Electric Vs. Natural Gas
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BBL_Brewer
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I brew NG, but I've never brewed electric. I've considered switching to electric, but it's a lot more expensive to build. Money aside, I would vote for electric.
I'm still leery of the whole "immersion electric heater" thing so I'd go with a natural gas system...
Cheers!
Cheers!
YNOT2K
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Electric.
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Where will you be brewing? If you are brewing in your house, electric brewing is far more civil. I have brewed electrically using heatsticks, and also over natural gas burners. I was brewing over gas in the basement during the summer with the door open, and went outside to cool off. I thought it was much nicer there than in my brewing space. My wife informed me it was 94* out! I have not had that experience with heatsticks. We've moved, and my brewing is out of the basement. I look forward to going to all electric, and more automated, brewing in my new house when adequate power is pulled to the shop. With GFCI circuits, appropriate grounding, and good electrical work, I look forward to a safe and calmer brewing time. Until the power is there, I'm back to gas.
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dmarc85
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Three dogs, thanks for your thoughts. The electrical is certainly something that I'm concerned with; I'm mostly weary of the financial and time cost of installation. I can certainly see the value of simplicity in natural gas, ventilation is a relatively simple problem to solve compared to hard wires and electrical code.
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wbarber69
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In most areas down here in the south our power is derived from burning natural gas... And years ago the cost per kWh was relative the cost of natural gas. Thing have changed since the greedy oil companies caused fuel cost to skyrocket and most people here switched off of natural gas for electric appliances because it's becoming a cheaper alternative. That being said I haven't seen a natural gas bill in awhile. I have crunched the numbers when it comes to the difference in cost to run a propane system as opposed to electric and electric wins hands down (especially when you factor in the time and gas to drive to get more propane). Yes it cost more to build the electric system with all the parts and labor involved. But it's definitely more cost efficient to run.
It also depends on how often you're brewing and the size of the batches. For example, I do 6 gallon AG batches on my recently acquired 3500W induction plate. Not a very big investment for the ease of brewing and cleanup, and doubles up as a great 5th "burner" for large batches of soup and so. If I wanted to do 15 gallon batches, induction would be prohibitively expensive. If you have propane burners already and prefer brewing outdoors then converting them to NG would be a great option, unless you only brew, say, 4 times or less a year.
Having a little extra money is wonderful for some treats, and everyone deserves a nice reward. But I find the best treat in the long run is to apply money to high interest debt first (e.g., credit cards that aren't paid off each month). That automatically eases up more money later. Just my 2 cents.
Having a little extra money is wonderful for some treats, and everyone deserves a nice reward. But I find the best treat in the long run is to apply money to high interest debt first (e.g., credit cards that aren't paid off each month). That automatically eases up more money later. Just my 2 cents.
mikescooling
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I've done both. The cost of a panel and build is something to consider. Many brewers spread the cost and time out over a few months to do their build. I love electric, it's fast and cheap to use, and it's so much easier to brew with because you punch in temperatures and the equipment know what to do. I have 25 gallon pots and will only brew with electric from here on out. IMHO
I'm only aware of one person that went electric and then backed out of it. That leaves like 99.9% of people who never look back.
dcrog
Well-Known Member
My vote would be for electric also. I started with a propane burner but last fall and winter I switched over to electric. Costs are likely prohibitive for a lot of people but for me the ease of use out weighed the costs. Plus I like tinkering with things anyway.
If you have to hire out the electrical work for the circuits and control panels you might be better off with the NG. As long as you have good ventilation.
But electric is just so quiet.
If you have to hire out the electrical work for the circuits and control panels you might be better off with the NG. As long as you have good ventilation.
But electric is just so quiet.
LandoLincoln
Well-Known Member
Electric:
Pros:
* You feel like a mad scientist, pushing buttons that light up and watching digital readouts. Get a lab coat and a clipboard and you are all set.
* You can easily intimidate your friends with your control panel. "NO, NOT THAT BUTTON!" is a favorite thing of mine to yell as one of my friends is about to press something innocuous.
* It's a very exact heat source. No more missed target volumes with electric. You want 87% heat applied to the wort? You got it.
* It's very efficient. Not much energy is wasted, since the heat source is inside the pots.
* You can build a really super neato control panel that does all kinds of cool things. Like a fully automated brewing system if you are into that kind of thing.
Cons:
* It can be pretty darn expensive, depending on how elaborate you go.
* If you're not already some kind of electrical professional, there's a goodly amount of stuff to learn before you put your control panel together and run wires to the place you're planning on brewing at. Anybody can do it, but it just takes a good deal of reading.
* Electrical parts can eventually wear out, requiring replacement parts.
* Cleaning the heating element is a pain in the ass.
Pros:
* You feel like a mad scientist, pushing buttons that light up and watching digital readouts. Get a lab coat and a clipboard and you are all set.
* You can easily intimidate your friends with your control panel. "NO, NOT THAT BUTTON!" is a favorite thing of mine to yell as one of my friends is about to press something innocuous.
* It's a very exact heat source. No more missed target volumes with electric. You want 87% heat applied to the wort? You got it.
* It's very efficient. Not much energy is wasted, since the heat source is inside the pots.
* You can build a really super neato control panel that does all kinds of cool things. Like a fully automated brewing system if you are into that kind of thing.
Cons:
* It can be pretty darn expensive, depending on how elaborate you go.
* If you're not already some kind of electrical professional, there's a goodly amount of stuff to learn before you put your control panel together and run wires to the place you're planning on brewing at. Anybody can do it, but it just takes a good deal of reading.
* Electrical parts can eventually wear out, requiring replacement parts.
* Cleaning the heating element is a pain in the ass.
30Bones
Well-Known Member
I'd have a panel built so that's not a con for me, just more $$
How do you clean the elements that makes it a PITA? The common hot soak in PBW isn't enough?
LandoLincoln
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I'd have a panel built so that's not a con for me, just more $$
How do you clean the elements that makes it a PITA? The common hot soak in PBW isn't enough?
Yeah, I've done the PBW soak and then used a toothbrush to scrub it, but there's still some gunk on there, especially underneath where you can't see. But you run your fingernail underneath and some stuff flakes off. I don't detect any off-flavors because of this, but it's just a peace of mind thing.
This problem can be greatly reduced by making your heating elements easily removable by installing them inside tri-clover fittings. I think Bobby sells them for about $50-$60 per pot. I'm probably going to upgrade my boil kettle with one of these soon.
Sorry, but who is "Bobby"? Is there a link to a store front, or just a member on here (Bobby M. in this thread?)? I am interested in buying some reasonable tri-clovers... Thanks!
mikescooling
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Bobby M is the super brewer who has all the badass parts that make brewing cool. His prices are very good too. His only down fall is he ships USPS, WHY!!???
We ship 100-150 boxes every day and we have about one USPS shipping issue every day. That's less than 1% shipping error. I'm sure if we offered UPS or Fedex exclusively, we'd have about the same error rate and someone would wonder why we don't offer USPS. Shipping Fedex is about twice the work for us and they don't pickup or deliver on Saturdays. We are moving to a new eCommerce platform in the future that will offer more carrier options.
But spiders don't crawl into electrical orifices and build a nest that blocks the gas.
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dmarc85
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I love to brew, and try to make a new batch every week or so. I've done plenty of extract beers but have found the all grain method to be far more fascinating and quality.
This is my rig now, my HLT doubles as my BK. I would be thrilled to have the skills and know-how to construct my own electric system, but alas, a simple electrical diagram might literally make my head explode.
I'm actually considering a prebuilt system like the blichmann top tier. I may even be adventurous and try to make it hybrid by rigging the HLT to be electric. I'd really like to brew away from the elements since I live in Oregon.
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I'm sorry it's actually a while away. I'm moving into a new building so I haven't been able to put any time into the new products at all.
wbarber69
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dmarc85
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Well, I decided to go electric. Many dollars spent and late nights of reading done. 1/2bbl stout system. The build still has some work to be done. I can say for certain that my knowledge of AC circuitry has vastly improved since I did my own electric work (that took some guts). I'm very eager to drink my first beer from this rig.
mikescooling
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Nice, I learned a lot in my build too. Your system looks great.
