F.E.D. Brand 30 litre urn, anyone used one

[Hoffbrew]

I've been looking at 30 litre urns and have found the Unit above selling for $135 at a 50% discount. Has anyone here had experience with this brand? Hard to find much in the way of specs other than it has a 2500 watt element. I'm interested to know if this is enough power to boil 20+ litres of wort without waiting hours.

 

[thedragon]

Haven't used that brand, but I did a lot of research before buying a new-ish crown brand from a fellow brewer.

The general consensus is that the cheaper Chinese urns are not great value as they rust and have issues with the element. Perhaps do a search on "Chinese urn" and see what comes up. I'm sure that there will be many stories of woe.

But to answer your question, the crown 40L urn is 2400 watt: enought to do a 25-odd litre batch in to the fermenter. birko are similar.

The urn you mention is $135. You can get a second hand birko / crown for about $ 200. My advice would be to get a better, more reliable brand, as it will save you money in the longer term.

 

[tavas]

I bought an eBay urn for about he same price (can't remember the brand). I did three brews on it before upgrading to a Birko. Mine didn't die but others that bought them reported they died. 30l is too small for a full volume BIAB and the electrics on these are not rated to 240v (220v from memory). It will run but eventually die.

Save up and watch eBay for a Birko or Crown. My Birko is 40 brews in and still running strong.

 

[thedragon]

Birko v Crown.

It's like Holden v ford (or vice versa depending on which side of the yarra you grew up on).

Both are good quality. I've never owned a cheaper type, but glad I have a more reliable brand.

 

[meathead]

I had a mate who used to sell their stuff, ie ovens, toasters etc, very dodgy electrics and quality
Put it this way you get what you pay for!
I would stick with Crown or Birko

 

[Hoffbrew]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking - there's almost always a catch.