Next still purchase

[Curmudgeon]

I needed simplicity and reliability as I'm completely inept at making/modding things so went for the T500 boiler, even though there are plenty of "tea" urns available for a good £100 less that have a rolling boil so would be better in a sense as a mash tun. I just didn't need the hassle of making sure the lid was a good fit, well secured, no escape vents etc. Even drilling the lid the right size would have been a challenge for me and required a one off expense at screwfix. I would have gone for grainfather if I could have justified the cash at the time.

I did NOT buy the copper dome as I just couldn't justify the cost to myself. The T500 pot head works just fine with the standard T500 lid. I'm sure someone here would be open to making/selling a pot head for less cash, but again I wanted hoses, tap fittings etc all out of the box. The combo is a bit overpowered so I get lots of flavour but the downside is smearing between heads and hearts, hearts and tails etc. I'm currently trying to find the sweet spot with a cheapo £5 chinese power controller.

I haven't had any scorching issues even at full tilt, so don't forsee a problem with second hand. I can't comment on how easy replacing the element would be if required.