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Post #2 made 14 years ago
by PistolPatch
Hi there Telford and welcome to the forum :peace:

I'm not an electric brewer so I can't help you out with the wattage. This could well be an issue though as many urns are often a bit under-powered so take longer to reach temperatures and then may only maintain a poor boil.

If you want to get 6 gallons or 23 litres into your fermenter, then this is also too small - you really need a 40 litre urn.

There are ways to get larger volumes of beer from smaller pots (see here) but if you want to do this then you need at least another pot and these smaller pots can often be heated just on your stovetop.

The urn you linked, assuming it will be able to give you a good boil, should give you about 13 litres of beer to drink.

Hope that helps a bit,
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 22 May 2011, 20:48, edited 5 times in total.
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Post #3 made 14 years ago
by shibolet
Telford QPR wrote:Hi

Was wondering if anyone had used or have thoughts on the following as a boiler? http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg//SID ... 11&nf=True

Any feedback appreciated

Kenny
welcome aboard Kenny,
I've seen this type of urn used successfully by many German home brewers. the thermostat is a nice thing to have for keeping a steady mash temp.
Last edited by shibolet on 23 May 2011, 00:28, edited 5 times in total.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:

Post #4 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
cheers for the info guys - managed to get one for £30 so will see how I go. Will no doubt be asking for advice as we go along - just a pity that I cant plan 1t brew for a few weeks (holiday, so cant complain too much!)

Post #5 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
Just done a trial run with new boiler (just water). Took a whie to get to the temps but reached 100C, although not a terrific rolling boil - I was wondering though, can I keep the lid on during the rolling boil? Seemed to keep temp better with the lid on but should also retain more water during the boil - are there any downsides to keeping the lid on?

Cheers for help guys.

Post #6 made 14 years ago
by hashie
Do not keep the lid on during the boil. If the condensate falls back into the beer, it can make for some nasty flavours.

At least, that is what the internet says!
"It's beer Jim, but not as we know it."

Post #7 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
Thanks Hashie - will remove the lid. Regarding the condensation / lid - should the lid also be removed for heating from strike temp to the boil, or is it only from the boil stage? Sorry for all the questions, just want my 1st attempt to go as smoothly as possible!! Cheers

Post #8 made 14 years ago
by shibolet
Telford QPR wrote:Thanks Hashie - will remove the lid. Regarding the condensation / lid - should the lid also be removed for heating from strike temp to the boil, or is it only from the boil stage? Sorry for all the questions, just want my 1st attempt to go as smoothly as possible!! Cheers
heat up to strike temp with the lid on.
during the boil you want the lid off in order to boil off unwanted substances in the wort.

here's what Palmer has to say about this:
Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS)/ Cooked Vegetable Flavors
Like diacetyl in ales, DMS is common in many light lagers and is considered to be part of the character. DMS is produced in the wort during the boil by the reduction of another compound, S-methyl-methionine (SMM), which is itself produced during malting. When a malt is roasted or toasted, the SMM is reduced beforehand and does not manifest as DMS in the wort, which explains why it is more prevalent in pale lagers. In other styles, DMS is a common off-flavor, and can be caused by poor brewing practices or bacterial infections.

DMS is continuously produced in the wort while it is hot and is usually removed by vaporization during the boil. If the wort is cooled slowly these compounds will not be removed from the wort and will dissolve back in. Thus it is important to not completely cover the brewpot during the boil or allow condensate to drip back into the pot from the lid. The wort should also be cooled quickly after the boil, either by immersing in an ice bath or using a wort chiller.
on the other hand, he also says you must chill your wort ASAP. and i no chill in a cube...
Last edited by shibolet on 26 May 2011, 16:47, edited 5 times in total.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:

Post #10 made 14 years ago
by PistolPatch
shibolet wrote:I've seen this type of urn used successfully by many German home brewers. the thermostat is a nice thing to have for keeping a steady mash temp.
Looks like you are under way Telford! Check out the Maxi-BIAB guide when you want to increase your batch size. Also, to help increase the vigour of the boil, float a stainless steel bowl on top of the wort during the boil.

:luck:
Last edited by PistolPatch on 29 May 2011, 17:23, edited 5 times in total.
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Post #12 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
Manteur - Not that great I'm afraid although I have not given up! Without altering, the thermostat was cutting off before I could get a rolling boil - however I am hoping to overide this and achieve required temperature. I have also just noted PP's suggestion in respect of floating stainless steel bowl, so will try that next time and let you know how this goes.

Post #13 made 14 years ago
by manteur
OK. Thanks Telford. I guess I needed to know that. I bought mine for pasteurising fruit juice, but then got all exicted about using it for beer. I'll try a practice with plain water and see how if my thermostat plays nice or not.

Post #16 made 14 years ago
by Ralph
If the boil is still struggling, suggest insulate around the side and also float a heat- resistant container on the wort while it boils. I once used a stainless kidney dish to do this, foil over the top of the dish helped keep the radiant (?) heat loss down. I've also seen a fellow brewer boil 50-odd litres with a single 2400W over- the- side electric element, the heat conservation/ insulation needs to be OTT, but it worked.
Please let us know how it goes! :drink:
[center]Give me a beer and I will move the world. Archimedes[/center]

Post #17 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
UPDATE - Semi-success !! I managed to get a decent roiling boil so pleased with that. Mistake I made (only 2nd brew) is that I tried to use the thermostat to maintain the mash temperature but this fluctuated too much so low efficiency. Therefore for the next brew, I will get to strike, switch off boiler and insulate. Today has proved to me that this boiler will work - not bad for £30 !!

Post #18 made 14 years ago
by Ralph
Getting there! :thumbs:
Yeah, there's no need to actively regulate mash temperature, just thoroughly insulate and it should be peachy. :drink:
[center]Give me a beer and I will move the world. Archimedes[/center]

Post #19 made 14 years ago
by manteur
I was using this urn today to sterilise some sweet chili sauce, so I thought I would go on to do a boil test. With the dial set to "max", the load light was permanently on, but it took ages to come to a boil, and then not a very vigorous one. So I think the wattage is not enough to cope with the heat losses and like everyone says it's going to need hefty insulation to work as a beer boiler. It's a good sterilizer though.

Post #20 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
Bit of an update following my 1st attempt at maxi-BIAB. Hit strike temp and then insulated with a couple of sleeping bags which worked a treat, only lost 1c. Got what I would decribe as a very good simmer (104c) - couldn't quite get a rolling boil but it was full to the brim (27 litres) and in the end managed 23 litres into fermenter at 1.059 - I was doing the All Amarillo APA, so taget was 1.058. So very pleased with the results.

@ Manteur - this was only possible with the override to the thermostat as explained in my link. If your in the UK, the chap who came up with a tool to do this sent me "his tool" in the post - I slipped him a fiver to say thanks as it was really easy to do, and I am really rubbish at these things, so perhaps you could consider this?

Post #21 made 14 years ago
by manteur
Telford, I would, but the load light was permanently on as it was, so I assume the thermostat doesn't need overriding. My ears tell me that there was no thermostatic switching going on either. (shrug).

Post #23 made 14 years ago
by Telford QPR
Tried my 3rd BIAB and thought I would give Maxi-BIAB a try - again using the All Amarillo APA recipe and do you know what, I got beer...20 litres of barrelled beer....20 litres of bloody tasty barrelled beer :party: Insulating with a couple of sleeping bags during the mash did the trick and ok, there are a couple of things still to improve on like my OG was a bit high (should have diluted more) but this is very tasty beer...even if I do so say myself!!

I would just like to thank the regular posters on here as your assistance to us newbies is invaluable.

Cheers

Kenny

....now what to brew next :thumbs:
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