30l Boiler

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jgriffin

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I scored a 30L SS urn today that i intend to use as a boiler for AG. I've got an immersion heater thingy, so i'm not going to use the element to boil - however removing it will leave a hole that i don't want to plug.

So

a) is 30L big enough?
and
B) the element is green with corrosion, anyone know what i can use to clean this off?

So now i have a 30L boil pot, a 20L HLT, a 50L esky. I'm making this weekend the manifold, and thinking of buying goliaths counterflow chiller for $80 (damn copper pipe has got expensive). Anything i have forgotten?
 
30 lt is good , you can heat a bit more water if required during the mash in

To clean it use phosrhoric acid , it'll come up like new if soaked o/night

Batz
 
OK... use the element to boil - but 30ltr is good for partials - but not really big enough for full AG Batches.

Cleaning - get some CLR - make a strong solution that covers the element by an inch or 2 - and turn on - let boil for 30 mins.
Get a Steel Scouring Pad - clean the elements - once cooled with this and leave soaking in CLR. Then keep cleaning with the steel pad.
Change the water when needed and add more CLR - might take upto 2 weeks to clean all the scale etc off - but it will work.
Did it with my 30ltr Urn.

Note:
30ltr Urn is great as a HLT later on....
 
Lets keep the chemicals out of the urn......

I came across an urn - very high levels of scale material ........ I dumped 1 jar of citric acid in and boiled it - stirred and let it cool - added 1 more jar of citric acid and boiled it again - right jobs done !!!

for a total $2.40 the best stuff use on scaled elements.....

Use the urn for a HLT even 50 ltr pots boil over if you ain't watchful

Regards
JSB
 
you were lucky - when i tried citric acid it did not do the job for me - hence the CLR....

But he could finish with citric acid...
 
Hmm well i'm gonna try it as a boiler. I can't use the element as the control is missing, and the wiring is all snapped off.

So i ended up snapping the element off to make life easier - hope the wire in the middle has no lead :)

But i just discovered a problem, i think someone left it soaking in bleach. there's a couple of pin holes in the bottom, i'll leak test it later but i hope they are too small to leak much.
 
Well keep chemicals away if you like , not sure what you think citric acid is?

Phosphoric will do the job well
 
Ken

What's CLR?

Batz & JSB

What concentrations of Phosphoric & Citric ?
 
CLR - Calcium, Lime Rust. It's some noxious chemical stuff you can buy at the supermarket.

I soaked it in phos solution last night, the copper element is all shiny again.

Ken - i have Eliminate which reccomends 10ml of Eliminate to 10L of water for sanitizing. I just used this concentration.
 
30ltrs is fine for a boiler, even for a full AG. It just depends on how you think about a batch of beer. If youre kegging you need 18ltrs for the keg, plus 1ltr lost to the fermenter, plus 2ltrs lost to boiler deadspace. So you need to make about 21ltrs. Assuming 15% boil off rate over a 90min boil you need to start with 27ltrs. This leaves 3ltrs of headspace in your boiler. Admittedly its not much, but it will do, and as the boil continues, the level drops and you have less worry.

Another thing to remember is that some of the people recommending a larger boiler are using super-charged burners that create a boil that looks like a volcano about to spew forth. An immersion element if its 2400w will take 27ltrs to a nice rolling boil that will not get out of control (its what I use).

Its horses for courses and if you havent been brain washed to believe that all batches of beer must be 23ltrs or more in the fermenter, then a smaller boiler will suit. And if you decide to go bigger in the future of course it will make a good HLT.

Cheers
MAH
 
jgriffin said:
CLR - Calcium, Lime Rust. It's some noxious chemical stuff you can buy at the supermarket.

I soaked it in phos solution last night, the copper element is all shiny again.

Ken - i have Eliminate which reccomends 10ml of Eliminate to 10L of water for sanitizing. I just used this concentration.
Cheers - much appreciated
 
I generally aim for something like a teaspoon phos acid per litre which is about half a percent. I don't really take into account that the phos acid you buy is around 80-85% it is not that crucial.
 
Thanks everyone. Unfortunately the urn leaked like a sieve, so it's on to the hunt again.
 
Update: does anyone know if breweries make aluminum kegs, and if so are they safe to boil in?
I've just sourced a 52L keg, but the person claims it's aluminium.
 
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