New buffalo hole

adonwar · Jul 28, 2015

Hi guys I bought the bits to put a ball valve etc onto my new buffalo as a thread on here explained how but the hole has changed, it is no longer round. Will the how to guide still work or is there a new way of doing this ? I'm planning on brewing this Saturday so all replies appreciated.

Mickeywheelspin · Jul 28, 2015

Strange, my Buffalo is fairly new but has the old round hole.

Offer it up and see if it fits together, but I don't see how this will work to be honest. How big is the hole vertically (largest dimension)? If it's 3/8" you may be able to round off the hole using a cutter and use the bits you have. If it's larger you may need to cut the hole to 1/2", use the reducer on the outside of the boiler (rather than connecting to the strainer) then use a 1/2" parallel nipple through the urn and a 1/2" connecter inside to connect the bazooka to the nipple.

adonwar · Jul 28, 2015

The washer covers the hole, just, 1mm over, but I'm not too confident. I think I will syphon into the FV after chilling this time unless that is a bad idea, but there must be a solution? Did buffalo adjust the design to throw a spanner into the works for the home brewers?

Mickeywheelspin · Jul 29, 2015

Wouldn't risk it then. What size is the hole? I'd suggest your best bet would be to cut a larger one and get different tap components to fit the larger hole.

Slightly off topic, but have you modified the thermal cutout and fuse at all? My first brew with my new buffalo was poured down the drain after the thermal fuse went - I'd read it can be an issue but only on urns that had been well used with a dirty element but mine was brand new. It heated to mash fine then when I got to a rolling boil it stopped after 5 minutes and there was no way to fix it with the boiler full.

I've removed the fuse (ceramic connector required - pennies from toolstation) and unbolted the cutout and pulled it away from the base (with plenty of insulation to stop the exposed connectors shorting out on the steel body of th'e urn). If you need more details on this shout...

It's a bodge till my higher rated cutout turns up, but worked like a charm.

adonwar · Jul 29, 2015

I have 2 x 167c fuses coming and a 130c thermal cut out on its way. Thanks for letting me know about the ceramic connector. I have been to 3 plumbing shops and all have no solution for me. So I think the way to go is to cut a 1/2 inch hole and change the valve setup. what a pain. As I said though I will probably just do a couple of brews as it is, with that normal catering tap and maybe someone will have come up with a no cut/drill solution by then, fingers crossed as I don't want to mess the cut up and throw ÃÂ£150 down the drain. :shock:

paul3944 · Jul 31, 2015

My Buffalo Boiler was also new and did not have that style of hole ??

I second modding the blowout fuse also look at upgrading the Thermal cut out with one of a higher rating, I replaced both before attempting a brew.

I strongly recommend coating the thermal cut out with Thermal paste available from Maplins.

Regards
Paul

Brewtopia · Nov 2, 2015

adonwar said:
Hi guys I bought the bits to put a ball valve etc onto my new buffalo as a thread on here explained how but the hole has changed, it is no longer round. Will the how to guide still work or is there a new way of doing this ? I'm planning on brewing this Saturday so all replies appreciated.

paul3944 said:
My Buffalo Boiler was also new and did not have that style of hole ??

I second modding the blowout fuse also look at upgrading the Thermal cut out with one of a higher rating, I replaced both before attempting a brew.

I strongly recommend coating the thermal cut out with Thermal paste available from Maplins.

Regards
Paul

Was the tap easy to remove? Was it possible to unscrew or had it been welded in?

Also, whats the internal diameter?

Thank yoooou.

adonwar · Jan 1, 2016

Still have not changed it yet but upon inspection it looks like I will have to cut a new hole for an nice fitting but seems simple enough. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. The tap itself is very easy to remove. Cheers

Brewtopia · Jan 2, 2016

adonwar said:
Still have not changed it yet but upon inspection it looks like I will have to cut a new hole for an nice fitting but seems simple enough. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. The tap itself is very easy to remove. Cheers

Oh I managed to sort mine out, all I did was file down the left and right sides of it to make it big enough for the ball valve tap, no drilling just a hand file which worked really well. It wasn't a perfect circle so admitted there was a bit of leaking at first but I managed to counter this using some thread tape or a bit of cut sponge wrapped around, I can't actually remember but either way I managed to plug it easily.

New buffalo hole

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