Homemade boiler

[Thatscold]

There are a lot of ‘kettle’ leads for sale on Amazon that say they have a 13 amp plug. But when you read the description it comes with a 5 or 10 amp fuse. I think some are fused with a 13amp fuse, which should be ok (they say rated maximum 2500w). I guess it’s buyer beware...

 

[Thatscold]

Unfortunately this 3 pin plug is generically called a kettle lead. These days it’s mainly used in pc / consumer electronics. Which don’t run at 2500-3000w like a kettle.

 

[fusi]

There are a lot of ‘kettle’ leads for sale on Amazon that say they have a 13 amp plug. But when you read the description it comes with a 5 or 10 amp fuse. I think some are fused with a 13amp fuse, which should be ok (they say rated maximum 2500w). I guess it’s buyer beware...

When I did mention "PC power cord" I was wrong. But, if you would access the site https://www.instructables.com/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-for-Under-100-STEP-2-/ , you would see that's a homemade cable foreseen with a IEC C13 socket. So, the cross section of the wires could be higher than the Tesco kettle one witch is rather small.

 

[Thatscold]

If the cable has sufficient rating it should be fine.

 

[fusi]

If the cable has sufficient rating it should be fine.

That's my opinion too. Thanks for your confirmation!

 

[Gerryjo]

I forgot to mention my last "discovery". You can use a PC power cord to connect the heaters:

.View attachment 45759

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No you can't as they are not rated for 3kw as a proper element lead is and it will melt.

 

[Tanglefoot]

You can buy a Peco boiler like one below for less than £50, by the time you've bought elements,bucket, leads etc.
( and your time ) it can't be much more expensive and no chance of anything melting or contaminating your brew.

https://www.geterbrewed.com/peco-boiler-for-brewing-beer-all-grain-biab/

 

[Tommo 2]

Just been gifted an old stainless steer Burco boiler in working order, can I use it for mashing in or other stuff, advice would be most welcome

 

[fusi]

You can buy a Peco boiler like one below for less than £50, by the time you've bought elements,bucket, leads etc.
( and your time ) it can't be much more expensive and no chance of anything melting or contaminating your brew.

https://www.geterbrewed.com/peco-boiler-for-brewing-beer-all-grain-biab/

Right but two kettles and a food grade 32l polypropylene bucket cost me about £17 and I had not to pay shipping fees. Working time is rewarding for me so I don't think Peco boiler would be a better option.

 

[fusi]

No you can't as they are not rated for 3kw as a proper element lead is and it will melt.

Sorry Gerryo, but please read all my and Thatscold posts regarding the connection cable. Than you will agree the homemade one could work.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

You can buy a Peco boiler like one below for less than £50, by the time you've bought elements,bucket, leads etc.
( and your time ) it can't be much more expensive and no chance of anything melting or contaminating your brew.

https://www.geterbrewed.com/peco-boiler-for-brewing-beer-all-grain-biab/

Wot he said

 

[Gerryjo]

Sorry Gerryo, but please read all my and Thatscold posts regarding the connection cable. Than you will agree the homemade one could work.

Repurposing the lead will work fine as noted in the link and using a C13 plug for connection providing your plug type is suitably rated for the current carrying capacity of your load which is the element.

 

[fusi]

Thanks for your confirmation too, Gerry.

 

[Gerryjo]

Just been gifted an old stainless steer Burco boiler in working order, can I use it for mashing in or other stuff, advice would be most welcome

You can use it for mashing or boiling provided it's in good working order.Had a Burco Cygnet 30l for four years and made some cracking brews on it though I did modify it.

 

[Gerryjo]

Can I just point out for Health and Safety that anyone doing these conversions are not using twin element home made boilers on extension leads.i.e don't run these on a 13a extension lead with the two element plugtops plugged in as they need to be plugged in to individual sockets on a ring main rated to 30/32a rating due to power consumption over a prolonged period.
Just to be clear I am a certified electrician with over 30 years of seeing precarious situations of fuseboxes burning,faulty equipment be it sockets,plugs,MCB's,RCD,s and on.Dont just take electricity for granted and be safe.

 

[fusi]

Can I just point out for Health and Safety that anyone doing these conversions are not using twin element home made boilers on extension leads.i.e don't run these on a 13a extension lead with the two element plugtops plugged in as they need to be plugged in to individual sockets on a ring main rated to 30/32a rating due to power consumption over a prolonged period.
Just to be clear I am a certified electrician with over 30 years of seeing precarious situations of fuseboxes burning,faulty equipment be it sockets,plugs,MCB's,RCD,s and on.Dont just take electricity for granted and be safe.

Of course the two heaters will be connected to individual sockets! If not for the technical reason you just mention but, at least, for the usage comfort. As soon the wort reach the desired temperature, one of the two heaters will be disconnected until the second one connection will be controlled either manually or by an automation box.

 

[Neale]

Just been gifted an old stainless steer Burco boiler in working order, can I use it for mashing in or other stuff, advice would be most welcome

I recently converted a Marco 20L boiler and it works a treat. I bought a weldless valve kit from Maltmiller, some silicon tube, a centrifugal pump from ebay and built a control box to control temperature. It works great I can recirculate the mash at a set temperature, then do the boil and it also allows me to do whirlpools using the pump to keep the whirlpool moving. My BIAB bag even fits nice and snug.

 

[foxbat]

Kettle lead 13amps.

Only for the time it takes to boil a kettle. Keep it on for an hour and they often overheat or even melt at one or both of the plugs. 'Hot condition' leads should be used for brew kettles.

 

[fusi]

Only for the time it takes to boil a kettle. Keep it on for an hour and they often overheat or even melt at one or both of the plugs. 'Hot condition' leads should be used for brew kettles.

Please, do read post #23.