einkochautomat - eating my heart out

[Bribie G]

Here's the "Silvercrest einkochautomat" as available from Lidl stores in EU.



I was alerted to this by a German BIAB brewer on another forum. He has a dishwasher pump attached and now has a recirculating BIAB RIMS machine virtually out of the box, with temperature control within half a degree via digital control panel.

30L - ok for keg sized brew at a pinch

$3000?

$2000?

Wait for it:


59 fecking euros :blink: :blink: :blink:

Please tell me it ain't so..

 

[technobabble66]

Wow.
That is amazing. And cheap - i think it's about AUD$87.
Fancy that, putting them digital control thingys with an electric urn. And actually getting it to ACCURATELY register & control temperature. Those clever germans!

Wow

Pity it's only 27L, and looks like it stops at 100°C; otherwise it'd be an awesome BIAB kettle. It'd almost be worthwhile looking at sticking to 15-18L batches.


PS: I think she's swearing at me, esp at the 3:58 mark. Or is she talking dirty??

 

[Bribie G]

I'd guess it's ok for boiling, as you can sterilise fruit jars etc. I'll ask the guy how the boil is. I never set my own urn to 110, 100 does just fine.

 

[Dan Pratt]

for making 5 or 10lt pilot brews for experiments, @ $90 AUS, top little unit for BIAB.

 

[djar007]

Anyone else use those dishwasher pumps. I do and find them very good. And cheap. Italian made ones are about twenty five bucks. Chinese ones are cheaper but don't last as long. Can handle the heat well too.

 

[shaunous]

Bulk Buy??? I'm in....

 

[Bribie G]

Just found out that the guy on the other forum bought two for the price of one and can do double batches. :angry2:

 

[Feldon]

YouTube demo here of a (?UK) bloke using one with a dishwasher pump...

 

[smokenmirraz]

YouTube demo here of a (?UK) bloke using one with a dishwasher pump...

The connection plumbing is a little pedestrian.

 

[Feldon]

The connection plumbing is a little pedestrian.

Yeah. He also seems to have chipped off some of the enamel (?) where he replaced the tap with a ball valve.

Be interesting to see underneath the plastic base where the electricals are housed. Might be room for a little brown pump, but for safety perhaps need to find a way to isolate the liquid side from the electrical side.

The plastic handle looks like would be a good upper support for a polycarbonate sight gauge.

EDIT: PS. Good find, Bribie.

 

[shaunous]

Has anyone figured out how to get them in Aus yet?

 

[treefiddy]

Looks like that supermarket chain will be opening their first store in Melbourne next year. Specials often come back to Aldi, and this store looks much the same except with jumbled spelling.

 

[Feldon]

Here's the Lidl home page (in German) : http://www.lidl.de/

If you type Einkochautomat in the search ("suche") bar at the top under the row of pics it will take you to to a page with pics of two urn products. Click on the left one.

Here's the product description translated into English (with thanks to Mr. Google) :

• With digital display and electronic control
• Ideal for canning and preserving jams, fruit and vegetable
• Also suitable for heating and keeping warm drinks, stews, soups and other dishes
• With enamelled housing and heat insulated handles and practical faucet
• Electrical control panel with rotary switch for easy and convenient handling
• Variable temperature setting from 30-100 ° C - including overheating protection
• Electronically controlled timer starts after setting temperature is reached
• Practical beep upon reaching the target temperature and the set cooking time
• Digital display of current and preset temperature and remaining time
• Handy cable to the device ground and anti-slip feet for stability
• Timer: 1-120 minutes
• Capacity: approx 27 liters - including preserving grill
• Power: 1800 W

EDIT: Any retailers here want to test one out and maybe import in bulk?

 

[Damn]

I really don't need it but I'd buy one just for the price. Some one has to get this into Aus. Although once landed I expect the price would more than double and then it starts to lose its appeal. Awesome all the same.

 

[pat_00]

Hmm, I have a friend in Berlin who always comes home to Oz around christmas....

 

[drsmurto]

It's a preserving urn. A lost art perhaps but not unique.

I now have 2 preserving 'urns', both with thermostats that can control the temperature, albeit in degrees Fahrenheit (I have an app to convert it in to metric). Both get used for brewing (HLT) and preserving (fruit, veg, pickles). Also good for holding temperature for yoghurt making. The first one was given to me by my mother who also gave me 100s of jars/lids etc. The second I bought off ebay/gumtree (can't remember) for $40 and the nice old lady gave me a few jars as well.

If you search on ebay/gumtree/newspaper for 'fowlers preserving' you'll find locally available, 30L urns which the oldies don't list as urns as that is not what they are used for. If you use urn in your search query you will likely not find them. They are listed as preservers/sterilisers.

Here's one in NSW - http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/sanctuary-point/other-appliances/fowlers-vacola-sterilzer-and-hot-water-urn/1029378271

 

[Feldon]

Ok, here's a link to a UK brewer who has modified the 27 L Silvercrest (its brand name is seems) preserver/urn in order to maintain a rolling boil (seems this was an issue for some users (just like Birko urns etc) although I find that there are some users for whom the unit as bought is OK for wort boiling).

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5997

Includes pics of the electrical innards of the unit.

I'd be interested to know if any AHB members with ghetto build knowhow think that the main operational components - the LCD display and control knobs + the circuit board + associated wiring and thermal sensor - could be gutted from one of these and reinstalled on a bigger pot of your choice (perhaps with an element of higher Kw).

If so they may be a cheaper and operationaly more user friendly option for those with fabrication skills but not gifted with the mysteries of electronic heat control units (eg Aurduino etc).

EDIT: From other reading it seems the unit has a non-stick coating on the inner pot surface, which would dictate use of plastic or wooden mash paddles.