Glass stovetop not hot enough for 1Gallon?

[chrismo]

I'm trying to make my first brew from the Brooklyn Brew Kit, which tells me to bring 1.9 liters (4 cups) of water to 160F (71C) in order to make my Mash.

My water boils away to nothing in the pot but the thermometer(s) never get hotter than 155F. I tried a second thermometer to double-check.

For the Sparge section I need to heat 4 quarts (3.8 liters) to 170F (77C).
What could I be doing wrong? The pot is stainless steel. The burner area is bigger than my pot. The water is boiling pretty vigorously but both thermometers say it's not hot enough. The water is only 6" deep or so. Could it be that the thermometers need to be submerged more?

I can't believe I've failed to boil water
Any ideas are greatly appreciated... In the meantime, I'm going to try a different pot and smaller burner.

 

[phug]

Your thermometers aren't reading right. Unless you are at a high elevation if your water is boiling, then it is 212 f.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[HeavyHefe]

Yah you'd have to be somewhere north of 30,000 ft above sea level to have water boiling at 155 degF... Thermometer(s) to blame most likely.

 

[2drunk2]

Yeah. I'm guessing that it's a long thermometer in shallow waters.

 

[chrismo]

Thanks for the input - To test the thermometers, I put them in a tall vase, and then poured in hard boiling water. That covered them 3/4 of the way up. They have different reading than one another by like 10 degrees. And higher one tops out at 150 in there.

Both of the thermometers have red indicator liquid at both the very top and bottom of the thermometer. Is that normal? Most thermometers I've seen just have it at the bottom. Since they both had it I assumed it was normal.

For tonight I've switched to making Ramen noodles. Just so I could feel a little success.

 

[BigRob]

Get a cheap digital and calibrate it properly, your thermometers are both fubar.

Something like THIS works well, don't spend more than $20, unless you're buying a ThermoWorks Thermapen.

 

[MrG]

If you're using the thermometer from the BBS kit, perhaps it is broken; which you could contact them about getting a replacement, they are pretty good with that.

Otherwise, check out your local Canadian tire or walmart for a cheap (digital) replacement.

 

[2drunk2]

If you can make Ramen noodles, you can reach 150 degrees lol.

 

[chrismo]

Doh - just googled - when they are broken this way - its called "separated".

Cant believe I have two of them like that. One was from a friend, and the other I just bought with the kit.

Thanks!

 

[kh54s10]

Boiling 212 degrees F at sea level.

Crushed ice with just enough water to fill the gaps = 32 degrees F.

Test your thermometers. If you don't get that your thermometers are S*#t. Get a new one.

 

[mattd2]

Looks like you can rejoin it
http://novalynx.com/reference/rejoining-a-separated-thermometer-column/