Death of burco boiler element

[slurp]

I just cant believe it ,it only feels like 6 yrs ago i replaced the element and now its died although strangely not during a brew :wha: i checked all the wiring and the plug and the wall socket and the circuit breaker but just left with the element being the culprit,anyway ordered one off ebay which is 3000kw rather than the 2.500kw oringinal so hopefully that will get the 27litre burco back on the boil.How long should the element last ? i guess i make 10-15 brews a year and always keep the stat on full heat?

 

[jamesb]

Is it an internal or external element?

TBH, 6 years sounds ok to me.

 

[slurp]

Yes i thought 6 yrs was probably ok ! it sits on the bottom [butterfly type] and its not covered,i wondered how long other s find their burco element lasts

 

[arturobandini]

I ditched my 27 litre Burco, literally, because the elements are such a chore (expensive too) to replace and went plastic bucket then keg boiler route using cheapo kettle elements. They've made a good number of brews now and still on my first two!

 

[slurp]

If the new element lasts 6 yrs i will be happy not sure i would something shiny for plastic at this stage ,The element cost £21 including delivery i could have got one even cheaper on ebay £14 plus postage

 

[arturobandini]

Ah well I'm more concerned with volume and product quality than Shiny appearance. I'd be using a 10gallon plastic bucket if I hadn't been given a Stainless Steel keg. I can't see the attraction of Burco's really unless you pick them up cheaply, for £21 you could've got a 10gallon bucket and doubled your volume. As you say though it lasted you six years and if your setup works for you then more beer to you.

 

[slurp]

I was luckily enough to be given the burco but i would agree with you practicality wins over looks it would be good to double the brew lenght but i would need to shed out more than just £21 for a bucket i still would need to buy the kettle elements and the relevant bits and pieces [do you use a thermostat]to set them up and also increase my mash tun size.What would you think it would cost altogether as i might consider this in the near future

 

[arturobandini]

£20 for the 10gallon bucket, £8 for twin elements. I don't use a thermostat and don't really see the need for them unless in an old school electrim mashing and boiling bin which I don't rate anyway. I get a good strong rolling boil off one element but use two to bring it up to boil faster before switching one off.

Some people use those big blue 10 gallon buckets which can be had off eBay for about £5 which brings the cost down even more. You would need to fit a tap and ball valves are the most commonly chosen for reliability and ease of fit and you can get those at a plumber's merchants for about £5.

So if you went down the 10gallon white FV route with twin elements, re-using your hop strainer and fitting a ball valve it'll cost about £35.

A blue bucket off eBay about £10 less than that to account for delivery.

What's your mashtun size currently? Do you batch or fly sparge? I'm batch spargin at the moment as my mashtun has a 10gallon capacity and I can't really be bothered to rig up a fly setup but you can get greater grain into your mashtun if you use fly sparging as you don't need the room for the sparging water.

 

[slurp]

I only have a small mash tun but i can easily pick up a 10 gallon one from somewhere or other,i tend to fly sparge.I would still split the wort into two smaller fv and just buy another heat pad as i dont fancy shifting a 10 gallon fv in a small kitchen,it sounds like you just sold me an upgrade project cheers :thumb: