buffalo boiler problem

danb · Apr 20, 2013

I have a 30l buffalo boiler, I have removed the thermal cutout and taped it out the way. the first brew went great and held a strong boil for the full 90 mins, I cleaned the boiler out and the element plate was cleaned. I brewed again in the week and 20 mins in boiling the boiler cutout, the switch light went off and the light above came on orange, after a few minutes it came back on but not boiling as vigourously. this happened every 15 mins or so through out the boil so I got a big fan blowing under the boiler which cut down the time it was off. for the last half an hour I left the fan on blowing underneath and it never cut off and held a better boil.
when I had emptied the boiler and cleaned the hops out there was a bit of wort burnt onto the element top but only half way round.
also the first time I brewed the bottom section stayed cool but this time it was hot when it was tripping off. could the small amount of burnt on wort caused the temp build up? the boiler was in the same place and conditions as last time, the only difference was first brew was 1.038 gravity and this one was 1.050 but not sure if this makes a difference and I heated up to 76'c with the bag in before lifting out but I was stirring quite a lot coming upto this temp.
planning to brew tomorrow so hoping it doesn't happen again.
anybody else had a problem like this? thanks

danb · Apr 21, 2013

tripped off 10 minutes into the boil again today, so had the fan blowing underneath on the lowest setting and it didn't trip again.
going to try more air holes on the bottom plate so theres more than just the 2 then if that doesn't work ill move the temp sensor slightly.

Dave1970 · Apr 21, 2013

Does the 30 litre one have a plate on the bottom? I have a 40 litre and the space under the boiler floor that has all the electrics in is open.

dennisking · Apr 21, 2013

Never had a problem with my 40lt one, good rolling boil.

PD · Apr 21, 2013

sounds like you haven't removed the cut out disc, you sure you removed the right bit ?

danb · Apr 21, 2013

yeh the cutout disc is definitely removed and taped up out the way. the 30l one I have has a solid plate on the bottom with 2 small breather holes that are around 5mm big.

Dave1970 · Apr 21, 2013

danb said:
yeh the cutout disc is definitely removed and taped up out the way. the 30l one I have has a solid plate on the bottom with 2 small breather holes that are around 5mm big.

The 40 l doesn't have that, and seems to be more reliable :pray:. Sounds like it might be an idea to remove that base plate altogether if possible and as you said definitely drill some extra vents if it's not possible to remove it.

dennisking · Apr 21, 2013

Are hops getting in there, I had a burco did that years ago, removed cover and it worked OK. Might not be the same with a buffalo though.

andyco · Apr 21, 2013

I get burnt on wort problems with my 40l buffalo but only if I'm using a lot of wheat (hefes/wits) with ales it's fine.
I think I posted on jims a while ago about it.
I used to do steep mashes (BIAB) in mine and it would always give me the orange light, a little trick I found was to stir the wort thus keep it moving whilst it's getting up to temp/boiling ...... pita I know but seemed to work for me.
I now only use a the buffalo as a back up as I've built me own bolier :thumb:

Andy

danb · Apr 21, 2013

no hops are getting through and no wort either, if I remove the bottom plate it wouldn't be very safe because when that's screwed on it holds the bottom side walls to the boiler. so if it was off the boiler can actually be moved off the cylinder support easily. I checked before this brew under the plate to make sure it wasn't any wiring or wort in there but all connections where fine, no damaged connections or melted sheathing. ill put quite a few holes in the bottom plate or cut some grill type lines into if the grinder will go through it ok.

danb · Apr 21, 2013

todays brew was a higher grain bill than the last and did nothing different. when done I checked the top of the element and was hardly any burnt on wort.

dennisking · Apr 21, 2013

OK, thought they might be different

danb · Apr 21, 2013

if I get chance to have a play tomorrow ill post some pictures up

bobsbeer · Apr 21, 2013

I don't have a Buffalo but I would say you have a thermal cut out still connected somewhere. That is the only reason your element will be cutting out, and then coming back to life.

Baz Chaz · Apr 22, 2013

dennisking said:
Never had a problem with my 40lt one, good rolling boil.

I'm the same, never been a problem, not isolated the cut out either :hmm: but what I do is put the boiler on top of a workmate style bench so there's plenty of air circulating underneath, that might help :thumb:

bunkerbrewer · Apr 22, 2013

I've use a 40L Buffalo and haven't had this problem, but there are some good points here about airflow around the bottom of the boiler. Danb - have you got the boiler insulated with Thermowrap? I've heard of people having similar problems if the lower part of the boiler (below the waterline) is insulated...

danb · Apr 22, 2013

I have got it insulated but above the water line. I am thinking of changing the feet on the bottom to try and help circulation aswell. the ones on there are only 4-5mm deep so I think some at 10mm or so would help

danb · Apr 22, 2013

had a play with the grinder, will have to see how it performs next brewday
vents before

electrics incase anyone can notice another thermal cutout I have missed

new vents

danb · Jun 22, 2013

bringing this back up, since grinding the new vents in I have done 2 brews since. with plenty of circulation and a clean element it has tripped on and off throughout both boils. it comes on for around 7 mins and trips off for less than 1 min. before todays boil I put a layer around the internal temp probe and put back in place but this hasn't solved it. not sure what to do next or wether I should bypass the thermostat etc so its basic on and off at full power but not sure how to go about this. any suggestions? thanks

andybrew · Jun 22, 2013

had the same problem. It seemed the tape on the thermal cut out was the problem causing it to heat up and trip out. When this was removed the boiler kept full boil for 90 mins no problem

buffalo boiler problem

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