# Insulating Electric Urn (hlt)



## symphony1975 (11/8/12)

hi,

i have a birko electric urn that i use for a HLT and thought i would put some sort of insulation around it to help keep temp steady (man my brew shed is bloody cold!) and so its not turning on every minute.......can anyone suggest the material/product they use and have success with?

a blanket from the house linen cupboard seems to be off limits!

cheers


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## Batz (11/8/12)

Camping mats and use the straps you buy to put around suitcases.


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## Tony (11/8/12)

have a look at this:

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...st&p=939792

cheers


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## QldKev (11/8/12)

I've got a mixture of camp mats and yoga mats on my 3V setup as seen . Value for money the camp mats are great, $5 a roll and like batz said just a stretchy strap to hold it in place. On my Mashtun I've used some velcro to hold it in place. The yoga mat looks neater, but when you touch it you can feel some warmth from it, it's about $20 a roll. I think I do prefer the yoga mat just for the looks.


QldKev


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## Batz (11/8/12)

The Clark Rubber insulation shown in the post Tony linked looks really good.

Is there anyone here who has used it for sometime? I believe that I've heard the silver backing breaks down and starts to flake and fall off after a bit of use.
Also what's the stuff worth per metre? 

Like symphony I'm thinking about insulating my BM due to the cold. I have camping mats ready but the silver stuff looks more sexy.


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## QldKev (11/8/12)

It sure does look nice in that pic.

Didn't AndrewQld use that silver stuff a while back? I remember him cooking some with his burner when he got his HERMS too close :huh: Maybe worth shooting him a pm. 


QldKev


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## Batz (11/8/12)

Well thanks for the inspiration symphony, just poured a beer and knocked one out.

$3.00 camping mat from the Red Cross store, two luggage straps from Red Dot $2.00 each. Big $7.00 outlay :lol: 
I still like the look of the silver covered stuff, I just have a feeling it deteriorates, it may have been Tidalpetes.


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## Fat Bastard (11/8/12)

Batz said:


> The Clark Rubber insulation shown in the post Tony linked looks really good.
> 
> Is there anyone here who has used it for sometime? I believe that I've heard the silver backing breaks down and starts to flake and fall off after a bit of use.
> Also what's the stuff worth per metre?
> ...



I've used it on my system for 6 months now and there is no sign of the backing falling off yet. It works really well, and from memory was about 24 bucks for 1 metre x 1.5 metres the roll is wider than a metre anyway.

I use it silver side inwards though. I thought it would be best to try to reflect the heat back into the vessel. My only issue is that it marks really easily and looks tatty pretty quickly.


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## Batz (11/8/12)

Fat Bastard said:


> I've used it on my system for 6 months now and there is no sign of the backing falling off yet. It works really well, and from memory was about 24 bucks for 1 metre x 1.5 metres the roll is wider than a metre anyway.
> 
> I use it silver side inwards though. I thought it would be best to try to reflect the heat back into the vessel. My only issue is that it marks really easily and looks tatty pretty quickly.




Cheers FB, perhaps the marking was the issue.
I might grab a metre to try out anyway.

Thanks for the reply.

Batz


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## DU99 (11/8/12)

go to the local op shop and see if they have any doona's or similar.even some Polystyrene around the sides..even cardboard for quick fix


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## Tony (11/8/12)

Batz said:


> The Clark Rubber insulation shown in the post Tony linked looks really good.
> 
> Is there anyone here who has used it for sometime? I believe that I've heard the silver backing breaks down and starts to flake and fall off after a bit of use.
> Also what's the stuff worth per metre?
> ...



there is always silver duct tape 

What is that black stuff that people use, that looks like a massive piece of black heat shrink has been put over the pot?

I think it looks the goods!

but no idea what it is or where to get it


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## wessmith (11/8/12)

Or you can do it this way -

Wes


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## Tony (11/8/12)

I wouldn't be able to timber lag mine........... i would spend more time licking it than brewing


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## Eggs (11/8/12)

Ive used one of the cheap camp mats. I found over the course of a few brews the mat began to warp and distort. It adheres strongly to the sides of the urn to the point that even a paint scraper wont remove it. I dont know if they are all the same but ill be finding something else to insulate with when I build my next setup.


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## breakbeer (11/8/12)

I bought the scraps that Edak had left over & just finished fitting it....




Held temp at 57 for 15 minutes

Did a boil test on the vessel & then pointed my laser thermometer at the insulation and it was at 24 degrees, while the pot was at just over 90


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## Batz (11/8/12)

Eggs said:


> Ive used one of the cheap camp mats. I found over the course of a few brews the mat began to warp and distort. It adheres strongly to the sides of the urn to the point that even a paint scraper wont remove it. I dont know if they are all the same but ill be finding something else to insulate with when I build my next setup.




yuk! I don't want stuff stuck to my BM.


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## wessmith (11/8/12)

Tony said:


> I wouldn't be able to timber lag mine........... i would spend more time licking it than brewing



Hey Tony, all it takes is a few lengths of timber - around 12 to 15mm thick, a belt sander and a bit of patience. The bands are "Bandit" strapping pop riveted to a heavy duty 150mm hose clamp fitting with all the hose clamp stuff removed and the bolt up part retained. You hold the timbers in place with bungee straps until the final clamp up. Just polyurethane all sides of the timber first.

Wes


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## Cocko (11/8/12)

I did my MT in wetsuit material.. Found it at work so have no idea on cost.

Works awesome. Just did a Velcro strip up the back:









Edit: Keeps heat really well and is gold when cleaning as the water just beads or behaves as it does with a wetsuit!


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## Tony (11/8/12)

some of this material would look good


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## Batz (11/8/12)

Tony said:


> some of this material would look good




Yep that'll do it.


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## Eggs (11/8/12)

Batz said:


> yuk! I don't want stuff stuck to my BM.




Nup. In the morning ill take a picture of the mat stuck to the metal. the mat itself has gone in the bin as it melted so much it becale useless. Mines a cheapo old urn i found at a market, but if id payed the $$ for a BM i might be more concerned.


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## Cocko (11/8/12)

Tony said:


> some of this material would look good



Would do either in a second!

My MT or Angelina Jolie.... I assume she hold temp quite well too....

h34r:


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## Tony (11/8/12)

Cocko said:


> I assume she hold temp quite well too....



well...... i guess you have to strip the wetsuit off to do a comparison


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## Wolfy (11/8/12)

Cocko said:


> I did my MT in wetsuit material.. Found it at work so have no idea on cost.


It's expensive stuff, from what I can tell its cheaper to buy and then cut-up a wetsuit than it is to get just the material.


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## QldKev (12/8/12)

Eggs said:


> Ive used one of the cheap camp mats. I found over the course of a few brews the mat began to warp and distort. It adheres strongly to the sides of the urn to the point that even a paint scraper wont remove it. I dont know if they are all the same but ill be finding something else to insulate with when I build my next setup.




Ouch! Maybe I was lucky that they had no rolls of the camping mat in when I wanted some for the Kettle, and I had to use the yoga mat. I haven't had any issues with the camping mat melting on the HLT and mash tun. Maybe they are not hot enough for problems. The yoga mat on the kettle has only done 2 runs so far, but (touch wood) so far all good. 

The other material I did look at was micro fibre, but I'm not sure how well it would insulate. 



QldKev


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## Edak (12/8/12)

breakbeer said:


> I bought the scraps that Edak had left over & just finished fitting it....
> 
> View attachment 56375
> 
> ...


Looking good Glen! 

The silver stuff should last a long time because it is made specifically for insulation on water tanks. 

The cost for this is 55/m as it is the 20mm thick version


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## Edak (12/8/12)

Oh and for what it's worth, the rubbery stuff that beerbelly uses is nitrile rubber, which is also expensive. 

Asbestos is cheap ;-)


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## going down a hill (12/8/12)

I use the silver insulated rubber, silver on the inside. Works a treat and has a grid embossed on it which is easy to cut with a stanley knife to get around hadles and the dial on the urn.


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## ashley_leask (13/8/12)

QldKev said:


> Ouch! Maybe I was lucky that they had no rolls of the camping mat in when I wanted some for the Kettle, and I had to use the yoga mat. I haven't had any issues with the camping mat melting on the HLT and mash tun. Maybe they are not hot enough for problems. The yoga mat on the kettle has only done 2 runs so far, but (touch wood) so far all good.
> 
> The other material I did look at was micro fibre, but I'm not sure how well it would insulate.
> 
> ...



I had the same problem, it's the spills and drips of wort between the mat and the kettle that stick, but a mash tun mightn't get hot enough for that to happen. I was doing BIAB, had to buy a new mat every 3 or 4 brews.


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## Bribie G (13/8/12)

The silvery rubber looks good and blingy but if you think of it, if the ugly rubber is on the outside then the metal layer facing the vessel will be reflecting radiant heat back into the vessel and would therefore be a better insulator, one would think. 

Tidal Pete did a blingy HLT - You ain't seen genuint bling till you've been to Pete's - and even though the material was fixed in place the metallic layer split and crazed and he had to remove it.


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## edschache (13/8/12)

I use a camping mat but with an old towel underneath it which stops it melting. I leave it on during the boil without issues. If you need it more insulated just add more mats? Only issue is I can't see the site gauge but a little bit of guess work never hurt a brew right?


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## Yob (15/11/13)

going down a hill said:


> I use the silver insulated rubber, silver on the inside. Works a treat and has a grid embossed on it which is easy to cut with a stanley knife to get around hadles and the dial on the urn.


Where from and how much mate? Im doing a new HLT build and am looking ofr inspiration for the lagging material to use.


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## technobabble66 (15/11/13)

It sounds the same as the stuff I got, called "thermoshield" I think, from Clarke rubber. Something like $32 per square metre. Bit pricey, but 1m is enough for my 2 urns.


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## Yob (15/11/13)

Will go have a look, there's a Clarke rubber joint not far from me.

Cheers


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## Yob (15/11/13)

Got some stuff called Formshield, adhesive one side and silver the other, he said it's used for stuff like Care fire walls, got the 10mm stuff..

The fun begins anew


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## Black Devil Dog (22/11/13)

I've just done my first batch with the foil backed foam from Clark rubber and it works brilliantly.

I wrapped it around twice, (foil facing in) making cutouts for the handles, power cord, temp switch, sight tube and tap. I used sticky backed velcro to hold it where I needed.

I also wrapped my usual blankets, towels etc around it. 

Previously, I needed to check my temp during mash because it would drop by about 2-3 deg over 60 min.

Today the temp barely budged at all, maybe 0.1 deg max.


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## punkin (23/11/13)

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1773&start=90#p27247


I used a combination of camping mats, gelgrip and rubber mat for a similar project a few years ago.


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