Pimp my buffalo

[themadhippy]

Recentley i found myself with a bit of spare cash and decided the shiney call was to great,and purchased a buffalo 40L boiler.First thing on the mod list was to change the tap,looking at the boiler i realised theres loads of wasted space in the bottom of the boiler, a bottom drain would be simple ,but would need a filter.After pricing up perforated steel and and angle grinder,and another piece of steel becuse i was bound to cock the first one up it worked out cheaper to buy one from hop and grape,fitted a treat.

Next issue was the origanal tap hole,could blank it off,or make use it as somewere to shove a thermometer,slowley the brain kicked into gear,if theres a place for a thermometer i could rip out the existing thermostat which was going to be bypassed and fit a funky electronic one,mmm if i done that i could get realy funky and use it as a tempreture controlled mash tun,cue an order for a PID and SSR.Next problem how to recuculate the wort for sparging?yep a solar pump,which just happens to be 1/2" bsp so would fit the new pipe work,but would need a 12v supply , grab the soldering iron,search the junk box and make a varible power supply,no need for a case,it can go in the bottom of the boiler.Whilst in there i might as well put a bypass switch in for the SSR so i can either have the element hard powered or tempreture controlled.Better use high tempreture cable and heatproof sleaving just in case, plus i know were theres a load of it looking for a home

Gave it test run ,fixed the leaks,and tested again,yep it works and maintins the tempreture within a degree.The pump works a treat,using a shower hose and shower head for sparging duties.

All thats left to do is find a suitable bucket for a grain "bag",drill loads of holes in the bottom of the bucket and cut a large hole in the existing boiler lid so the grain bucket will wedge in there for sparging,during the mash the bucket will sit iside the boiler,resting on the fales bottom.However a white pillow case will do as a grain bag for the moment.
The idea is to mash,multiple tempreture stages if i wish ,pull the bucket out and wedge it into the lid,sparge,remove bucket,hit the bypass switch and boil.

[Dr. Dextrin]

That's interesting. Will you recirculate during the mash for better heat distribution? Sounds a bit like BIAB, but done properly.

[themadhippy]

Will you recirculate during the mash for better heat distribution

going to see how it goes,hopefully once the boilers insulated (another job to do) i can just recirculate the intial liquor to get an even tempreture,drop the bucket in and leave it alone ,but yes the options there

Sounds a bit like BIAB, but done properly.

Nope its BIABIAB,brew in a bucket inside a buffalo

[Belter]

That's a really nice job!

Where did you buy the Stainless for the False bottom from? I've been looking to make my own for a while.

[themadhippy]

Where did you buy the Stainless for the False bottom from?

i bought one ready made for around £55 inc p+p from hop and grape ,i was going to bodge it myself,but the metal alone was going to cost £30,plus having to buy an angle grinder,and the risk of cocking it up made it easier to just buy one ready made.Ebay has a selection of suitable sheet in a variaty of sizes http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat ... eet&_frs=1

[darkonnis]

I've just ordered myself one from there, takes em a while to do as they make em from scratch but like tmh I figured for the minimal expense I'd get one made instead of buggering one up and it costing me more.

tmh, thats an awesome build. B&Q do little plastic PP buckets (foodgrade) for about £1.50 if you were wanting something to just test how well it would work. Depends how badly shiny fever has taken over!

[andyCo]

I've been thinking down those lines as well..... using a cheap stainless steel pot as a brew bag/bucket type of thing,I bought a set 4 off of amazon for about £20-30 ages ago.
I'll have to go and measure which one will hold 5+kg of grain and see if it fits.
I'm thinking of drilling not only holes in the bottom but also in the sides..... so it gets a good all over soaking just like when using my brew bag.
The pot could raised some how above the boiler and do sparge type of thing.

Andy

Ps like the buffalo mods that you've done, I re done the tap and that had me cacking it !!!

[themadhippy]

B&Q do little plastic PP buckets (foodgrade) for about £1.50 if you were wanting something to just test how well it would work.

For the bucket it dosnt need to be shiney,did consider a 12L stock pot,but it wouldnt take a sensible amount of grain so looking for something around 15-20 litres,perferable with a big diffrence between the base and top diameter so it wedges in the lid, i keep looking at my origanal 25 litre boiler/bucket,will need a few holes filled and a good clean but its got potential

I've just ordered myself one from there, takes em a while to do as they make em from scratch

ordered mine on the 23rd and it arrived on the 29th,so pretty speedy considering they've got to build the buggers first

[darkonnis]

I ordered mine.... week before last? something like that. Makes no odds how long it takes because my set up isn't ready to use it just yet but it is worth mentioning for anyone who is gonna buy one and needs it sharpish.

Different diameters top and bottom? hmmm, don't know if you'd get anything like that in steel? An alternative would be to make a frame for the pan handles to sit in, then have the frame sit on the boiler rim.

[Mcbrewer]

Hi....That is some modifications you have got going on there mad hippy .

I am looking for a false bottom for my buffalo like yours,and I was hoping you could remember the internal diameter for it so I can like you order one from hop and grape rather than bodge one up myself

Cheers

[themadhippy]

was hoping you could remember the internal diameter

mine was 380mm,best to double check though

[Mcbrewer]

Thanks for the measurement.I will have to get one ordered for my next brew day.

[Belter]

Thanks for the measurement.I will have to get one ordered for my next brew day.

Do they make them to any size? Looking at the website it says 35cm

[themadhippy]

Do they make them to any size? Looking at the website it says 35cm

Yep,site shows prices upto 550mm
http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/public/det ... TA20028124

[Belter]

I think I probably just clicked my links and went to a different HBS. Cheers for the link