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ScubaSteve

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So there I was, driving into work today, and there's a semi-industrial area I'm always scanning for good finds. I drive past a few huge dumpsters full of scrap, and my eye catches the gleam of stainless steel (yeah, you know what i'm sayin' :mug:)

I find this huge institutional sized coffee maker, and it's not too messed up:

And then I realize I've seen threads about this before:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/coffee-urn-hlt-89901/

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I opened it up after work, and it's burly. Here's a few more pics of the exterior before we get to the good stuff:

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On to the good stuff. It's got 10 AWG wire, designed to run off 220v, and has a relatively massive heating element inside the tank. In the center picture, from left to right, you're looking at:

-The top of the tank
-Its thermostat
-Above that is a breaker or relay
-To the right of that is a brew timer
-On the bottom right is a blue high temp solenoid valve that lets the hot water into the sprinkler for sparging the coffee.

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Here's a few closeups, of the sprinkler and its solenoid valve. Can ya see where I'm going with this? I think you do :mug: :

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On to the nitty gritty. The tank was NASTY. The element is burly, on the side it says it's 6000w. I wonder what I'll net if i use it with 115v? I think though, in the interest of a clean build, I may very well replace it with a smaller, nicer 2000w one.

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So then I moved on down to the midsection, in here there is a terminal block along with another solenoid valve that percolates the water. Wouldn't ya know it, as soon as I took off the panel, a schematic fell out! I doubt I'll use it, because I have no interest in resurrecting the controllers. A PID will work much better.

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Then I moved onto the bottom section. There's more wiring, silicon tubing, and interestingly, the warmer is simply a ceramic heater in a loop under the surface of the chassis. I really had to shake my head when I saw how similar these things are to our brewing systems. The silicon tubing is identical to what B3 sells :D

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SO I got the tank out (reference the soda can for size comparison) and I think it's somewhere around 3+ gallons. I kept most of the fasteners, etc. in a ziplock bag.

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6000W heating element would be 1500W on 120V power. P = V^2*R, with R constant.

Oh and good luck, this could be a fun project.
 
So let's talk about the tank.

1st pic: The bottom of the tank has 2 ports. one simply goes out the bottom, the other is a tube that goes all the way to the top for "percolation". Eerily, I am seeing some Speidel Braumeister Potential: http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/index.php/language/en/gclid/CJXTyvLw36ICFQtN5wod_F6B8w/XTCsid/n8201fml8mv04a2q5vhs766ka5

2nd pic: You're looking at the top. These are simply barb fittings, one would grab the steam off the center percolator tube, the other is for filling (I think).

3rd pic: This is the tank in a top to bottom view.

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So here's some pics of the grime. It was caked for the most part in dirt, coffee residue, and grease. Not to mention the horrendous scale in the tank.

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I'm soaking the tank and element in oxyclean overnight. Everything else came out tremendously clean with a light oxyclean scrubbing and a hosedown.

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Ahh the fortunate few!

Great find Steve - can't wait to see what a soak does to that tank.

Subscribed.
 
And what might you ask, will I be doing with this? WELLLLL, I've been building a 10 gallon single vessel brewery that will run off of 220v: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/single-vessel-all-electric-ns-nc-brewery-158608/

And I've really been wanting to do something smaller and more convenient, but my funds are low and I need to actually finish a project :D

So I've pretty much got what I need here, I'm thinking about:

-How to do a mini BIAB system
-Or even create a mini Speidels Braumester setup
-Chiller would be a copper coil wrapped around tank and covered with reflectix. Inlet and outlet would be fitted neatly into the side where it could hook up and discharge into the sink.

Space is at a premium, I've considered even having a tall narrow mashtun sit on the front where the pot would be, and then do something similar to what JKarp did with his CB20 system: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/countertop-brutus-20-a-131411/ I could even use the small warmer plate to keep the mash warm.

So what do you all think? I'd be interested in hearing your ideas before I put it all together...this forum has a wealth of knowledge. Time is at a premium and I am funding my main rig right now, but I want to keep my eye on this project. One good thing is that parts for this can be sourced cheaply and easily, I already have all the main parts except for a temp controller.
 
Subscribed.

Very cool find, this should be interesting. The 3 gallons is going to limit you out of BIAB, so you will likely need a second vessel. I would want to integrate (ie, hard wire) the chiller into the system somehow, my mind is turning.
 
I hear you on the BIAB thing. I'm interested in what people come up with, because right now I'm thinking about plopping a cooler on the front.

Maybe a chopped/insulated corny with false bottom, etc? Heat the water in the main vessel, sparge with the sprinkler, etc? A corny is 9" in diameter, and so is this unit ;) What about a bottom drain with QD for easy removal and cleaning of the mlt?

I think with this volume I can get away with wrapping the vessel on the outside with 3/8" copper. Kind of like a non-immersed immersion chiller :D. Then, I'll put reflectix around that to package everything nicely and get more efficiency out of the element.
 
I wonder how much volume you would displace if you put the copper coil in the vessel, or how hot you could get it if it was on the outside? You could use it as a Herms coil and recirculate the mash though a cooler, maybe 5 or 7 gallon. Then you could also use the coil as a chiller. During chilling you are going to get condensation on the copper coils, so I'm not sure you want to insulate it with reflectix.
 
Maybe I could just put reflectix on the inside of the walls, keeping a space between the coils. It's still going insulate quite a bit due to the reflected radiant heat. I'm not too keen on the coil inside because of cleaning and especially displacement, as you mentioned. I'd rather not further reduce my batch volume.

Also, I already have a nice bucket heater, just like this one:
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I originally figured I would install an element, from the bottom pointing up. But then I'd have to keep it covered with liquid. And an exposed element at the top could be dangerous.

With a drop in element like this, I think it'll be safer and more tolerant of a half full vessel (in case I might use it as a HLT). Not sure how its 1000w element will work, but I HAVE gotten 10 gals up to 160f in an uninsulated keg on a cold day....it just took some time.

An added benefit is that it has a SS shield, I was worried about melting hop bags in such a narrow vessel.
 
Not sure what arrangement you're going to end up with, but what about hooking up a pipe to the output that you can just run everything through your CFC and share that between your Unibrew 5500 and this. Use that to cool the wort and don't worry about immersion/loss of volume/etc.
 
Not a bad idea, but my unibrew 5500 is going to use mostly 1" & 1.5" triclover stuff, and I plan on using it upstairs where I have a wash sink and dryer outlet. Ideally this smaller system will sit right next to the kitchen sink downstairs, and I will most likely use 3/8" plumbing with camlocks.

Why 2 systems, you might ask? Well, even though it is pretty compact, the 5500 is going to be a BEAST with all the industrial stuff. At least 50 lbs of stainless, maybe more. Way too heavy to move up and down stairs on a monthly basis. The little system can be brought to a buddy's house, or used for a quick Saturday brew when my wife is giving me the evil eye about not spending enough time with the kids.
 
thats awesome, SWMBO would never let me even load that thing into my truck, let alone take it home. good luck and keep us updated.
 
I can't wait to see this thing in action. Excellent find!! You are incredibly lucky.
 
Oh yeah, she's well aware. :D

So I soaked the tank in oxyclean overnight and it cleaned up quite a bit...but there's still these large deposits of some kind in there. It's like rust colored paint or something....it doesn't seem to want to come off. I'd take pics but I want to keep it soaking. I'm thinking about CLR next.

I'm kind of worried now about what will happen if it IS rusted beyond belief or I can't get that stuff out. I think it'd be a deal breaker.

What are my options? Do you guys think I can line the tank with something to cover the rust?
 
Oh yeah, she's well aware. :D

So I soaked the tank in oxyclean overnight and it cleaned up quite a bit...but there's still these large deposits of some kind in there. It's like rust colored paint or something....it doesn't seem to want to come off. I'd take pics but I want to keep it soaking. I'm thinking about CLR next.

I'm kind of worried now about what will happen if it IS rusted beyond belief or I can't get that stuff out. I think it'd be a deal breaker.

What are my options? Do you guys think I can line the tank with something to cover the rust?

70/30 Oxi/TSP, give that a try then I'd try a concentrated acid rinse with Vinegar.
 
So, just as an update.....I got to scraping the stuff in question with a flatblade screwdriver.....and it does flake off with some aggressiveness. The metal below seems to be intact and is not pitted or otherwise compromised. Now, I just gotta get the time and energy to scrape it out :)
 
What kind of acid, and where can I get it? I'm always concerned about properly disposing of stuff like that.....I'd hate to have them track it back to me.....
 
Add some salts and stuff and you'll neutralize it, depends on the acid. I'm sure you could find instructions online.
 
Muriatic acid can be found at most hardware stores. Add acid to water, not water to acid, wear neoprene or nitrile, and neutralize with baking soda.

I worked for a paint removal company years ago, we used hydrochloric acid to pickle steel. Used a 6 water to 1 acid ratio. I would start with that, even though the acid you buy will be more dilute than what we used.
 
Three gallons has been a deal killer for me when I've looked at those coffee makers. Hopefully you will get something working out of it, love the price you paid!

Looking at the inside I now know why most coffee from those machines taste like crap.
 
What about CLR? It's cheaper, safer, and works pretty good if undiluted........?
 
Here's a potential option...

I have one of the "super-automatic" espresso machines at home (was a gift to SWMBO for finishing her Ph.D. in EE). With time, the hardness builds up in the machine and it requires descaling.

You can find descaler in either powdered (what I use) or liquid form; it gets pumped through the machine automatically, then rinsed. I would assume that you should be able to find this at a local store where they sell espresso machines, or go on-line to somewhere like wholelattelove.

Since it's made for this purpose, and far safer than acid, it is probably the first thing I'd try if I were in your shoes.
 
Okay, so here's a little update. I need to make a little disclaimer: Don't do what I did! If you do, you are doing so at your own risk. All manufacturer instructions should be followed when using chemicals, and proper protective clothing (goggles, gloves, and long shirt/pants) should be worn!

I used a properly diluted mixture of muriatic acid, and it worked awesome! I dipped it halfway in for about 30 mins, lightly scrubbed with a carboy brush, then drained and flipped it to immerse the other end of the tank. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

This stuff is no joke, it was like Roger Rabbit and the "Toon Dip":

 
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And here's the good stuff! There is still a slight ring around the top, but I plan to get in there with some BKF and seal the deal. I'll probably pull the brass fittings and either replace with new hardware or plug the holes.

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