Squarish Boss for immersion element
 

I'm trying to make a boiler for brewing beer using a
central heating immersion element. I bought a circular
brass boss from my local plumbing supplier, but can't
grip the boss well enough to tighten. Are there any
squarish type boss nuts I could use for this job ?
(Obviously the thread part of the boss will have to be
circular to screw onto the immersion element thread,
but the outer part of this could be non-circular.)

Cheers

Darren

wrote in message
...
I'm trying to make a boiler for brewing beer using a
central heating immersion element. I bought a circular
brass boss from my local plumbing supplier, but can't
grip the boss well enough to tighten. Are there any
squarish type boss nuts I could use for this job ?
(Obviously the thread part of the boss will have to be
circular to screw onto the immersion element thread,
but the outer part of this could be non-circular.)

Cheers

Darren

Could you fit the immersion heater into the boss and then use a standard
immersion spanner to tighten the boss itself via the element body, or maybe
I have not grasped your problem?

Bob

Bob wrote :

Could you fit the immersion heater into the boss and then use a standard
immersion spanner to tighten the boss itself via the element body, or maybe
I have not grasped your problem?

When I tighten the rear end of the element with a spanner, at a certain
point, the boss slips (there's nothing to grip it, put up resistance
against it... I've tried using an oil filter removal tool, but
it won't work).

Cheers

Darren

wrote in message
...
Bob wrote :

Could you fit the immersion heater into the boss and then use a standard
immersion spanner to tighten the boss itself via the element body, or
maybe
I have not grasped your problem?

When I tighten the rear end of the element with a spanner, at a certain
point, the boss slips (there's nothing to grip it, put up resistance
against it... I've tried using an oil filter removal tool, but
it won't work).

Cheers

Darren


OK I see what your problem is. Can you solder the boss into the heating
vessel?
One thing could be a problem. Is you beer going to be tainted by the brass
and copper jacket on the immersion heater? I know metal vessel can be
problematic in wine making.
How about a different approach - a burco boiler or tea urn. Being designed
for food/drink use the materials should have been chosen to avoid tainting.
14 Burco hits on eBay at the moment.

Good luck

Bob

wrote in message
...
I'm trying to make a boiler for brewing beer using a
central heating immersion element. I bought a circular
brass boss from my local plumbing supplier, but can't
grip the boss well enough to tighten. Are there any
squarish type boss nuts I could use for this job ?
(Obviously the thread part of the boss will have to be
circular to screw onto the immersion element thread,
but the outer part of this could be non-circular.)

Cheers

Darren


Would it be an easier job with one of these?:

http://www.beansonline.co.uk/acatalo...ils/FAN001.htm

Bob wrote :

OK I see what your problem is. Can you solder the boss into the heating
vessel?

The vessel is a suitably specified food grade plastic bucket.

One thing could be a problem. Is you beer going to be tainted by the brass
and copper jacket on the immersion heater? I know metal vessel can be
problematic in wine making.

I'm not aware of any taint issues. Copper is fairly commonplace in
breweries.

How about a different approach - a burco boiler or tea urn. Being designed
for food/drink use the materials should have been chosen to avoid tainting.
14 Burco hits on eBay at the moment.

Burco and similar stainless steel boilers are far too expensive for what
you get... even secondhand. I have considered the Burco type boilers
in the past, but I prefer the DIY from scratch approach.

THANKS for your help, but what I'm really looking for is advice on
the availability of an alternative boss nut for an immersion element.

If there's none of these available, the other DIY options seem to be :
(a) grind two small notches into the boss so I can spanner it somehow;
(b) braze the boss so I can get a grip on it.

Cheers

Darren

wrote in message
...
Bob wrote :

OK I see what your problem is. Can you solder the boss into the heating
vessel?

The vessel is a suitably specified food grade plastic bucket.



Plastic bucket with an immersion heater in it? I don't fancy that setup at
all.

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 23:29:32 GMT, "BigWallop"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
Bob wrote :

OK I see what your problem is. Can you solder the boss into the heating
vessel?

The vessel is a suitably specified food grade plastic bucket.

Plastic bucket with an immersion heater in it? I don't fancy that setup at
all.


Hi,

Try an aquarium heater, something like:

http://www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/ishop/1029/shopscr292.html

cheers,
Pete.

Would it be an easier job with one of these?:

http://www.beansonline.co.uk/acatalo...ils/FAN001.htm

That looks like it won't quite develop the full 3kW. ;-)

I wonder how long it would take to boil 60 litres?

Christian,