Tea Urn for Mash Boil Ferment

Zero94 · Oct 18, 2019

Hello guys,
Just a thought that crossed my mind today. Got me a shiny new tea urn off flea bay and I got to thinking about the fact that in a small studio flat that me and the missus live in what if I could modify this thing to be mash tun, boil kettle and fermenter all in one. She's happy as it takes less space and I'm happy because I get to get the drill out and play about.
So I don't suppose anyone has done this before or has heard of this being done before?

My idea is to stick a plate to the top of the lid to give the hole where the airlock would go a bit more to grab on and getting some kind of silicon or rubber sealing ring and fitting it to the underside of the lid or maybe to the top rim of the urn.

If anyone's got any more ideas or any ways that could be better for doing this I would honestly like to hear them especially since this is an idea that's younger than my last beer.

Cheers!

Dexter101 · Oct 18, 2019

Interesting idea! My only slight reservation is you would tie up your brewing equipment until fermentation is done but if that works for you i cant see a down side.

I would want to change the tap for a easier to clean one and if it was me, would use a hop spider so the wort isnt fermenting on all the hob material.

Zero94 · Oct 18, 2019

True, I need to order some stuff to do this so hop spider is on the list, I have thought about sticking a bad in there during the boil as well to catch the whirlfloc debris and hop gunk prior to fermentation... My one issue up to now with my design is the tap, I do fly agree a better tap is a must especially as I'm still stuck bottling my beer.

The to do list is growing, think its time to break out AutoCAD and get some designs mocked up.

foxy · Oct 18, 2019

You could just put some cling film over the top for fermenting, no need to drill holes in the lid, or just ferment in a cube.

Cheshire Cat · Oct 19, 2019

I bought a tea urn when I first started AG but the problem I had is it didn't boil just got to 95 degrees. You should check yours.

Nicks90 · Oct 19, 2019

That's easily sorted with a bit of fettling to remove the heat temp sensor thingy.
It's a good idea with the exception of not being able to get rid of the sludge post boil. But I know there is a thread about this at the moment and the pros and cons of doing this

matt76 · Oct 20, 2019

I also got a tea urn recently, virtually brand new and a bargain from Oxfam.

I tried with the idea of modifying it as you describe, and there are guides for to do this for similar but different models. I noted mine doesn't quite sustain a rolling boil as required for brewing.

In the end I decided I prefer living to electrocuting myself or burning down the house - Klarstein and others make some purpose built equipment like this which can be had quite reasonable when they're on offer (Black Friday is coming!).

Just something to consider...

In the meantime my tea urn makes an excellent hot liquor tank athumb..

Cheshire Cat · Oct 20, 2019

I agree with Matt not to try and modify not worth the risk and this forum should put H&S first. I used mine as a hot water tank for a bit then free cycled it.

Tea Urn for Mash Boil Ferment

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