Buffalo 20L boiler - boil vigor..

[dysphoria]

So, as an experiment I bought a Buffalo 20L Boiler to use as a small batch RIMS vessel, with no real intentions on actually boiling in it. However, after insulating it today and letting it go to max, it appears that it is actually able to reach and maintain a boil. Now I am used to really vigorous(probably overly so) boils on my propane burner, so I am hesitant to try and do a batch single vessel style in this thing.

In short - does this look vigorous enough to get a good hot break?



Looks like it's rolling, and had no trouble keeping it there for the 30 mins I was testing it. Would appreciate any insight.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Looks ok to me, not a violent boil but a boil none the less, just may have to increase boil times for reasonable boil-off. If I recall, some of these boilers have a thermostat that some remove for brewing???

edit...see link below for boiler troubleshooting. If your boiler heat is constant, it likely is working fine...???

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42675

 

[dysphoria]

From looking at the guts of mine, it seems that the US version does not have the thermal cutout like it's bigger brother. Mine has a gas filled thermostat, and the instructions state that when set at 6(the highest setting) it bypasses the thermostat all together and lets the element run full bore. It does have a thermal fuse, but looking at the location of it, it'd have to get pretty dang hot in there to set it off.

Perhaps, since as you say it is boiling to some degree, I will give a small batch a go on it.

 

[dysphoria]

It seems to work ok - however, the boil off is only about 1.75 quarts/Hr which is really going to lengthen my boil times. I knew it would be low, but didn't anticipate it being that bad - so I aborted and moved that batch out on to my burner to speed things up. Looks like I am doing 2 vessel RIMS

 

[wilserbrewer]

it seems that the US version .

Perhaps there in lies the key, I think the US version may not have the wattage to power a good boil...I didn't even know there was a US version???

 

[dysphoria]

Indeed - from doing the calculations from the sticker on the side, it seems that it is good for 1350w. Definitely not as powerful as needed to really boil the way you should.
No worries, it will still make a great little RIMS(doubling as a sous vide setup).

Here's a link - got it through amazon from Nisbets.
http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Water-Boiler-Capacity-Stainless/dp/B00AME9WOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384787320&sr=8-1&keywords=buffalo+boiler