Which of these boilers for BIAB please?

[Cully]

Which of the three boilers listed here would be the best for BIAB brewing?

http://www.geterbrewed.com/peco-boilers ... equipment/

[Cully]

Just realized the top one is the same as the second one without the digital processor thingy.

[byronb]

I'd go with the digital version. You'd need to keep the bag off the element but it means you can set the mash temperature and not worry about it cooling down. Very useful for overnight mashing or multiple temperature steps.

[Cully]

I was thinking that, but I have found the Copper Kettle website and they do 60ltr buckets with holes cut for taps and elements.

[byronb]

60L is definitely a better size. Making 25L batches I can get close to the 60L mark on my 70L pot, especially if it's a bigger beer and lower efficiency.

[Cully]

I wont ever make more than 40 pints at a time, and often lower than that but have been told the more headspace the better with BIAB. I am wondering about bags to fit that size boiler though.

[BluePanda]

I was thinking that, but I have found the Copper Kettle website and they do 60ltr buckets with holes cut for taps and elements.

I just got a 60 ltr bucket from there. I'm in the process of putting the elements in.
The owner was extremely helpful.

[Fil]

+1 for copper kettle customer service, if in doubt dont be afraid of a quick phone call or email to ask what biab bag would suit for example.. when buying some kit i have phoned and had a good ol brewing chin wag, when i had problems i had replacement or refund offer straight away, and email Q's have always been answered even when advising about not purchasing..

they also sell pre-drilled compression tank connectors so a boiler build can be achieved simply by buying and fitting, the only working involved would be cutting copper tube and tightening up seals..

Many folk dont use bags but just lengths of the netting raw,
voile
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Premium-VOILE ... 484fbd5751
get enough to double up


while many brew with grand results with 30-33l pots, imho the extra headroom to ward off overboils spills and the worry and work invloved with em is well worth it.

[Andy]

Another +1 for Copper Kettle. I pop in there every now and again when I'm in the area for ingredients, Ian's a great bloke.

[dmdrabble]

I have a burco boiler. The ones used as a tea urn at mess rooms / village halls. Used it for BIAB and mash tun all grain. Works a treat.

[Cully]

I did consider Burco and Buffalo but searching the web loads of people have problems with them cutting out mid boil etc?

Fil - what is the Compression tank connector used for plz? I thought it would just be a case of getting 2 element size holes and one for a tap?

[Wezzel]

My buffalo is brilliant and never cuts out. You just need to clean the element after each use which is incredibly easy.

[Fil]

Fil - what is the Compression tank connector used for plz? I thought it would just be a case of getting 2 element size holes and one for a tap?

for the tap/hopfilter....
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Compress ... oCiG_w_wcB
If you want a hop filter in the boiler then its useful to have something inside the boiler to fit it to. a very common solution is to use a 15mm compression tank connector, off the shelf these have a pipestop to stop the copper pipe being pushed too far in, We would like the copper pipe pushed all the way thriugh to provide a fixing point for the hop filter, so filling or drilling out the stop ridge from an off the shelf tank connector lets you do just that..

not a very good pic or 2 of how i used a tank connector in my mango barrel for this job..

[BluePanda]

Copper kettle sell the tank connectors already pre-drilled.