HBC Peco boiler review

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CreweBrewer

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Just brewed a small batch using this. First thing is first - the tap is the weak link. It runs too slow to be an effective HLT; by the time you've filled your mashtun you'd have lost a few degrees. So I had to tip the strike water out. And even though this has the optional hop filter, the tap it clogged up within a few seconds. So it'll be changed for a ball valve job before I do a full length brew. It keeps a good rolling boil although I'd prefer some degree of control to keep it more steady. It gets the water up to strike temp fairly quickly, but it's a good idea to get this switched on whilst you get your grain and other ingredients organised.

Would I buy it again? No. For the cost of the heater element and the fact you have to swap the tap for a ball valve anyway I'd make one out of an older, more tired FV.



Dave
 
I've got a Burco boiler where the boil is a bit aggressive too. My thought is to install a controller/resistor to turn it down when it reaches boil, so instead of it being 2.4 KW or off I can turn it down to say 1.2 KW. I think I've found the right component on the web, just need to be convinced it will work.
 
My thought is to install a controller/resistor to turn it down when it reaches boil, so instead of it being 2.4 KW or off I can turn it down to say 1.2 KW. I think I've found the right component on the web, just need to be convinced it will work.

Maybe some form of pulse width modulation of the heater supply voltage would be the way forward, so that the heater is pulsed on and off with differing periods of on and off to control the heat output of the element. That's the way a lot of motor power controllers work. I'm not sure about what kind of devices are ready made off the shelf components though.

Representation of switching element voltage from zero to 230v
___---___---___-----__--------_------------_ (increasing 'on' time)


_-----------_-------_-----__---___---____---____---____---_ (decreasing 'on' time)
 
The thing I'm looking at is this :-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EN01-UNIVERSAL-ENERGY-REGULATOR-SIMMER-STAT-CONTROL-SWITCH-COOKERS-OVENS-/141509548889?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20f2a05b59

I'd mount it next to the thermostatic control. So it would be on full until it reached boil then I'd reduce it so that it was a nice steady roll rather than trying to escape.

The Burco is brilliant by the way, it's almost like it was designed for brewing as the numbers on the dial are just right - 3 = mash temp, 4 = sparge temp, 5 = boil.
 
Get er brewed sell a couple of pecos..

The basic one which is £47 and one where you can regulate the temp that's more expensive like £90

Would the tap be simple enough to swap out?
 
Was tight but I managed to straight swap with my tap, had to 'screw' it through a little which probably made the hole 1/2 mm bigger (if that makes sense :lol:)
 
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