Urn For Biab

[Reon]

Hi Guys,

I am going to start collecting my gear for the transition to AG and would like some input for my BIAB setup. I am looking at geting a large urn (let me know if you dont think it is suitable) like this . Also want opinions on this and this. All input much appreciated.

Reon

 

[Darren]

BIAB is bucket in a bucket?

I have successfully used an urn to mash, filter and boil in.

Simply form a thickish stainless mesh around the element. Heat urn water to desired strike temp. Add grain. Wait 90 minutes. Drain to container. Sparge with a kitchen kettle. Dump grain and boil collected wort in the urn. Drain to fermenter.

Couldn't be simpler.

cheers

Darren

 

[smollocks]

Hi Guys,

I am going to start collecting my gear for the transition to AG and would like some input for my BIAB setup. I am looking at geting a large urn (let me know if you dont think it is suitable) like this . Also want opinions on this and this. All input much appreciated.

The short answer is that urns are perfect for BIAB.

The Crown 40L urn is used by quite a few people here and is popular due to its concealed element. Do some searches and you'll find info on the Crown. $259 on the site you linked is a pretty standard price I think, unless you get lucky on ebay or with a factory second from the manufacturer.

Without going into detail on the numbers, the 30L urn will be too small if you're looking to brew the standard ~23L batches. You could still use it if you were willing to do small batches, or brew high gravity and use more hops to counter the poor utilisation. Again, doing a few searches will uncover some good posts by ThirstyBoy on calculating water volume requirements for BIAB. You will need this information for your first BIAB anyway, so you might as well research it now and make an informed choice on your equipment.

 

[crundle]

40 litre is the smallest I would go, it is great for making 23 litres in the fermenter for normal gravity beers of around 1.050's, but has to make smaller batches for larger beers (1.070's and higher).

The Crown is the one I am using, making a brew up at the moment in fact. The concealed element is nice to have for cleaning, and all I do is get it up to temperature with 33 litres of water, add the grain, stir and then wrap in a doonah and several blankets and leave it, stirring once in the middle of the mash and applying heat if needed. It only loses a degree per hour this way, and makes great beer. The whole brew day takes 4 hours maximum including cleaning, if I set the water to be heated up on a timer and no chill cube the resulting wort.

For larger brews, some use 50 litre kegs with the top cut off, which will give you extra capacity if you need it. BIAB is great for single batches, not so sure about doubles unless they were fairly light gravity beers, but with such a quick brew day, it is easy to do two batches in a day if you need to.

Crundle

 

[flattop]

+1 for the Crown although a timer is just about mandatory to shave time off your brew day, as well apparently the Crown takes a little longer to hit a rolling boil than the Birko.
The concealed element is a winner though, it seems to stop the bag from melting unlike other urns where the bag can touch the element and therefore a lot of BIAB'ers put in a cake rack.....
It's easy to clean the element as you do get a bit of trub harden onto it but a quick scrub gets it off.
I got mine new off evil bay for $220 delivered and I'm happy with it...

 

[beerbrewer76543]

Although not an urn, this is the setup I'm building:



Cost is about $290 and will give me a single vessel to mash and boil in (boiling with gas burner). The thermostat will control mash temp so I may try overnight mashes to wake up 90 minutes ahead on the weekend

 

[Bribie G]

I use a 40L Birko with exposed element. I dont know about current prices but I paid around $300 last November. It's actually quite easy to clean and the advantage of the exposed element is that you can get a good rolling boil going. The dial goes up to 110 and I boil on 100 so there's heaps of grunt there.
The main issue with an exposed element is the possibility of melting part of the bag. However I never apply current during mashing, After dough in I passively lag the whole thing and get about one degree per hour temperature drop which is fine. I use a kids size sleeping bag then wrap the whole thing in a feather doonah and walk away for 90 minutes.

 

[Reon]

Thanks for all the input. Looks like 40L would be the minimum as I expected. Will have to start working on the wife now.

 

[RobB]

.......... and walk away for 90 minutes.
View attachment 27851View attachment 27852

So no stirring during your mash BribieG?

I also have a Birko. I wasn't sure if I would need to turn it on during the mash so I bought a stainless mixing bowl for about $4 and drilled it full of holes to drop upside-down over the element.

When I used this system for it's first brew, the insulation around the urn (camping mat) kept the temperature steady enough that I didn't have to turn it on, but the bowl allowed me to leave the bag in while I raised the temperature for a mash-out.

 

[KHB]

Although not an urn, this is the setup I'm building:

View attachment 27846

Cost is about $290 and will give me a single vessel to mash and boil in (boiling with gas burner). The thermostat will control mash temp so I may try overnight mashes to wake up 90 minutes ahead on the weekend
[/quId be worried about melting any plastic parts on the element if boiling with gas

 

[randyrob]

Although not an urn, this is the setup I'm building:

View attachment 27846

Cost is about $290 and will give me a single vessel to mash and boil in (boiling with gas burner). The thermostat will control mash temp so I may try overnight mashes to wake up 90 minutes ahead on the weekend

How will you prevent the gas flames from licking the sides and melting your electric element or thermostat?

EDIT: Whoops beaten to it By Scotsman

p.s. if ur going electric why not boil with that?

 

[beerbrewer76543]

Yeah I'm yet to try it but I think it will be ok; the element should be designed to boil water so as long as it kept away from the flame it should be ok

I'm also thinking about foil backed insulation to help get the boil going but again this will probably be a try it and see situation

 

[Bribie G]

So no stirring during your mash BribieG?

I also have a Birko. I wasn't sure if I would need to turn it on during the mash so I bought a stainless mixing bowl for about $4 and drilled it full of holes to drop upside-down over the element.

When I used this system for it's first brew, the insulation around the urn (camping mat) kept the temperature steady enough that I didn't have to turn it on, but the bowl allowed me to leave the bag in while I raised the temperature for a mash-out.

I do a bit of a tweak with a larger grain bill. After mashing, I run about 7 litres out into a stockpot, pour 7 litres of near boiling water into the urn to replace it, then I stir like buggery (actually I use a paint stirrer thingo that looks like a giant potato masher and pump up and down, looks spectacular from the rear h34r: ). Then I raise and drain the bag and as it's heating up for the boil, pour the 7 litres of first runnings back in and boil for a bit longer to get the wort level back to where it would have been. I always do a 90 min boil and I find that if I dont do that mashout/sparge with a larger grain bill then I don't end up with enough in the cube.

 

[Reon]

I have been thinking about attaching something like this to the exterior of the urn. It says it reflects 80% of body heat back. Will have to do a bit of research into its heat tolerances though.

 

[Bribie G]

Would probably do the job. Actually I reckon it would cut down on the amount of power usage during boiling as well.

 

[beerbrewer76543]

If its plastic it might catch fire... That would cut down on the amount of power usage during boiling

 

[flattop]

Umm i'm just a newbie to AG but i simply leave the thermostat open.... once the wort is at the correct temp i balance the thermostat to switch on and off at that point, seems to work fine, except if i brew on the balcony then i need to take into account wind chill

 

[crundle]

Umm i'm just a newbie to AG but i simply leave the thermostat open.... once the wort is at the correct temp i balance the thermostat to switch on and off at that point, seems to work fine, except if i brew on the balcony then i need to take into account wind chill

I was doing it that way, but switched to turning it off and using a doonah to insulate it to control the temperature better. Today I brewed and the thing dropped one degree over an hour, so for a 90 minute mash I stirred at the beginning and half way through, applying heat at 45 minutes. The wort looked really thick this time, so hoping it works well at better extraction than I was getting before.

In Ikea, I saw a metal collander type thing, looks to be stainless steel, that opens up like a flower. I think it would be great on the bottom of the urn to hold the bag away from the heat source, might grab one next week for the next brew.

Crundle

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I have been thinking about attaching something like this to the exterior of the urn. It says it reflects 80% of body heat back. Will have to do a bit of research into its heat tolerances though.

Your local $2 shop will probably have a Sunshade for your car windscreeen - made iut of nice reflective plastic and a little foam padding. 5 mins work witha pair of scissors and some 100mph tape and my urn is insulated (and sill looks nice and shiny too) - it heats up faster and maintains a better boil with the insulation.

Mind you I dont use mine for mashing in, and doubt that the insulation would be good enough to hold mash temps. Still at $2 - you could buy a couple of them and make your insulation a few layers thick... that's do the trick.

You can also buy the same stuff off a roll in Bunnings - its underfloor or under roof insulation or something like that.

I've been trying to find the stuff that is like industrial bubble wrap backed with foil ... anyone know where I might get some of that?? I think it would be perfect.