Using a 40L Electric Urn for BIAB - a guide

[stm]

Great guide Bribie. This is what I'll be pointing every interested person to, from now on.

One typo: "trub robs your volume of beer" should that be "trub robs your beer of volume"?

 

[Bribie G]

Or maybe a part of your volume?

 

[stm]

Ha, now I'm really confused! Maybe just "trub robs you of beer"?

 

[lost at sea]

just to (hopefully) contribute something helpful to the BIAB team, when looking for a decent pulley setup for my BIAB i was hoping to rig something with a mech advantage of 3 or 4, but the cost of doubles is pretty steep, so i had my one lightbulb moment for 2017 and found on fleabay a boat trailer winch for $30 delivered which i mounted to the wall of my garage (i brew in the same spot every time)
the winch is geared so you can hoist it one click at a time if you wish with barely an ounce of effort required. can also lower in reverse gear as well....

Link for the trailer/BIAB winch on ebay, no affil blah blah, $30 free delivery, works perfectly.

http://www.ebay.com....b38f5651&_uhb=1

here it is in action defying laws of gravity in my garage for some reason...

 

[hdawson]

Excellent post Bribie.
My 20 year old twin double welded kegs seem a bit rustic now.
Ha Ha!
But the principles remain the same.
I have forwarded your post to my brother who is keen to brew, but looks at my set-up as something from the 19/20th century.
I'm also interested in your slow hoist as an alternative to my long held " get it out ASAP " method.
Keep up the good work mate and cheers.

 

[Schikitar]

Hi guys, I just bought one of these urns today, just wondering what's the best way to clean them out after a brew (I want to make sure I have everything on hand before I get started)? Cheers!

 

[Bribie G]

I just hose it out, then take a "non scratch" green kitchen pad to clean the whole inside. Is yours a concealed or exposed element? Mine is an exposed element and I clean it off with a SS scouring "ball". Every now and again, for show, I polish the outside with a SS polish like Metal Magic whatever.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Will reply when sober.

 

[tj2204]

If you get wort crusted on to the element chuck a bit of citric acid in with some water and bring to the boil. When it cools down the element will wipe clean with little effort.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

What Bribie says. Plastic scourer sponge over the inside and steel scourer for the element.

 

[Bribie G]

Will reply when sober.

You sccrubbed up well.

 

[Schikitar]

Ah okay, I have a concealed element, just wondering how to clean around the temp probe mainly but maybe soaking in lemon/water, bicarb or white vinegar would work, or just good ol' PBW...

 

[Bribie G]

If you can get your hands on some pure sodium percarbonate, the active ingredient in napisan, various dishwacher cleaners etc, a strong solution will zap off any organic matter and a follow up with an acid should remove mineral scale.

 

[Schikitar]

Great, thanks Bribie! I'm sure I'll have many more questions once I get going but this guide on the first page has been an absolute goldmine!!

 

[lost at sea]

i have exposed element, i simply hose out to begin with, the fill with couple of litres of water and sod perc to cover the element, bring to boil and empty it out and wipe the element clean, easy as, never had to scrub it hard.

 

[stm]

Concealed element, I find that lemon juice (squeezed on and left for a few minutes) is sufficient to clean off the gunk.

 

[Chap]

For someone like myself wanting but unsure how to get into BIAB, this is an awesome guide. Thanks Bribie!

 

[Schikitar]

Got my first brew down (an oatmeal XPA) with this urn and my whole new setup, everything went well, no hiccups. Wort is currently in the cube, will hopefully transfer to fermenter and pitch today. The info in this guide and on these forums has been invaluable. Cheers!

 

[Roosterboy]

I have a 40 L crown urn and use a SS Brew filter basket.

 

[Schikitar]

Nice, where'd you pick that up from @Roosterboy? Does it drain well?