'insulated heater' like this be any good? :-http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... nformation
Machine washable, maybe wrap it around the fermenter with a foam camping mat as a second layer, although in mild weather there must be a real risk of overheating, you'd need a thermostat controlling the power to it inside the blanket to stop overheating

[Fil]

+1 a brew belt or similar behind some budget insulation will work very well as the metal will be a superior conductor to the usual placky bucket. However the temp control may be a bit iffy, so adding an accurate controller like an stc1000 or similar to govern the temperature would be a beneficial investment imho.
other external options include heat mats n cables designed to heat reptile tanks, but again using with an accurate controller would be advisable.

have you considered the crusader sankey kegs as an alternative to cornies? many have switched after a taste with polykegs, afaik new they are cheaper than cornies, 0 sealing issues, and are available in 20, 30, and 50l sizes. saying that im sticking with cornies they are much more foolproof, start undoing a sankey spear while the keg still has residual pressure and u could easily die.

Gas wise, many will warn against using a basic welders regular as a primary, i think because it isnt fitted with a prv? tho i used one for a few years only upgrading when a freebie landed on my lap.

if your brewing similar beers which need basically the same serving pressure then you dont need anything more than a primary regulator and T or Y fittings to split the feed. to serve a high conditioned lager next to a low conditioned mild/bitter you will need to serve at 2 different pressures so a secondary regulator to further restrict a T'd off supply would be a benefit, BUT you may also need to consider managing 2 seperate temperature controls for the 2 different kegs as the ideal temp requirement of the higher conditioned keg will be significantly colder than the low conditioned mild, 5-7C compared to 12-13C..

So long way of saying if you only have the one temp control system applied to all kegs, u may as well stick with a simple single reg and serve similar beers, bottle the hi conditioned brews for extra chilling perhaps?

-10C yipes thats chilly.. alcohol loweres the freezing point of the beer by how much im not quite sure all i know its lower than the coldest temps we get
google led me to this tho http://limoncelloquest.com/limoncello-c ... calculator

so plug in your beer alcohol level n check.. dunno if its accurate tho

[Uncle Albert]

Many thanks Guys. There is a lot of information in there I need to learn about..... Might take me a few days studying. Never heard of Sankey's will look into them.

This CO2 business sounds really complicated!

Thanks

[Uncle Albert]

Quick Google search - Crusader Kegs look like proper kegs from down the pub.... I like the look of the 20l slim...... Where so I get all the dreaded C02 bits and bobs? Are they hard to clean? fil?

What do the experienced guys now use?

[Fil]

Yes 'proper jobs ' to clean n fill u can remove the central spear, and u will need a tool for that, the same laundry oxy used to clean cornys will work the same, u just wont have as large an opening to peer in for a visual check.. this thread should answer most q's

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58785

corny kegs can not be opened under pressure, the lid design stops that, you can however start to unscrew a sankey keg spear while the keg is under pressure and then the spear assembly can leave the keg at a lethal speed!! and me, well i can be absent minded

so im sticking with cornies for now, all mine are 2nd user knocked about jobs, the new ones however should have fewer character features, wobbly poppets etc

[Uncle Albert]

Thanks Fil. Just order a STC1000, a 5m extension lead and a brew belt. I am thinking I just wire the extension lead and wire the belt in and jobs a good one? Will all be done with my minimal electrical skills and YouTube:shock:


Need to find some lagging / wrap now...... Then tomorrow order the brew bucket........ Then after that make the choice between Corny and Sanky...... Going to be expensive but we'll worth it......

[Uncle Albert]

Apologies Lord Groan, only just read your blanket link... Could be a very elegant solution to my problem. Do you think it would need a STC1000 to regulate it?...... I am just hovering over the eBay order button for the brew belt but having second thoughts

[Uncle Albert]

Gone for the silent night blanket and a rootit hydroponics mat thermostat... Avoid me electrocuting myself.. Step 1 complete.

[Uncle Albert]

Gents. I have three basic theories for most things and they are buy the simplest engineering solution, buy said thing I'm stainless steel and then buy quality once rather than crap 3 times.. . So looks like 4 x crusader kegs 20l slimline could be ideal.

This might be a stupid question, but if you were me, what C02 systems would you go for? Good value yet future proof.

Cheers

James

Luckily the girlfriend has not noticed I using the joint account to pay for all this

[kev93_10]

What do you mean by C02 system? What choices are you looking at?

K

[Uncle Albert]

I think part of the problem is I don't really know what CO2 system. I thought it was used as a preservative and to squeeze the beer out of the keg during pouring time and also to add some fizz.

I guess you add some sugar and do secondary fermentation to achieve the same? Do the crusader kegs lend themselves to secondary fermentation? Is secondary fermentation obsolete now?

I started looking at co2 bulbs, then the CO2 widget, then read somewhere about leasing welding CO2 cylinders and using regs. Again, I am not sure what I need - the whole CO2 business does expensive

[roscoe]

Forget co2 bulbs too expensive, get std 8kg? pub bottle, middle or temp ground is soda stream C02 bottle.
As for carbonation, I do both forced and natural in kegs, I don't bottle carb. Forced carb is quicker, but natural using sugar IMHO is easier, especially with your 20L kegs i.e. lift into house leave in warmer area for 2w+ job done. Never ending list of stuff to get once you start this hobby.

[beerlover1983]

there is a temp control system on the way for the ss brewbucket phome malt miller see what details he has .

[Uncle Albert]

Thanks again gents. So paid for SS Brew Bucket, Hydroponic may thermostat and electric blanket. Have also spoken with local garage and they can provide welding CO2 cylinders - 60 quid lifetime deposit and a refill charge of around 25 quid. I have also spoken to Crusaders Kegs and will order 4 x 20L slimline. I have read the forum link Fil sent and it looks like I should use an S type adapter? I also believe I should order detachable Spears.

My current state of confusion is on how to fill these kegs and to get the CO2 into the kegs and also to vent off pressure when required?