Coffee Urns as hot water heaters

[bobdrob]

Since I am a public employee (teacher) dutifuly suckling the public teat on
this half-assed holiday, I've had time to double post today. I watched this
Brit dude, Jimmy the Brewer, on YouTube as he was demonstrating his method
of all grain brewing. As we all know, there is no limit to one's creativity
in the pursuit of the golden elixer regarding toys, and Jimmy had a thought
provoking set-up. His water heater consisted of what appears to be a typical
plastic homebrew type pail outfitted with a spigot, simple enough, a digital
thermometer into the pail with a basic fitting, and best of all, some sort
of heating element inside this plastic bucket. The powercord seems to unplug
at the bucket & I've not noticed a rheostat to vary the heat. It seemed to
be an efficient heater. Now, onto Me!

SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering in the house
proper; I'm in the greater Boston area & would rather not set up in the
driveway in February for an all day project. I'd trade boiling outdoors for
mashing & sparging in the basement. I prudently refuse to use the propane
cooker in the unvented basement, but would nonetheless like to cook up a
brew or three before the spring thaw. Zo: 1)Does anyone have a clue how to
rig up a "Jimmy" style heater? 2) Would 100 cup, scrupulously cleaned
coffee urns heat water hot enough to mash & sparge? Any experiences/
thoughts? thanks and regards, bob

[Scott Sellers]

Post by bobdrob
Since I am a public employee (teacher) dutifuly suckling the
public teat on this half-assed holiday, I've had time to double
post today. I watched this Brit dude, Jimmy the Brewer, on
YouTube as he was demonstrating his method of all grain brewing.
As we all know, there is no limit to one's creativity in the
pursuit of the golden elixer regarding toys, and Jimmy had a
thought provoking set-up. His water heater consisted of what
appears to be a typical plastic homebrew type pail outfitted
with a spigot, simple enough, a digital thermometer into the
pail with a basic fitting, and best of all, some sort of heating
element inside this plastic bucket. The powercord seems to
unplug at the bucket & I've not noticed a rheostat to vary the
heat. It seemed to be an efficient heater. Now, onto Me!

Public school teachers are underpaid, over-worked, and deserve
every day off they can get + more. Never apologize for your
chosen profession. Thanks for your service.

Post by bobdrob
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering
in the house proper; I'm in the greater Boston area & would
rather not set up in the driveway in February for an all day
project. I'd trade boiling outdoors for mashing & sparging in
the basement. I prudently refuse to use the propane cooker in
the unvented basement, but would nonetheless like to cook up a
brew or three before the spring thaw. Zo: 1)Does anyone have a
clue how to rig up a "Jimmy" style heater? 2) Would 100 cup,
scrupulously cleaned coffee urns heat water hot enough to mash &
sparge? Any experiences/ thoughts? thanks and regards, bob

There has been some discussion of electrical heater elements in
rcb before. I don't recall if they are taken from water heaters,
or if there is something dedicated to brewing. They're common in
for homebrewers in Great Britain, and IIRC they can perform
pretty well.

Can't speak to the coffee urn. Probably borderline heatwise.

cheers,
Scott S

[Joel]

Post by Scott Sellers
Public school teachers are underpaid, over-worked, and deserve
every day off they can get + more.

Speaking as a parent, taxpayer, and somebody who knows
what local teachers get paid, I take issue with the blanket
statement that public school teachers are as you describe.
From my perspective it's a myth that just gets blindly accepted
and regurgitated, not unlike some of the classic homebrewing
momilies.

Post by Scott Sellers

Post by bobdrob
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering
in the house proper...

That's just weird. Or maybe I'm just lucky I have an
understanding spouse (plus I'm the cook, so the kitchen is
not considered her domain as it is in many households).
Perhaps a bit of give and take is due.

[Steve Bonine]

Post by Joel

Post by Scott Sellers
Public school teachers are underpaid, over-worked, and deserve
every day off they can get + more.

Speaking as a parent, taxpayer, and somebody who knows
what local teachers get paid, I take issue with the blanket
statement that public school teachers are as you describe.

Then go teach school. I sure wouldn't for the amount they get paid.

Post by Joel
From my perspective it's a myth that just gets blindly accepted
and regurgitated, not unlike some of the classic homebrewing
momilies.

What are momilies?

Post by Joel

Post by Scott Sellers

Post by bobdrob
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering
in the house proper...

That's just weird. Or maybe I'm just lucky I have an
understanding spouse (plus I'm the cook, so the kitchen is
not considered her domain as it is in many households).
Perhaps a bit of give and take is due.

Like you, I am the cook in my household. This has nothing to do with
stinking up the house. I happen to enjoy the odor that is produced
during the brewing process, but my spouse does not. Her sense of smell
is much more acute than mine, and I respect her desire not to have to
endure something which, for her, is quite unpleasant. The fact that I
don't understand or share that feeling does not make it any more
pleasant for her.

I installed an exhaust system in my brewing kitchen. (Yes, there are
two kitchens in my house.) This takes care of the problem. Not a big
deal for me, but a huge one for her. Perhaps a bit of give and take is due.

[bobdrob]

Gentlemen!!! Gentlemen!!!! Please!!! No OT flames, if you please; lest
I give you detention.... bob

Post by Steve Bonine

Post by Joel

Post by Scott Sellers
Public school teachers are underpaid, over-worked, and deserve
every day off they can get + more.

Speaking as a parent, taxpayer, and somebody who knows
what local teachers get paid, I take issue with the blanket
statement that public school teachers are as you describe.

Then go teach school. I sure wouldn't for the amount they get paid.

Post by Joel
From my perspective it's a myth that just gets blindly accepted
and regurgitated, not unlike some of the classic homebrewing
momilies.

What are momilies?

Post by Joel

Post by Scott Sellers

Post by bobdrob
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering
in the house proper...

That's just weird. Or maybe I'm just lucky I have an
understanding spouse (plus I'm the cook, so the kitchen is
not considered her domain as it is in many households).
Perhaps a bit of give and take is due.

Like you, I am the cook in my household. This has nothing to do with
stinking up the house. I happen to enjoy the odor that is produced during
the brewing process, but my spouse does not. Her sense of smell is much
more acute than mine, and I respect her desire not to have to endure
something which, for her, is quite unpleasant. The fact that I don't
understand or share that feeling does not make it any more pleasant for
her.
I installed an exhaust system in my brewing kitchen. (Yes, there are two
kitchens in my house.) This takes care of the problem. Not a big deal
for me, but a huge one for her. Perhaps a bit of give and take is due.

[alebrewer]

Post by Scott Sellers
Public school teachers are underpaid, over-worked, and deserve
every day off they can get + more.

    Speaking as a parent, taxpayer, and somebody who knows
what local teachers get paid, I take issue with the blanket
statement that public school teachers are as you describe.

Then go teach school.  I sure wouldn't for the amount they get paid.

 From my perspective it's a myth that just gets blindly accepted
and regurgitated, not unlike some of the classic homebrewing
momilies.

What are momilies?

A momily is a brewing term from the HBD (Jach Schmidling, I think? I
dunno, it was something like 15 years ago). It refers to a belief
that is widely accepted by a group without any factual support. Like,
using liquid yeast will make better beer. Or, better yet, priming with
cane sugar will give the beer a cidery taste. The term was borne from
the concept that it must be correct becasue "Mommy said so", and
therefore cannot, and should not, be challanged.

I don't think Joel was trying to say all public school teachers are
overpaid and have an easy job, only suggesting that the belief that
every single public school teacher is severely overworked, underpaid,
beacon of self-sacrifice is a bit overdone.

While I don't necessarily agree with Joel, I can appreciate his
viewpoint. Teachers are not the only workers that put in long hours
with pay that does not seem to be commensurate with their
contribution. Some teachers are paid very well and contribute little,
although in my experience, I think this is more likely to apply to the
administrators (who call the NARCO squad becasue a kid was seen giving
out breath mints) than the teachers.

ab

[Steve Bonine]

Post by Steve Bonine
What are momilies?

A momily is a brewing term from the HBD . . .

Ah. Very good. I like it. And this explains why it was impervious to
a search in the dictionary.

Thanks.

[hophead]

In article <8e0ca632-b6c2-4326-b6c3-

Post by alebrewer
A momily is a brewing term from the HBD (Jach Schmidling, I think? I
dunno, it was something like 15 years ago).

It was indeed Schmidling who coined that term. Haven't seen or heard
from the curmudgeon in a long time: maybe someone needs to start bashing
the Malt Mill to bring him out of hiding!

[James Bendall]

Post by bobdrob
Since I am a public employee (teacher) dutifuly suckling the public teat on
this half-assed holiday, I've had time to double post today. I watched this
Brit dude, Jimmy the Brewer, on YouTube as he was demonstrating his method
of all grain brewing. As we all know, there is no limit to one's creativity
in the pursuit of the golden elixer regarding toys, and Jimmy had a thought
provoking set-up. His water heater consisted of what appears to be a typical
plastic homebrew type pail outfitted with a spigot, simple enough, a digital
thermometer into the pail with a basic fitting, and best of all, some sort
of heating element inside this plastic bucket. The powercord seems to unplug
at the bucket & I've not noticed a rheostat to vary the heat. It seemed to
be an efficient heater. Now, onto Me!

In the UK, it's common to use 2.2 or 2.4kW elements scavenged from cheap
kettles (not sure what you call them in the US, but they're small
worktop devices used to boil a couple of litres of water for
tea/coffee/etc). We only use devices to vary the heat on 3kW heaters
generally. Or a PID on an HLT to keep the temperature constant.

Post by bobdrob
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering in the house
proper; I'm in the greater Boston area & would rather not set up in the
driveway in February for an all day project. I'd trade boiling outdoors for
mashing & sparging in the basement. I prudently refuse to use the propane
cooker in the unvented basement, but would nonetheless like to cook up a
brew or three before the spring thaw. Zo: 1)Does anyone have a clue how to
rig up a "Jimmy" style heater? 2) Would 100 cup, scrupulously cleaned
coffee urns heat water hot enough to mash & sparge? Any experiences/
thoughts? thanks and regards, bob

Up until recently, I used a 27l tea urn with no problems as a boiler. It
would heat water up enough for mashing and sparging, but I wouldn't use
it as a mash tun.

[Scott Alfter]

Post by James Bendall
In the UK, it's common to use 2.2 or 2.4kW elements scavenged from cheap
kettles (not sure what you call them in the US, but they're small
worktop devices used to boil a couple of litres of water for
tea/coffee/etc). We only use devices to vary the heat on 3kW heaters
generally. Or a PID on an HLT to keep the temperature constant.

Here, you can only pull about 1.8 kW out of a wall outlet (15A @ 120V works
out to be a fair bit less than 13A @ 240V). A 1.5-kW water-heater element
probably wouldn't even bring an all-grain batch to a boil.

Two or more of them, plugged into a board that grabs power from a
clothes-dryer outlet (30A @ 240V, split-phase so you can pull 120 from it)
would get the job done, and is what I use:

http://alfter.us/beer/heatstick/assembly.aspx

_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

[mike]

Post by bobdrob
Since I am a public employee (teacher) dutifuly suckling the public teat on
this half-assed holiday, I've had time to double post today.  I watched this
Brit dude, Jimmy the Brewer, on YouTube as he was demonstrating his method
of all grain brewing.  As we all know, there is no limit to one's creativity
in the pursuit of the golden elixer regarding toys, and Jimmy had a thought
provoking set-up. His water heater consisted of what appears to be a typical
plastic homebrew type pail outfitted with a spigot, simple enough, a digital
thermometer into the pail with a basic fitting, and best of all, some sort
of heating element inside this plastic bucket. The powercord seems to unplug
at the bucket & I've not noticed a rheostat to vary the heat. It seemed to
be an efficient heater.  Now, onto Me!
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering in the house
proper; I'm in the greater Boston area & would rather not  set up in the
driveway in February for an all day project. I'd trade boiling outdoors for
mashing & sparging in the basement. I prudently refuse to use the propane
cooker in the unvented basement, but would nonetheless like to cook up a
brew or three before the spring thaw.  Zo: 1)Does anyone have a clue how to
rig up a "Jimmy" style heater?  2) Would  100 cup, scrupulously cleaned
coffee urns heat water hot enough to mash & sparge?  Any experiences/
thoughts?   thanks and regards,  bob

Bob,
I cannot speak to exactly to your questions but being a public school
teacher in central Ohio who is enjoying a snowday (calamity day or
whatever you want to call it) I just wanted to let you know that after
shoveling the snow in a few minutes, I will be spending the day
brewing a porter in may basement using heatsticks. I had looked at
the British heat buckets but found this way more flexible. Here is one
website I found helpful:

http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

As I brew I will be listening to podcasts on homebrewing.

A final note: this is a wonderful hobby for those teaching; to be able
to have a homebrew after a day of teaching as I prepare the supper for
the family.

Mike

[GWA]

Post by bobdrob
Since I am a public employee (teacher) dutifuly suckling the public teat
on this half-assed holiday, I've had time to double post today. I watched
this Brit dude, Jimmy the Brewer, on YouTube as he was demonstrating his
method of all grain brewing. As we all know, there is no limit to one's
creativity in the pursuit of the golden elixer regarding toys, and Jimmy
had a thought provoking set-up. His water heater consisted of what appears
to be a typical plastic homebrew type pail outfitted with a spigot, simple
enough, a digital thermometer into the pail with a basic fitting, and best
of all, some sort of heating element inside this plastic bucket. The
powercord seems to unplug at the bucket & I've not noticed a rheostat to
vary the heat. It seemed to be an efficient heater. Now, onto Me!
SWMBO can't stand the smells of any wort-like liquid simmering in the
house proper; I'm in the greater Boston area & would rather not set up in
the driveway in February for an all day project. I'd trade boiling
outdoors for mashing & sparging in the basement. I prudently refuse to use
the propane cooker in the unvented basement, but would nonetheless like to
cook up a brew or three before the spring thaw. Zo: 1)Does anyone have a
clue how to rig up a "Jimmy" style heater? 2) Would 100 cup,
scrupulously cleaned coffee urns heat water hot enough to mash & sparge?
Any experiences/ thoughts? thanks and regards, bob

I believe this was mentioned but a heatstick is a good option. I can heat
my strike water in about 30 minutes using a 1500wt 120v element. While I'm
mashing in my cooler the heatstick is bringing the sparge water up to heat
and it's at temp way before I need it!

I don't use it to boil anything, that still goes on propane. Since it's
portable I can move it to different pots depending on how much I'm brewing.
I prefer the "L" shape as opposed to a straight stick. The element never
touches anything and I suppose it could be used in a plastic bucket if
needed.

http://hbd.org/pcalinsk/HeatStk3.htm