Is my boiling setup too meager?

[nhindian]

Hi all... Just got my NB brewing kit last week and have been assembling a wort chiller to use for my first brew this weekend (hopefully!)

One of my buddies had an 8gal aluminum kettle he gave me, and I only plan on making 5 gal batches to get started. I did a test boil last night and got discouraged.

I use a gas stove, filled it with 2.5g of water and let it do its thing. An hour and 15 min later it is barely bubbling and no boil. I tried giving it a stir, and at that point it started to almost boil I think. I had to call it quits since it was late.

Is my problem the stove? Size of the kettle? Phase of the moon?

Would moving the pot between two burners help or not? Its not wide enough to completely lay on the centers of both.

I may have a turkey fryer available to try but didnt want to do propane for my first brew if possible. Mentioning the propane... What makes something like a Dark Star burner different than just a normal generic burner?


Thanks!

 

[HBC]

I have tried the same as you in the past with little success (on the stove or kitchen range) for that size of a pot/water. I have since bought many brewing items, and my 'go-to' is a turkey fryer that I bought on sale at Homedepot for $20 (Should have been $50 but they dented the pot and discounted).

The turkey fryer I bought is NOT THE BIG BOYS that many talk about on here. I would be surprised if I have 30k btu.. and it will boil quick enough for me.

For example: I light my burner, and begin grinding my malt (I grind at home since I buy in bulk). The water is already at strike temp by the time I have my grain ready and usually have to shut it off prior.

After mashing, it quickly gets to mash-out temp of 170 and by the time by BIAB grains have drained, is at boil temp.

I mash 5-gallons, and bucket dunk-sparge 3-gallons. My point being that my 5.5 gallon finished batches are well matched to the economy turkey fryer.

Since you already have a vessel, may I suggest this burner unit? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bayou-Cl...ressure-Regulator-SP-1/100164633#.UguejGTwKZ0

 

[00radio]

I've done it on a gas stove, but yeah... had to balance it between two burners going at the same time to get enough heat going. Not exactly all that safe. Turkey Fryer setup is definitely a better way to go.

 

[b-boy]

I'd get a turkey fryer. They are very versatile. You can use them for corn, soups, stews, steaming clams, chicken wings, etc... It's worth the $40-$50.

 

[BeerSlob]

I brew on a pretty weak gas stove. The kettle I have now is wide and fits over two ranges and that has definitely helped me get quicker boils. Since that is not an option just remember that you are not trying to get to a full boil from room temp. You first need to hit mash/steeping temp in the 150s-mid 160s range which you can do with the lid on (Do not keep the lid on during the boil as it will prevent off flavor producing compounds from escaping) After an hour of holding steady at mash temps, you will be trying to get to a boil which should take less time than if you were starting with 75deg water.

 

[kh54s10]

If you go for the DARK STAR burner, of which I have read good reports, do it soon. It is $39.99 now and they are making it sound like the price is going to go up soon. It has more BTU than a turkey fryer and will probably cost less. It looks like it is very similar to the Bayou Classic SP10.

Go ahead with the propane outside. If you have a boil over it will be easier clean up outside than on your kitchen stove.

I don't know how long it should take but I would be surprised that your gas stove cannot boil the wort. I can do extract on my glass top stove on the large burner.

 

[grem135]

I got the darkstar burner and love it. Brings 5 gallons to boil so much faster than my stove(mine has a great power burner) and once boiling I turn it waaaay down to save fuel. Wish I got it sooner. Shipping with a couple of kits was very reasonable.

 

[reverendj1]

I do stovetop and use a propane burner. It just depends on if I'm doing a double brew or what I feel like doing. There are a couple things that you can do to make the stove work. I wet the kettle and then wrap it in aluminum foil, making sure that the foil goes below the kettle. This traps a little more heat in. Also, when bringing it up to temp, make sure to leave your lid on. During the boil, you can use a pizza pan to help hold some heat while still getting a boil and driving off DMS. Also, make sure you are using your biggest burner, I have one that says high output or power burner or something like that.

If you want a burner, a lot of people (myself included) use the Bayou Classic SQ14. It is very affordable, and seems to be more efficient than some of the cheapo turkey fryers and works well IME.

 

[nhindian]

Thanks for help so far guys! Definitely leaning towards propane now.. My only concern is that I will be moving in the near future and not sure if my apartment will allow outside burners. Oh well...

I don't have a lid for the pot but am thinking of testing out wrapping the top in foil to trap some heat.

 

[DArsenault]

I tried to do one batch on the stove and then bought an SQ14 pretty much the next day. The time it took to get the water to boil on the stove just wasn't worth it and it just wasn't possible to get a rolling boil. It was boiling, but looked more like a simmer. Everyone seems to rave about the sq14 and sp10 burners, so I picked one up from amazon. It was only 50 bucks and qualified for prime so no shipping cost.

 

[nhindian]

So I got the turkey fryer from my buddy but my pot is too large to fit in the square holder. I can place it on top of the frame but not sure how safe that'd be or if it'd then be too far from the burner...

It came with a 30qt porcelainized steel kettle with it... can I use that instead? The coating has me wary but it'd probably be fine.

Or should I just go to my LHBS and buy a smaller kettle and brew with that on my stove

 

[grem135]

Porcelain kettle should be fine as long as its clean. People use them for canning all the time.

 

[nhindian]

I did a test boil just with water with my wide ass aluminum kettle. It didn't fit in the rack but it still boiled probably 6gals or so in 43 min. I actually only had it at around 60% power or so until maybe 35 min. I may just stick with that instead of going to the porcelain steel.... The porcelain kettle would probably be way more stable and boil a little quicker though...

Also tried the chiller for the first time. Seems to be working great! Dropped from around 215F to 150F in under 5 min.

Tomorrow may be the day!!! Should I starsan my chiller and then drop it in the boil with 15min left to sanitize? Do I need to scrub my carboys if they came fresh from NB, or just starsan them? Getting nervous!

 

[freisste]

I did a test boil just with water with my wide ass aluminum kettle. It didn't fit in the rack but it still boiled probably 6gals or so in 43 min. I actually only had it at around 60% power or so until maybe 35 min. I may just stick with that instead of going to the porcelain steel.... The porcelain kettle would probably be way more stable and boil a little quicker though...

Also tried the chiller for the first time. Seems to be working great! Dropped from around 215F to 150F in under 5 min.

Tomorrow may be the day!!! Should I starsan my chiller and then drop it in the boil with 15min left to sanitize? Do I need to scrub my carboys if they came fresh from NB, or just starsan them? Getting nervous!

You can starsan the chiller if you want, but it isn't necessary. I don't even throw the chiller in early. I drop it in at flameout. The chiller gets up to wort temp in about 10 seconds, which is more than hot enough to kill anything on it.

As far as scrubbing carboys - you scrub them to clean them. If they look clean, they are clean. If you can't see something to scrub it off, you can't do too much worrying. If it is clean to the naked eye, it is probably clean enough. STERILIZED is a different story. That's where your starsan comes in again.