Does the height to diameter ratio of boil kettle matter?

Does the shape of the brew kettle matter? I understand that a kettle shaped like a tuna can will have a higher boil-off rate than one shaped like a soup can. But does it matter otherwise?

Steve

Only in that the more surface area that comes into contact with your heat source, the faster it will heat. This makes a difference when it comes to paying for electricity or gas for your brewing.

aiptasia said:

Only in that the more surface area that comes into contact with your heat source, the faster it will heat. This makes a difference when it comes to paying for electricity or gas for your brewing.

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Ok, hadn't thought of that advantage.

It also seems to me that a soup can shaped kettle would be less likely to boil over, as there would be more inches of headspace for a given volume. Does that seem correct in practice?

Ideally, you want something with as tall and skinny as possible. This will reduce the surface area at the top of the volume that you loose heat to. I had to worry about this on my last boil because I am using a relatively wide stock pot that hemorrhages heat to the air above. A narrower bore also should make for better convection.

aiptasia said:

Only in that the more surface area that comes into contact with your heat source, the faster it will heat. This makes a difference when it comes to paying for electricity or gas for your brewing.

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Hmm, but then you also have more surface area at the top, which loses heat, so maybe it evens out in the regard? Electricity/gas costs.

Blichmann says 1.2 to 1 ratio (height to daimeter) is ideal. My kettle is 1 to 1. I dont know if it really matters when it comes to function, but I dont like the short fat kettles.

Simple answer; no.

Will your beer taste better? No.
Heat loss/boil off: Taller kettle has more metal surface area to conduct. Shorter has more surface area of water. It's really a wash.

A company can put whatever spin they want but at the end of the day it's not going to matter.

I get 1-2 more boils out of a 20lb tank with a soup can pot (11 gallon Bayou classic) than i did with tuna can pot (unknown make also SS)


1.2:1 is "ideal" because blickman pots just happen to be 1.2:1

I was just glancing in the new BYO that a wider diameter kettle will allow you to whirlpool better. This would give you less volume loss when transferring because the trub and hop gunk spreads out thinner.

don't know about diameter to height ratios, but I sure do like my 12.1" diameter kettle

2 quarts per inch of height

amandabab said:

I get 1-2 more boils out of a 20lb tank with a soup can pot (11 gallon Bayou classic) than i did with tuna can pot (unknown make also SS)

1.2:1 is "ideal" because blickman pots just happen to be 1.2:1

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This claim by Blichman is why I raised the question. My current 10 gal kettle is close to 1:1 and I am happy. It was <$100 from Sam's Club with lid. A cheap step bit and parts and is tricked out with all the hardware. I'm about to build a 20 gal brewery and wanted to know. I did find a brewing text book at the college library and there is no discussion of an "ideal ratio." All the kettle designs cover are all fairly short.