Vitreous Enamel Hot Water Cylinders

[Jeff Halford]

Hello,

I've tracked down a pair of hot water cylinders on the cheap and was hoping to make them part of a brew setup (to be fair I'm probably getting ahead of myself - I've only just got a Mangrove Jacks Extract Starter Kit and haven't even started my first batch).

The HWCs are both Vitreous Enamel types, and after a few days googling and reading a bunch of conflicting opinions I thought I'd just ask - what are the issues with using HWCs with a vitreous enamel lining as a mash tun, boil kettle or HLT?

Also if the verdict is vitreous enamel = bad, then would the elements out of the HWCs be useable and suitable?  They're 3000w each which seems fairly hefty...

Thanks!

[Smiffy]

I suspect the enamel would chip off if you try to cut them, so maybe you could use one for a HLT.

I also suspect that the enamel would break off if you used external heat like gas burners.

3 kW is quite a lot for electric, but not much if you are heating a tank full. My (160 litre I think)  water heater takes more than an hour to get the water up to bath temperature, so would take a couple of hours at least to get to the boil. I don't think it would be able to maintain a "rolling boil".

[Peter Smith]

I have a gas 170L Rhiem unit I am currently plumbing in to use as an HLT, its natural gas,  the rating on the side says 7.5kw so would heat water to sparge temps quickly,   electric you would want to wrap it in a insulation jacket and just turn it on the night before brewing.  I have also heard of people using the instant hot water units set about 80C to provide water as well.

I think it would be to tall a bed for a mash tun if its a tall and thin unit, as a BK you need way more the 3kw, I have 4.4kw in my 50L pot system and I will be putting the amazon low density 5500w element into the 50L keg conversion (currently running on a 3 burner gas rig...    3kw would be the lower limit electric element IMHO for a 30L boil aiming at a 21ish L into fermenter...    while you could salvage the elements they are prob not low density just get these ones

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02963-Screw-In-Ripple-Element/dp/B000BP...

there is a lower 4400w one on there somewhere as well then do this

http://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profiles/blogs/electric-keggle-hlt-...

personally I would just keep one of your cyclinders as the HLT take the element out of the other as a spare and see if the scrap guys want it...