I just listened to a BN podcast where Jamil and Tasty say that most homebrewers boil too vigorously, much more than they need to. So today I did an experiment. I normally boil at 70% duty cycle on my 5500 watt element in a converted keggle with 2 layers of reflectix insulation and get 1.25 gph boil off. Today I tried a 60% duty cycle and got about the same boil off at 1.20 gph. Then I tried 50%, this got me 1.1 gph. 40% gave me .9 gph boil off which is quite a big difference. I was amazed that I still got a good rolling boil at 40%. It wasn't leaping around, but it was definitely rolling. When I went to 30% I only got a rolling boil for a second or so after the element fired and the rest of the cycle it was just a simmer so 40% is the lowest I can really go on my system. But, if I can get my boil off down rate down from 1.25 gph to .9 gph then I am all for it. I only ran at 70% before because that's what Kal did and I assumed I should do the same. I'm going to brew tomorrow and will try 40% and see what the results are. Maybe using wort instead of plain water will make a difference?
So, what duty cycle do you run? Have you experimented with different duty cycles and if so did you notice any difference in your finished beers?
So, what duty cycle do you run? Have you experimented with different duty cycles and if so did you notice any difference in your finished beers?