Building A Mash/lauter Tun

[wedge]

I think sometimes we all need to just relax. SS is better brass has lead. But it cant be that much if vinegar can remove ut.

I'm no expert but i reckon we dont have to worry about obly 35 litres running through a brass tap. I'd be more worried about the lead contact in the air we all breath

 

[dicko]

Hi Johnno,
I dont think I'll make it on Saturday but I'm sure someone on here will let you know how it all goes.
Cheers

 

[sosman]

weel read palmers book he is a metualugest

And what does John have to say about cleaning the surface lead off brass:

http://howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

"Some brewers use brass fittings in conjunction with their wort chillers or other brewing equipment and are concerned about the lead that is present in brass alloys. A solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide (common 3% solution) will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts when they are soaked for 5-10 minutes at room temperature."

He is not saying lead is a problem - I am not saying it is a problem. I was just stating that the contaminants in brass are not removed by boiling.

Many brewers I know of clean their brass using this method. Brass varies in lead content but IIRC it is around 3%. It is such a simple procedure that it is easy to play it safe.

 

[sosman]

SS is better brass has lead. But it cant be that much if vinegar can remove ut.

Well since wort is acidic, what you don't dissolve with vinegar is likely to end up in your beer.

 

[sosman]

Was looking round for a way to attach a tap to my esky - my one doesn't have a drainage hole. The guy at the hardware store said there was no way you coulld attach a tap and run a mainfold off it. has to be a good seal. Has anyone tried drilling a hole in an esky? And what sort of fittings do you use. and where do ya gettem?

I did this with my first (smaller) esky.

I drilled though the outer skin and foam insulation with a hole saw. Make sure you leave enough clearance to get a spanners etc onto the nuts you use.

Then you drill the inner skin to take the pipe/fitting you are using. Lets say you are using half inch BSP threaded brass. The hole is a bit over 20mm. Then you just clamp it to the inner skin with nuts. If your tap has a flange already then you just need a nut on the inside. I sealed this with an o-ring.

Its not a closeup but you can see where I drilled out the outer casing here:

 

[dreamboat]

IF there really is an issue with the foodsafe ability of class 12 PVC, then I would suggest that everyone who reads this gives up on drinking any water that comes out of their taps at home, as it has almost certainly passed through some class 12 or 9 PVC before it gets there.

Better to be safe than sorry - especially if that is the official word from the PVC manufacturer.









And put on your tinfoil caps while you are at it!


dreamboat

 

[Backlane Brewery]

Picked up a couple of 20l food grade buckets from behind the local Subway last night. Won't eat their food, happy to nick their rubbish.
Thinking of making a "bucket-in-bucket" mash tun. Drill the bottom of one full of 3mm holes, put a tap on the other, insulate with one of those camping mats cut to size.
May also add a probe type thermometer and a small electric element.
Has anyone tried this method? Papazian recommends it, I know, but is it a waste of time? Should we just save up for a big Esky with an SS braid manifold?
The main attraction ATM is low cost and simplicity.

 

[GMK]

I have made one this way.

I got advice from Wes Smith at Maltcraft ref the size of the holes - he said to go 1.5-1.75mm.

3mm is too big.

It will take a long time.

Alternatively, get a dremel with a cutting wheel and mark out slits and cut them with that - will take half the time.

Hope this helps

 

[RobW]

How about a SS braid straight into the (well insulated) bucket? Easier than drilling all those holes.

 

[pint of lager]

Many many people have gone down the bucket in bucket mash/sparge tun. It is cheap and works well. It is your choice, what you can scrounge, how much you spend and how handy you are. Every homemade brewery is a unique mixture.

Make sure the bucket is spotless. Some of the pickle bucket take a long time soaking to get rid of the pickle aroma. Sour cream and mayonaise buckets are better.

Use a tap that you can regulate the flow rate with.

Minimize the gap between the two buckets, the dead space.

Have fun.

My old bucket in bucket served me well for many brews, until I went all SS. Now it makes a great strainer for malting grain.

As you said, low cost and simplicity.

Clean 20 litre buckets and lids are very very handy in the brewery. Storing grain, weighing grain out, washing up brew gear, using to drop wort into for aerating, keeping one full of sanitiser on brewday for soaking equipment and you will work out other uses. Picking fruit for fruit wine, primary fermenting of fruit wine and washing the dog are more uses of the useful bucket.

 

[kungy]

Backlane brewery, have you thought about using a bung tap setup ALA denny conn

http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/#BREWING%20WITH

Will

 

[kungy]

or

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/decoction/page1.php

 

[kungy]

or

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/decoction/page1.php

 

[Batz]

Interested in buying a mash tun already made?

5 Gallon Rubbermaid ?

Batz

 

[Backlane Brewery]

PMed you Batz.

 

[SteveSA]

I started out with a bucket in bucket. The biggest drawback is the deadspace (about 2L) and the size restriction for the mash (only about 16-17L usable space)

3mm holes are fine. In my experience I never had a problem with them. Just drill the holes from the bottom and don't bother deburring them as the burrs will help catch the bottom of the grain bed.

POL,
You must have a very small dog or a very large 20L bucket

Steve

 

[morry]

This is what Ive used. Im still scrounging around for last few bits, but the Zapap tun should do the trick. I think I used 3mm holes.

And Steve, thanks for the tip about deburring, I was a bit worried about bits breaking off and ending up in the boil but meh.

 

[Backlane Brewery]

Some of the pickle buckets take a long time soaking to get rid of the pickle aroma.

PoL, how did you know it was a pickle bucket? Psychic or what? :blink:

The rat was in it when I picked it up behind the local Subway, honest. Another reason not to eat there.

Bucket is currently getting a good long soak in Napisan.

 

[quincy]

Jeez BB. After seeing the pic - are u sure napisan is enough !!

 

[Backlane Brewery]

Well, I answered the burning question- can Home Brand Napisan get the smell out of a Subway pickle bucket with 3 weeks of soaking and several changes of water?
NO.

Pricing/buying a 30-40l esky this weekend. :angry:
While I think of it, is there a trick to getting the rubber pipe out of those SS braid fittings? I was thinking just cutting off one end & getting the pliers in seemed too easy. May be better off doing both ends & joining to a T-piece a la Sosman's pic on Brewiki. :huh: