tea urn as mash tun?

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gobbledigook
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tea urn as mash tun?

Post by gobbledigook »

hello!

been doing wine for the last couple of years, and the occasional box brew.... but want to get the equipment together to do a 'proper' brew :)

would say a 20ltr tea urn with a concealed element be ok for a mash tun? or is making your own the way to go? i'm assuming i would need to fit some sort of filtration device?

thanx!
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SandyM
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by SandyM »

I'd say a tea urn would be more suited as a boiler, although 20l is a little small imho. Don't see why you couldn't use it as a mash tun though, you might want to insulate it first. Any yes you would need to add some kind of filter. Have a look at Trunkster's slotted copper manifold for one design.

Lots of people use a cool box as a mash tun as they are already insulated, you need to drill out a hole at the bottom for a tap but they work very well.

There are far more qualified people than me on this board to answer though...
Burns stuff. And makes beer. Usually not at the same time.
gobbledigook
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by gobbledigook »

i've seen the cool box design and the slotted copper manifold around online. i just figured you need to heat something for a while... so a tea urn is steel has a tap and variable heat control? hmmm... get the feeling i'm missing something here ;) off to google!
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alikocho
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by alikocho »

You could use a tea urn - the brewheat mashtun/boiler - is effectively the same thing. The best way to use it would be to get your mash water to strike temperature and then turn it off (you could leave it on to hold the mash temp, but you won't have a consistent temp and there will be a hot spot which may scorch near the element). Insulation will help keep the temp up.

As to a filter, you'd probably be best with a false bottom that fits the urn.

Far simpler is the cool box - I use a 36 litre Coleman Extreme (a blue one for extra efficiency), with a hose braid as a filter, like this: Image)
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gobbledigook
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by gobbledigook »

aha! i see, the mash just needs to sit. every time i look at peoples diy boilers/mash tuns they seem to be made from buckets with cooker elements (crude but effective i'm sure) but i'm just not good with the heat vs plastic thing. Plus i'm totally clumsy!

something i had forgotten about.... obviously the mash is gonna take up more than the 5 gallon of just water... so second look on fleabay produces this little number ;) 30ltrs, i don't mind insulating it that is cheap and easy, but making my own mash tun + boiler would be just as much i'm sure. not afraid of making my own just wanna start by keeping it as simple as possible :)
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alikocho
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by alikocho »

The mash doesn't use 5 gallons of water at once.

Your mash tun needs to accomodate your strike water and grains. A neat calculator for "can I mash it" is here - http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

For more on mashing look at John Palmer's How to Brew. 2nd ed is in print, but he put the 1st edition online - http://www.howtobrew.com/
Ali

BJCP National Judge
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Taz Ales
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by Taz Ales »

The advantage of having a separate boiler and mash tun is that you can use the boiler to heat up sparge water while the mash tun is doing its job. Then transfer the sparge water to any large enough container, stick a hop filter in the boiler and start sparging so the wort runs directly into the boiler. Once the liquid gets above the element you can switch the boiler on. By the time you've finished sparging the boiler will nearly be at full temperature.
Taz... or Chris. It's up to you.
gobbledigook
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by gobbledigook »

ok... bit more thought and reading before i run into a wall or something ;)

how to brew... purchased, can't stand reading online! will give it a thumb through before i put my hand in my pocket!

thanx for your replies :)
jeddere
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by jeddere »

I use a 2nd hand 26 litre Burco boiler as a water heater for the mash and then as a boiler (mashing done in insulated tub).

Does its job well and switches on/off regularly to maintain the boil once the thermostat is set correctly.

Wouldn't want to use anything smaller for boiling 5 gallon brews to avoid spillages.

It does loose heat very quickly though and I would probably build an insulated boiler if I didn't have the urn.
gobbledigook
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Re: tea urn as mash tun?

Post by gobbledigook »

after reading John Palmer's How to Brew and getting a better idea of what i'm doing ;) I have decided on:

a 30ltr cool box using a braided hose manifold.

and an ace 30ltr urn for a boiler...

the tun should be no more than £30 - £40 to construct and the boiler is almost £80 with delivery.

i'm intending on doing no-sparge mash the first couple of times to minimise complications, can anyone foresee any issues?
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