Crown Urn

[cozmocracker]

Hello fellow Biab'ers,

today i received my shiny new 40 litre urn, Woo Hoo!

Now, i have done a couple of brews in a 20 litre urn and have a couple of questions before i move on to the new one.

Firstly, i noticed during the boil, the liquid in the sight tube doesnt get boiled, is this an issue? do people remove or block there sight tubes?

Secondly, the tap. i used some silicon tubing for draining the urn, i managed to slip it on the tap but held it in place by hand while draining the urn for fear of it slipping off. Do people replace the tap or have a better method for hold the tubing on there while it is draining?

Thirdly, the mash. Normally for Biab method you add all your water at the start, why? wouldnt it be better to mash with the ratio of water 3 to 1 (or there abouts) as per normal mashing technique (i did read somewhere in Palmers bible about the effect of ratio on the mash, for whatever reason it was) and then add sparge water to get to starting boil volume? i know its a one vessel system so simplicity is the key but i have an extra urn now which can be used for the sparge water.

Lastly, at least for now, what product is best used for cleaning the urn? to remove the stubborn scum in the cracks.

Thanks to all who can help me with my little dilemmas

Cozmo

 

[cliffo]

1. I kept the sight tube on mine, don't think it matter
2. I replaced the standard tap on mine with a 1/2 inch ball valve setup, silicon tube gets clamped on with butterfly clamps from Bunnings
3. Can't help you with this one
4. I'm a big fan of PBW for cleaning my urn & plate chiller

 

[chappo1970]

Cozmo,
Well done on the 40lt Crown Urn. You won't be disappointed.

I don't BIAB so I will leave those answers to those more qualified, BribieG? Katie? Pollux? TB?

As for the tap I replaced it with a ball valve and barbed spigot. IMO Burns last for my forever so I won't risk it. I often strike or sparge with 25lts or so and I have a hard enough time holding onto the hose changing hands let alone trying to keep it attached to that urn tap that comes standard with the urn. For safety sakes I would change it to suit the application. See below for how I modified my Urn tap and used Silicon hoses.



I clean with PBW. Does a brilliant job on the boiler and HLT.

Cheers

Chappo

 

[flattop]

1) don't think it's a problem as all the water in the urn is around 100*c sight glass is great for marking initial volume so you don't need to measure each brew
2) Would like a 1/2 inch ball valve but for now i put my cube on a stable wooden block directly under the tap and open the tap in the locking position and back off... no drama's
3) From what i understand a Sparge is technically not needed for a BIAB as it's one big sparge but i have sparged with limited success probably TB can give us the in's and out's.
4) I clean the urn with a soft scourer but i will be ordering PBW from Ross when i place my next order i think... then again you boil the urn every brew so i doubt there is much issue with any build up...

Note's for the crown, it's slower to warm up than the birko apparently, i use a timer to start it off (thanks TB for that tip) and it is a bit hard to get it to a rolling boil if the ambient air temp is low, some use insulation, i have taken my brewing into the kitchen from the balcony (much better)

 

[cozmocracker]

mmmm, ball value looks the go, your right i wouldnt want to burn myself or even worse spill hot wort on the floor!

PBW here i come, im guessing i can get that through Ross?

 

[Goofinder]

(Note, I don't have a Crown urn, I have a Roband, but I assume urns are reasonably standard).

1. Anything in the sight glass is going to get pretty damn hot anyway during the boil so I don't think there's a problem there. Can be a bit tricky to clean though.

2. I just use 19mm hose that fits tightly over my urn tap and haven't had any problems with it. I only ever drain straight down into the mash tun for strike/sparge water or straight down into a cube for no-chilling. I don't hold it on or anything as it is stretched enough that it doesn't come loose. The urn tap also comes apart easily for cleaning as well.

3. Get yourself a mash tun!

 

[Pollux]

Okay, I BIAB in a Crown urn so I suppose I should give my opinions...

1. The sight tube I consider a non-issue, in terms of cleaning I fire hot water down it with a syringe tends to do the job.

2. I use a re-enforced nylon tube with an ID of 19mm, add a clamp and it stays on fine.

3. I start with all my water, but I am starting to think my scales are off and as such I am not adding enough grain, so this may become an issue further on.

4. I used to just use a soft scourer and elbow grease, always rinsing with a jug of boiling water.....The last few times though I have given it a shot of dishwashing liquid, then rinsed multiple times, then done the boiling water...It makes a difference.

 

[Sammus]

Instead of PBW you could get some sodium percarbonate. Costs all of about $65-70 for a 25kg bag (as opposed to $50 for a 1.8kg tub) if you look at some cleaning chemical suppliers in the yellow pages. Will last you a lifetime, and that's basically what PBW is anyway (arguabely, it's a patented mix and they only tell you the hazardous chemicals, of which sodium percarb is not, but speculation on many brewing forums suggests the main active component is sodium percarbonate, plus some surfectants to help wet surfaces, but it's easy enough to just soak it in the pure stuff).

 

[cozmocracker]

thanks for the replies everyone, any more thoughts on the mash, i was thinking of using the 20 litre urn for dunk sparging in, bring water up to 78 degrees and dunk bag in there a few times or leave in there for 10 or 15 minutes then add extra water to main urn?? thoughts?

 

[Bribie G]

I've got a Birko. I don't know about the Crown but the Birko tap can be screwed apart and cleaned, then put back together. What I do is, when heating the strike water, fill urn about a fifth full and bring the water to the boil, then run a litre through the tap to nuke it well. I am thinking of getting the sight tube inlet welded and remove the tube, don't need it.

Inside the urn I just use hot water, washing up detergent and a yellow/green scrubber, but every few brews I lightly scour the exposed element with a stainless wool pad to remove any calcium deposits.

After every brew I perfectly polish the urn outside using windex and soft cloths, thank it, kiss it and put it to bed. My urn is my life :icon_cheers:

 

[flattop]

For my part i am starting to find sparging with BIAB is a hassle, i came close to hitting efficiency without sparging for my last brew (4th) target was 1047 i got 1043, not too bad

 

[RobB]

Secondly, the tap. i used some silicon tubing for draining the urn, i managed to slip it on the tap but held it in place by hand while draining the urn for fear of it slipping off. Do people replace the tap or have a better method for hold the tubing on there while it is draining?

Thirdly, the mash. Normally for Biab method you add all your water at the start, why? wouldnt it be better to mash with the ratio of water 3 to 1 (or there abouts) as per normal mashing technique (i did read somewhere in Palmers bible about the effect of ratio on the mash, for whatever reason it was) and then add sparge water to get to starting boil volume? i know its a one vessel system so simplicity is the key but i have an extra urn now which can be used for the sparge water.

Different urns have different shaped taps, but if your tap tapers all the way down it will be hard to fit a hose on to it. Here's a photo of what I did to overcome this problem. I just drilled out the spout and inserted a 5cm length of copper pipe. Obviously, there will be a circular crack between the body of the tap and the pipe, and this will have to be filled with silver solder or brazing. An extra bead of solder around the protruding part of the pipe would give the hose more grip.



The taps are chrome plated brass, not stainless, so they're pretty easy to drill. Even so, I stepped up the hole size in 0.5mm increments.

On your third point, I have done this a few times but it made no difference to my efficiency nor the flavour of my beer so I just do straight BIABs now. However there is one small benefit in using a second vessel with BIAB - you save a small amount of time. Instead of slowly heating your full volume from mash temp to mash-out temp, you can just dump your second volume of near-boiling water into the mash and you pretty much step straight up to mash-out temp. It's up to you whether fifteen minutes is worth using an extra vessel.

Try both ways. You'll soon decide which you prefer.

 

[cozmocracker]

I have a new question, i tried to remove tap by undoing nut on the inside of the urn, it wouldnt budge. i was applying enough pressure that the urn wall started to warp so i stopped. some help would be greatly appreciated so i can clean the gunk out. and yes i was undoing the nut in the right direction.

cheers cozmo

 

[chappo1970]

Cozmo,

Probably find the silicon tape or alikes has bound up. Get a bit of pipe that fits over the handle of your spanner. It will allow you to apply greater torque but also room for a short sharp blow with a hammer. Simply put some pressure on the nut and give it a good sharp whack. That should loose the sucker.

Or whack about 5lt of water in there and let it heat up a little say 50C just don't run the tap and be careful not to scald yourself mate and do as above.

Cheers


Chappo

 

[cozmocracker]

thanks chappo i will give that a go, i would hate to ruin my new urn or ruin a batch of beer because i couldnt clean the tap properly.

 

[chappo1970]

thanks chappo i will give that a go, i would hate to ruin my new urn or ruin a batch of beer because i couldnt clean the tap properly.

Amen to that Cozmo! :icon_cheers:

 

[captaincleanoff]

you guys think its safe to leave the urn out in the rain?

I dont really have anywhere to store it inside.

The only bit i am worried about is the temperature dial. Does anyone know if it is waterproofed?

 

[crundle]

you guys think its safe to leave the urn out in the rain?

I dont really have anywhere to store it inside.

The only bit i am worried about is the temperature dial. Does anyone know if it is waterproofed?

I wouldn't leave it outside uncovered, but if you have no other option than to store it outside, then I would cover it with a large plastic garbage bag in the interim to protect it from the rain, until you find something to cover it with that wont break down in the sunlight (not sure how long garbage bags these days can take sunlight).

I am assuming the dial is not waterproof, and I take fairly good care to ensure it doesn't get too wet when cleaning it after a brew session.

cheers,

Crundle

 

[chappo1970]

I wouldn't leave it outside uncovered, but if you have no other option than to store it outside, then I would cover it with a large plastic garbage bag in the interim to protect it from the rain, until you find something to cover it with that wont break down in the sunlight (not sure how long garbage bags these days can take sunlight).

I am assuming the dial is not waterproof, and I take fairly good care to ensure it doesn't get too wet when cleaning it after a brew session.

cheers,

Crundle

+1 Garbage bag or tarp. Certainly wouldn't expose it to the elements.

Cheers

Chappo

Edit: Speelinkz

 

[Pollux]

I have hosed the outside of mine a few times, doesn't seem to have affected any of the electrics.

I'm seriously tempted to find a sparkie who can bypass whatever switch it is that makes the element turn on and off constantly during a boil, it's really staring to piss me off....