Boilermaker Heatshield- I did a dumb thing

I recently bought the Blichmann 20 gal Boilermaker kettle. After 2 trial boils runs I had water boiling in the sight glass so I decided to use the 10"x6" stainless steel sheet heat shield to deflect the heat away from the sight glass per the kettle's instructions.

I failed to notice the peel off clear plastic sheet protective covering on the SS sheet and after a couple of minutes of flame the smell of melting plastic and smoke presented itself. I shut down right away and drained the kettle but of course, the plastic was now melted to the shield and it ain't comin' off easy. The good thing is the plastic did not melt on the kettle. The temperature of the water must have kept the sheet cool enough to stop the transfer.

Dag Nabbit!

Elbow grease.......

Join the club. I only looked at one side and didn't notice the other side had the plastic on it. I haven't worked at removing it yet, I might just take a torch to it and burn it off.

Bokonon said:

Join the club. I only looked at one side and didn't notice the other side had the plastic on it. I haven't worked at removing it yet, I might just take a torch to it and burn it off.

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+1 EXACTLY Plastic only on one side!!! I thought about a torch too or putting on the burner without the pot. I called our local Ace Hardware and they carry SS sheet goods. Maybe the best option would be to replace it.

rcrabb22 said:

+1 EXACTLY Plastic only on one side!!! I thought about a torch too or putting on the burner without the pot. I called our local Ace Hardware and they carry SS sheet goods. Maybe the best option would be to replace it.

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I'm not sure why you would even consider replacing it. Use the burnt side down and you'll never even see it.

You might not even need it depending on how much heat is coming up the side of your kettle

For me I gave up on that heat shield after the first two batches. The sight glass boils while the burner is on full tilt, and during the boil, but the only time you really need it is while running your wort off into the kettle anyway. Refractometer readings during the boil will let you know if your boil off rate is correct, no need for volume measurements.

strat_thru_marshall said:

For me I gave up on that heat shield after the first two batches. The sight glass boils while the burner is on full tilt, and during the boil, but the only time you really need it is while running your wort off into the kettle anyway. Refractometer readings during the boil will let you know if your boil off rate is correct, no need for volume measurements.

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Good point! Still a rookie with a boil kettle sight glass and wanted to make the most of it. But I agree with your point. The only time I think I will use it is to record pre boil and post boil volumes.

The heat shield also protects the valve and temp gauge. I wouldn't give up on it, it just has patina.

Wish I had seen this before trying my first brew on my new BM 10 gallon. Not only did I not notice the peel away on the heat shield, I melted the rubber cover on the handle to the ball valvue. What a way to start.

Do yourself a favor and just cut the vinyl wrap off the handle from day one, then slide a 3" piece of silicone tubing over it.

Bobby_M said:

Do yourself a favor and just cut the vinyl wrap off the handle from day one, then slide a 3" piece of silicone tubing over it.

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Could you explain the how to apply the silicone tubing and its purpose. I was searchhing this forum because I also burned my heat shield on the first use and do not want to have to replace it. Thank you.

Just cut a piece of tubing and slide it over the valve handle shank. NBD.

I religiously use the provided heat shields for my Boilermakers on their Floor Burners. Never have sight gauge boiling, and the handle covers are pristine. In fact the kettles look brand new after three years of ~40 batches/year. I find it hard to believe anyone would just not use the shield...

Cheers!

I just purchased my 10 gallon Blichmann kettle and brewed my first batch with it recently. Everything went fairly well, with the exception that I too did not remove the sticker on the heat shield that comes with the pot, thinking it was some sort of heat barrier applied to one side.

After a few minutes of heating my water, I noticed that the heat shield was on fire (!?!) and that there was smoke and the smell of burning plastic. I turned the heat off and it struck me that the covered side of the heat shield was in fact a sticker and not some sort of heat resistant covering as I had initially assumed. Only part of it had melted so I peeled the un-melted part off and tried to scrape off the remaining burnt part as best I could. I didn't replace the water as I had used jugs of mineral water and that is all I had on hand, so I decided to proceed with the brew anyways. Hopefully the smoke didn't affect the water in any way. I also noticed that smoke may have went up the spigot so now I'm worried any beer that goes through there will be tainted with plastic smoke (probably worrying too much!).

Anyways, being a perfectionist now I'm in the search for a replacement Blichmann heat shield however I can't find anywhere online that sells these. I was thinking you could just find a replacement on Blichmann's site but no go.

I do love this pot and would absolutely buy Blichmann products in the future, just a word of warning to those first time users, be sure to remove that sticker on the heat shield before use!

Just burn the plastic off, no worries other than don't inhale the fumes!

Cyclman said:

Just burn the plastic off, no worries other than don't inhale the fumes!

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Thanks for the advice, Cyclman! Will go ahead and just burn it off (and yeah avoid those fumes!).