Electrim boilers

[Alestar]

Anyone used one of these Electrim boilers?

I've only ever boiled up in a stockpot on the hob myself, so I'm looking for feedback on what these boilers are like. It's for a potential present for me dear old pa who has expressed an interest in joining if not the dark side at first, then at least the slightly poorly-lit side and see where he goes from there! It's his "bus pass birthday" coming up, so we thought we might buy him some bits to start him on his first brew. The issue he was worried about was finding space to boil up, are these plastic boiling bins a good starting point for someone?

(I also noticed that Hop and Grape do their own placky boiler. Anyone got one and know if/why it's worth the extra cash over the Electrim one?)

Any experience or feedback on these type of boilers gratefully received! :thumb:

(I should note I am aware that I could make one myself from cheap kettles rather than splash out the dosh, but as it's a present for someone else and my electrical skills are such that I don't want to live with the guilt of electrocuting my father, I reckon it's best to stick with shop-bought in this case!)

 

[corby_brewer]

IMHO i would forget the Electrum boiler, as they do not reach a rolling boil. If i was you i would make your own boiler, or even buy my 10 gallon twin baca boiler off me.

 

[Verb77]

I've recently also been looking at these same products. As much information would be great or hand alternatives :hmm:

 

[Mark1964]

Ive got an electrim boiler it works fine for boiling but not mashing. It would be better to get a 50 litre pot off ebay etc and fit an element

 

[gurtpint]

Hope you don't me me chipping in Alestar, but this is something that I'm also very interested in. I was using a gas burner for my last batch and while it was definately easier than trying to get a full boil on an electric stove, it was still a bit of a hassle and will be even more so when it gets colder (no garage or shed to brew in, just my balcony with no roof...). I've been browsing the net a bit and found out that some people seem to like Buffalo tea boilers. Here's a link:

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/view ... =6&t=29064

Seems like they can be fitted with ball valves and hop strainers with no major headaches. One in Amazon UK here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Fill-Wat ... B00280ONB2

 

[Mark1964]

You would need a bigger boiler maybe 50l to avoid boilovers etc will the tea boiler actually boil some of them just heat the water to a certain temp. Also if you are willing to spend you can buy a 50l pot off ebay france for 36 quid and convert it to a boiler with a cheap tesco kettle element and a ball valve tap

 

[Aleman]

Can I recommend a buffalo water boiler . . . So much more robust than an Electrim . . . OK so you would need to swap the tap out, but that is literally a 5 minute job. The Electrim 'thermostat' is Pants, and is basically plugged in to a kettle element. The Buffalo has a 'concealed' element, which means that it is ideal for Brew In A Bag method of all grain brewing which is a really easy introduction to All Grain, requiring a minimum of additional equipment. . . and at 40L has enough capacity to do 25L of high gravity BIAB beer. Just add insulation and there you have an ideal . . . mashing boiler

 

[Alestar]

Thanks for all the comments.

Those Buffalo boilers look nice, and not too much dearer, cheers for that link, Aleman. Has anyone used one of these then, as the manual says "WARNING: Do NOT use to boil continuously." I take it we ignore that bit. :whistle:

What's the necessity to switch out the tap? We don't need a fancy tap if all we're doing with it is emptying the vessel post-boil do we? :wha: Sparging I could see would be different.

 

[Aleman]

Those taps are on or off . . . Ok if you stand there with your hand on the lever you can get them running at a slower rate . . . but do you want to stand there for 45 minutes??

Swapping the tap out involves undoing one nut, Adding a tank connector and sealing it, then screwing in a ball valve . . . which is infinitely controllable. . . . and easy to fit a 'strainer' to. If you run off full pelt all you do is compact the hops onto the strainer . . . and it blocks.

The buffalo boilers work very well . . . and are better than the Burco ones . . . the thermostat actually works . . . and can be set above boiling for a good rolling boil with no other faffing.

 

[Alestar]

Gotcha, that makes sense. :thumb:

 

[gurtpint]

The Buffalo is starting to look like a good deal, especially with the price listed in Aleman's link... Just dropped them a mail to see if they ship to other countries.

Aleman - how do you go about keeping the boiler clean? Are some special detergents needed?

 

[Aleman]

Aleman - how do you go about keeping the boiler clean? Are some special detergents needed?

I'm afraid so . . . Elbow grease is in short supply . . . so I stocked up the last time it was available :lol:

As its stainless steel you can simply scrub stains off with a non stick pan scourer . . . incorporating that with 40g of washing soda in 1L of HOT water shifts most things

 

[gurtpint]

^I is strong because I eats my greens! No worries there then...

Nisbets were very fast in getting back to me but it seems like they require a minimum order of 250 GBP for exports. Bah, just when I was getting excited about finding a good deal. Gotta look fourther, I suppose.

 

[tubthumper]

for £250 it would be cheaper to travel over here with min luggage and take it back with you sure you can get the £1 flights that keep getting advertised

 

[gurtpint]

for £250 it would be cheaper to travel over here with min luggage and take it back with you sure you can get the £1 flights that keep getting advertised

Well, that would be a good excuse to visit the UK again but not really that cost-effective I'm afraid... Just flew from Helsinki to Manchester a couple of weeks ago and while the flights were cheap enough (about 50 euro for a return), that included only one carry-in bag. Any more than that would have cost 22 euro each way and charging an arm and a leg for additional luggage seems to be customary for all these cheapo airline companies. Not to mention buse/train fares to the airports and back. I've seen some of those Buffalo boilers in the net for around 130 pounds and it's not all that bad either. I just hope that not all places have a minimum order policy that high. All hints gratefully received!

 

[tubthumper]

check how much it would cost to post to finland parcel to go starts at £19 something but would have to check for the size ect to get a real price but think it should come to under £50 for it
and get a freind in the uk to send it to you
I think that may be the cheapest overall way to do it

to finland

 

[gurtpint]

Yep tub, this seems like an option... Other places have had Buffalos going for around 150 pounds - not all that economical to yours truly. I'll just have see if I can figure out someone I could hassle in the UK. Have friends there, but for one reason or the other not many of them seem to own cars and asking someone to drag a parcel like that to the post office on a bus or on the back of his bike would be a bit much, I suppose.

 

[Aleman]

I'm at home for the rest of the week if you want to do it . . . and Parcels to go will collect from your house. . . . and If you go Royal Fail . . . My local Post office is only 200 yards away

 

[gurtpint]

I'm at home for the rest of the week if you want to do it . . . and Parcels to go will collect from your house. . . . and If you go Royal Fail . . . My local Post office is only 200 yards away

Don't really know what to say Aleman... You really could do that? Would be just brilliant. Let me know if you have any second thoughts about it. I've already tracked down a pal who moved to England years ago but haven't popped the question yet.

 

[andyb13]

Aleman, I followed this topic with interest, and purchased a nice new shiny Buffalo 40L boiler. You mentioned about changing the tap over, for a ball value tap; is there one you had in mind, as the hole that the original tap fits, is smaller than a standard barrel tap (20mm); it is approx 15-16mm ( I haven't measured it exactly yet). So before I cut ( or file it), I was going to look at the tap you were thinking of. Or has anybody else replaced the tap on the Buffalo boilers, and if so what did you use. Thanks