Sunday, February 10, 2008

Time to bild a “micro” brewery

I have purchased a second hand hot water cylinder that I'm converting to a 150 litre boiler.

First I gently cut the aliminium wrapping and took of the top of the cylinder cover. I suspected that the cylinder would have a rounded top so I had to be careful to not hurt the copper under the foam.





I then carefully cut away the foam to expose the copper and cut off the top of the cylinder. I intend to convert the top to a lid for the boiler. As I was working with it, I got the idea to get another one and make a large pot still.... Hmmmm

It is quite hard to work the copper without damaging it as the copper is quite thin. The edge of the boiler is uneven but I'm sure I can tailor the lid to make it resonable tight.

(And I can not find the last image. Will bring it out next week for a new photo. )

Next step will be to time various steps from power on till boiling using water.

I have also purchased a large chilly bin that I will use for the mashing. As the mashing/striking takes 3 to 4 rounds of water, my 50 litre chilly bin should be enough to fill the boiler.

3 comments:

Julian said...

I see you are using the old hot water cylinder in the brewery process, how did this work out for you, I am planning on building a 50L brewery, and was thinking about using old hot water cylinders for a kettle. any advice? julwil@gmail.com

Sir Asbjorn said...

It works really well. However, for boilers in excess of 50L I would recommend a two element boiler (and power one off when the brew starts to boil). You also have to be careful with copper and make sure your brew has a ph 7 or higher or you may get copper oxide that can make people sick. please let me know how it goes...
Asbjorn

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thanks a lot for sharing
Micro cylinder