• Welcome to National Homebrew Club Ireland. Please login or sign up.
March 28, 2024, 09:36:20 AM

News:

Renewing ? Its fast and easy - just pay here
Not a forum user? Now you can join the discussion on Discord


Colm89’s “probably should have just bought a grainfather” thread

Started by colm89, November 12, 2020, 02:24:23 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

CWalsh

Do you know what size fuse is in the plug? Could be a simple case that you need a higher amperage fuse.

colm89

Quote from: CWalsh on November 29, 2020, 08:09:17 PMDo you know what size fuse is in the plug? Could be a simple case that you need a higher amperage fuse.

It's 13A, is that not the highest you'd want to go?

CWalsh

Yeah that usually would be fine for any sort of kettle. Do you know what kw the kettle is? Could very well be the socket as you mentioned

colm89

2 months and 5 brews later, some observations:

- I needn't have worried about a PID to hold a stable temp for mashing. Mashing in full volume with no sparge, with a layer of thermawrap on the outside keeps mash temps super stable. It only lost 1 degree in a 90 minute mash yesterday.
- I've switched to using a different socket and the plug no longer heats up to a concerning temperature.
- Bigger brews are difficult to get through when you're the only beer drinker in the house and in lockdown. I'm a bit over hoppy IPA now.
- Bigger brews kick out a heck of a lot of steam, which is not ideal in a rental house with no outdoor space.

All in all, an interesting journey, but I'm going back to smaller brews on the hob til we move into our own place in a few months, after which I'm building myself up to buying a 10l braumeister if I can find a way to justify it!

iBrau

Heating of the plug pins is caused by poor contact between the metal in the socket and the metal of the plug pin. Removing corrosion from the socket or plug will fix this - better electrical contact and less heating of the plug.

Obviously it's difficult to clean the socket, but i've had good results with scrubbing the plug pins with wire wool. If you find a safe way to clean a socket contacts let me know. Maybe a plug made of sandpaper :-)

colm89

Quote from: iBrau on January 22, 2021, 11:28:15 PMHeating of the plug pins is caused by poor contact between the metal in the socket and the metal of the plug pin. Removing corrosion from the socket or plug will fix this - better electrical contact and less heating of the plug.

Obviously it's difficult to clean the socket, but i've had good results with scrubbing the plug pins with wire wool. If you find a safe way to clean a socket contacts let me know. Maybe a plug made of sandpaper :-)


Haha indeed, I'm almost certain it's the old sockets in my rental house, particularly where I used to brew, and much less so where I done the last few brews!

colm89

Finally got the finger out and finished hacking this together, seen below auto tuning pid and leak testing with h2o:


Health and safety didn't sign off on this beta testing setup, but all extension leads will be safely away from stray liquid on brew day!

All in all, an interesting exercise, probably a little cheaper but less refined than a grainfather. I suppose the upside is it can all be transferred to a nicer vessel when I feel like upgrading, but when all is said and done I regret not just stumping up for a grainfather at the outset.

First brew this weekend so fingers crossed it doesn't spring a leak and end up as a pile of frustration in the bin  ;D