boilers

did my first brew in a while today, but had a dose of the dreaded 'electrim boiler thermostat cutout syndrome'.Is there anywhere in NZ that sells birko type stainless steel boilers, or is trademe the place to go.On the Jims homebrew forum this seems to be a common problem with these boilers.People suggest just bypassing the thermostat by using a kettle lead.Hopefully my brew is drinkable ,even though it took about 3 hours of on/off boiling .fingers crossed