Burco 30ltr boiler (tea urn)

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Don't have time to do a full how to but theres some pics of the wiring and the controls mounted on the base. I had my old man (electrical engineer) check the wiring after I'd done the mods, ignore the core colours on the diagram, I just used a spare bit of 13A flex cable for any extra bits I needed. I've done a few brews in it now and it's ideal.

Parts; (I also needed some piggy back spade terminals and a couple of M4 machine head screws to mount the simmer stat).

Simmer stat:

ENERGY REGULATOR / SIMMERSTAT / THERMOSTAT HEAT CONTROL SWITCH EGO 5057071010 http://r.ebay.com/qs3CLT

Control Knob:

SIMMERSTAT ENERGY REGULATOR KNOB 6MM SHAFT 06 SUITABLE FOR 50.57071.010 EGO http://r.ebay.com/x6FzYn

13A Switch:

http://cpc.farnell.com/apem/631nh-2/10a-toggle-plastic-spst-on-off/dp/SW02435?CMP=TREML007-005
Wiring.png IMG_0033.jpg IMG_0034.jpg IMG_0032.jpg IMG_0031.jpg IMG_0035.jpg
 
Sorry to drag up an old post, but wouldn't it be simpler to bypass all the gubbins inside and put the power cables directly to the heating element and the use an inkbird 310?
Plug the boiler in to the inkbird, secure the temp probe to the inside of the boiler half way down and then set timer one to 66c for 60mins and timer 2 to 103c for however long you want to boil for?
 
Hi @Nicks90
I've considerd bypassing the thermostat myself.
Why bother with an Inkbird?
Boiling is boiling - no need to monitor temperature.
Timing can be done with a simple kitchen timer (or, like me, a note of the finishing time on the fridge door :D).
 
Bigcol49 said:
Hi @Nicks90
I've considerd bypassing the thermostat myself.
Why bother with an Inkbird?
Boiling is boiling - no need to monitor temperature.
Timing can be done with a simple kitchen timer (or, like me, a note of the finishing time on the fridge door :D).
Click to expand...

I've been using mine as a mash tun as well, so the Inkbird "controls" the temperature for that. In effect, I've just had fairly volatile mash temperatures as the Inkbird controller I have is not a PID! But that would be the same bypassing all the internal thermostatic stuff.
 
James Jennett-Wheeler said:
What aren't you liking? I'm wanting to get into it haha. Curious to know :D
Click to expand...

Full story is here: https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/moving-onto-all-grain-some-help-please.76445/page-3

The biggest annoyance was draining the grain bag post-mash. Just hot, heavy, makes a mess etc. Lots of people get on with it though so don't let one person's views put you off.

There are ways around it too, for example you could get two large buckets and a wire oven rack - drill holes in the bottom of one, rest it on the wire rack over the other, and that's a pretty easy way to drain and squeeze your bag.
 
James Jennett-Wheeler said:
BIAB would introduce different temperatures though... So I was thinking of doing the same as Nick's idea when I get the boiler...
Click to expand...
Before you do anything with you Burco give it a test run. I've been using mine for 3 years with no problems. I'm thinking about upgrading this Christmas but that's only because I'm making larger batches.
 
James Jennett-Wheeler said:
the Burco can be re-purposed
Click to expand...

This.

For an all-in-one, you'll probably want a sparge water heater which the Burco can act as if you choose to "move on". So get a few BIABs under your belt with a Burco and go from there - there's no loss of money if you look at it that way.
 
Simonh82 said:
Before you do anything with you Burco give it a test run. I've been using mine for 3 years with no problems. I'm thinking about upgrading this Christmas but that's only because I'm making larger batches.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll do anything until I’ve done a few brews and got the hang of the process. :). It’s fun to dream of the future though ;)
 
James Jennett-Wheeler said:
I had been thinking of hanging the bag up above... I guess I'll give it a try, and if not, the Burco can be re-purposed :D
Click to expand...
I hang my bag by a hook and twist it till it lifts out of the wort. I brew in a shed so there's no room for a pully. BIAB bags can be very hot and difficult to handle but I use a set of double gloves which makes it much easier. I've got a pair of thin wooly gloves on the inside and then super heavy duty washing up gloves over them. This gives me good grip, waterproof and heat resistance.
 
James Jennett-Wheeler said:
I had been thinking of hanging the bag up above... I guess I'll give it a try, and if not, the Burco can be re-purposed :D
Click to expand...
Get yourself a pulley system setup above the boiler, then when most of the liquid has run off grab a couple of those plastic chopping boards and use those to aid you squeezing the bejesus out of your bag. I automated mine and added a recirculating pump most of which is detailed here.
 
with any heater you can rip out all the wiring then connect live and neutral to the heater terminals - lol - best to leave the earth connected and supply via RCD. I inserted a TRIAC on the ingoing live so can obtain a tiny simmer through to a full rolling boil. Watch out for plugs and sockets overheating though - they should carry 13 amps all day long but they don't because they are poor quality.
 
phase angle controller is what I use I had forgotten the name in the post above so called it a triac
 
kenzie said:
DSC00287300x225.jpg
Click to expand...
Hi, I've got a 2500 watt 20 Litre boiler with 2 elements. The high power element is controlled by a 12 volt relay.
The relay is powered from a diode bridge and a 1uF capacitor as a reactive voltage dropper and its connected across the lower power element.
There are 2 neon indicators - one is labelled Heating and the other Keep Warm.
Don't know how the keep warm function is supposed to work as both elements are switched by a fixed thermostat - the low power one directly and the high power one via the relay. I would have thought the low power element should stay on to keep it warm.
Any thoughts?
 
Cheshire Cat said:
Null
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion Cheshire Cat - that is what I did. The boil dry thermostat kept cutting out so as I knew it hadn't boiled dry, I bypassed it. After putting some water in it and powering up, I noticed there seemed to be a hot spot where there was an intense amount of bubbling in the water. It wasn't very long before sparks started flying and flames came out from underneath and there was a pool of molten metal burning a hole in the mat on which it was standing so I'm afraid that boiler has now gone to the tip.

I have a confession to make: My hobby includes radio and electronics and when we build some new item of equipment such as a power supply, we would call it a homebrew power supply. I was slightly intrigued with the interpretation of your homebrew until I realised it was all about beer. So I feel that I should withdraw gracefully and leave you all to carry on making beer in the manner you know best.

Thanks for offer of help but alas it is history!

Best wishes to all.
 

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