Small batch/20 amp/2200 watt batch size?

[vallonswayla]

Just looking for anybody who has been using a standalone 120 volt outlet to do all grain brewing. I want to do small batches, ideally 3 gallons of bottled beer. I assume that's gonna require a 5 gallon boil. Would a 20 amp/2200 watt element handle that?

 

[mongoose33]

It will, but it won't be all that fast. You can help things along by putting the kettle on an insulated surface (wood would work), and using some reflectix insulation wrapped around the kettle to keep heat in. Cover the kettle while bringing it to a boil, and you should be OK.

I use a 5500-watt element and typically have 8.25 gallons of water. I get about a 4-degree per minute rise in temperature, so you'd probably expect....2.5 degrees of rise per minute for 5 gallons. As long as you insulate the kettle, you should be ok.

Below is a pic showing my kettles with reflectix on them:

 

[vallonswayla]

It will be an outdoor set up also. I guess it will be what it is. I don't mind it taking 45 mins to strike or boil. Just want to make sure I'll even reach those points.

 

[vallonswayla]

It will, but it won't be all that fast. You can help things along by putting the kettle on an insulated surface (wood would work), and using some reflectix insulation wrapped around the kettle to keep heat in. Cover the kettle while bringing it to a boil, and you should be OK.

I use a 5500-watt element and typically have 8.25 gallons of water. I get about a 4-degree per minute rise in temperature, so you'd probably expect....2.5 degrees of rise per minute for 5 gallons. As long as you insulate the kettle, you should be ok.

Below is a pic showing my kettles with reflectix on them:

View attachment 665098

Dude, you are the man. Look at that setup.

 

[Ahks]

Just looking for anybody who has been using a standalone 120 volt outlet to do all grain brewing. I want to do small batches, ideally 3 gallons of bottled beer. I assume that's gonna require a 5 gallon boil. Would a 20 amp/2200 watt element handle that?

I built my system for 2.5-5 gallons into the fermenter. I use 7 gallon kettles in a 2 vessel system. All powered from a single 20a/2200w element on a dedicated 20a circuit. 5+ gallons of water can take a bit, but really it feels like a good pace for doing clean and prep during the ramp times. I have no trouble maintaining a low rolling boil and have to turn the element down the last half of the boil.

 

[augiedoggy]

Do you guys really get 2 gallons of loss from a 5gallon boil? thats almost 50%! I would think with a 2200w element you would get less than 1 gallon boil and realistically more like 1/2 gallon off in an hour (much less with a partially covered kettle or narrow kettle.)

You will get the best more efficient boil with the narrowest tallest kettle and cover it until you reach the boil.. This is why most 120v systems use kettles like this
https://www.morebeer.com/products/digiboil-electric-kettle-35l925g-110v.html

 

[Ahks]

From memory I’m at about 1 gallon per hour.
I’m at about 4 gallons pre-boil for standard process small ale. My “standard” recipe aims at filling a milk crate with bottles I’ve also done 90-120 minute boils as well to see how it effects the flavor.

 

[augiedoggy]

From memory I’m at about 1 gallon per hour.
I’m at about 4 gallons pre-boil for standard process small ale. My “standard” recipe aims at filling a milk crate with bottles I’ve also done 90-120 minute boils as well to see how it effects the flavor.

Interesting I only get 1-1.25 gallons an hour boil off from my uncovered bayou classic 16 gallon kettle with a 5500w element at 75% power for boil and 12 gallons of wort. I would have thought scaling it all down would produce less boiloff with less steam being created to do so.

 

[sicktght311]

I've been running a 3v 120v herms system for over a year now and its great. Its a single 1650 watt ULWD element in the HLT and single in the boil kettle. I heat the HLT and MLT by heating the HLT through the element and circulating my strike water through the herms coil. I have reflectix on the boil kettle to help with maintaining the boil and i have it wrapped twice around. I cant speak to brewing outside, as the temperature differential will make that a wildcard, but in my basement, ive had no problems. Yes the initial heat up times are in hours, not minutes, and you have to keep the boil kettle lid on but cracked open to let steam escape if you want it to boil, but i get a nice rolling boil no problem. I brew 5 gallon batches with my typical NEIPA volumes boiling 7 gallons. My boil off rate is around .75 gph. Typically the 6 or so gallons of water in the HLT + 6 or so gallons of water in the Mash Tun take about 2.5 hours for the initial heat up to strike temp. Then i'll top off the HLT with about a gallon of cold water to bring it down to my target mash temp. Mashout from 150s to 168 takes about 20 minutes, and then 170 to boil takes about 45'ish minutes.

 

[vallonswayla]

I built my system for 2.5-5 gallons into the fermenter. I use 7 gallon kettles in a 2 vessel system. All powered from a single 20a/2200w element on a dedicated 20a circuit. 5+ gallons of water can take a bit, but really it feels like a good pace for doing clean and prep during the ramp times. I have no trouble maintaining a low rolling boil and have to turn the element down the last half of the boil.

I'm confused. You are able to do 2.5 to 5 gallon batches on your setup? I figure if my goal is to bottle 3 gallons I probably need to start with a boil size of maybe 5.5 gallons(Est. 1 gal boil off/1.5 gals of trub in kettle and fermenter or vice versa).

 

[sicktght311]

I'm confused. You are able to do 2.5 to 5 gallon batches on your setup? I figure if my goal is to bottle 3 gallons I probably need to start with a boil size of maybe 5.5 gallons(Est. 1 gal boil off/1.5 gals of trub in kettle and fermenter or vice versa).

Sounds a bit overkill. For reference, my 5 gallon finished batch sizes look like the following for a heavily hopped (NEIPA) beer

7 gallons boil
.75gallon Boil off rate + Contraction of wort post cooling
.25ish Trub/break left behind in kettle
6 gallons into fermenter
1 gallon left behind with trub and hop materials
5 gallons end up in the keg, maybe even potential for slightly more if the yeast and trub cake is very compact from cold crashing

If i'm doing a stout, lager, or anything that doesnt get heavily hopped or with tons of adjuncts, i adjust my recipes down to 5.5 gallons into the fermenter, and i still end up with 5 finished gallons


If you were shooting for 3 finished gallons, you'd really only want 4.25-4.5ish gallons preboil. Thats what i used to shoot for when i was brewing 2.5-3 gallon BIAB on the stovetop

 

[Ahks]

I aim for efficiency so I only leave a few oz in the kettle/lines. Never more than a quart. Kettle trub is yeast food. Fermenter loss is 2-4 quarts. Never more. Leaving more seems... wasteful. Clear (unless it’s my hefe) tasty bear? beer every time.

 

[vallonswayla]

Sounds a bit overkill. For reference, my 5 gallon finished batch sizes look like the following for a heavily hopped (NEIPA) beer

7 gallons boil
.75gallon Boil off rate + Contraction of wort post cooling
.25ish Trub/break left behind in kettle
6 gallons into fermenter
1 gallon left behind with trub and hop materials
5 gallons end up in the keg, maybe even potential for slightly more if the yeast and trub cake is very compact from cold crashing

If i'm doing a stout, lager, or anything that doesnt get heavily hopped or with tons of adjuncts, i adjust my recipes down to 5.5 gallons into the fermenter, and i still end up with 5 finished gallons


If you were shooting for 3 finished gallons, you'd really only want 4.25-4.5ish gallons preboil. Thats what i used to shoot for when i was brewing 2.5-3 gallon BIAB on the stovetop

This is very helpful. I'm obviously gonna have to plug this in to my setup but it gives me a starting point to adjust from.

 

[vallonswayla]

I aim for efficiency so I only leave a few oz in the kettle/lines. Never more than a quart. Kettle trub is yeast food. Fermenter loss is 2-4 quarts. Never more. Leaving more seems... wasteful. Clear (unless it’s my hefe) tasty bear? beer every time.

So you try and get 90+% off kettle liquid /solids into the fermenter?

 

[sicktght311]

This is very helpful. I'm obviously gonna have to plug this in to my setup but it gives me a starting point to adjust from.

First and foremost, do a boil test. Put water in your kettle, boil it for an hour, and see what you end up with. Then you'll have an accurate boil off number. Drain it all into a bucket and see whats left at the bottom of the kettle. Your kettle's drain tube might leave a half gallon, or .25, or even a gallon, depending on where its located. Then honestly just start with a half gallon extra in your fermenter and see where it leaves you when it comes time to keg. If you find you're short, then scale up another half gallon overall. If you find you have too much, then scale down by a quarter gallon. It just takes trial and error. I didnt settle into my recipe calculator numbers until probably 3 months into brewing on my system

 

[IslandLizard]

It will be an outdoor set up also.

You're best off putting some insulation around the kettle and on the lid. Also shield the kettle from wind. Even in Summer.

First and foremost, do a boil test. Put water in your kettle, boil it for an hour...

He may as well do something useful while doing that, such as boiling wort.
Estimate boil off (put at a gallon/hour), and top off as needed. Then add that top off amount (or a little less, just in case) onto your next batch's preboil volume. Repeat.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

It will be an outdoor set up also. I guess it will be what it is. I don't mind it taking 45 mins to strike or boil. Just want to make sure I'll even reach those points.

You'll have no issue getting that amount of water to a boil with a 2200 watt element.

I BIAB in a Digiboil with a 1500 watt element. I start with over 6 gallons, and it's strong enough to reach a boil. 2200 watts will be faster.

Once I reach a boil, I turn off the 500 watt element so that I'm only using 1000 watts for a low rolling boil. Boil-off was about 1/2 gallon on my last batch.

 

[vallonswayla]

First and foremost, do a boil test. Put water in your kettle, boil it for an hour, and see what you end up with. Then you'll have an accurate boil off number. Drain it all into a bucket and see whats left at the bottom of the kettle. Your kettle's drain tube might leave a half gallon, or .25, or even a gallon, depending on where its located. Then honestly just start with a half gallon extra in your fermenter and see where it leaves you when it comes time to keg. If you find you're short, then scale up another half gallon overall. If you find you have too much, then scale down by a quarter gallon. It just takes trial and error. I didnt settle into my recipe calculator numbers until probably 3 months into brewing on my system

Would it make a difference if I used a 5/6 gal kettle vs a 10 gal kettle in terms of ability to heat?

 

[ba-brewer]

The smaller diameter of the pot will help reduce boil off and help the movement/mixing of wort. Also less material to initially heat.

Like others have said tall and thin is better than wide and short.

 

[augiedoggy]

Would it make a difference if I used a 5/6 gal kettle vs a 10 gal kettle in terms of ability to heat?

the open diameter of the kettle will make a difference... the wider the top is the more energy that will escape out of it requiring more power unless the lid is on it.

 

[vallonswayla]

the open diameter of the kettle will make a difference... the wider the top is the more energy that will escape out of it requiring more power unless the lid is on it.

Is it too iffy to boil 4.5 gallons in a 5.5 gallon kettle?

 

[ba-brewer]

You can do it if you are vigil. You need to watch the pot and play with power to control the first foaming until the hot break forms and drop. A little stirring and a cold spritz of water can help too. Once the first foam drops you don't need to watch or baby sit if you set to a mild boil.

 

[brew703]

I am using a 2200 watt boil coil. 10.5 gal kettle.

I brew BIAB 5.5 gal batches ( in fermenter). I transfer 5 gal to keg. I get about .75/gal per hour boil off.

I start with 7.25 gal water that takes just about an hour to get to mash temps and thats with no insulation.

It then takes another hour to get to boiling which is about 217 degrees down in S Louisiana.

These times are no difference than my propane setup.

For a 3 gal batch using about 4.25 gal water should get you to temp in 45 min or so depending on water temps.

 

[augiedoggy]

I brewed 11 gallons in a 13 gallon kettle for a couple years... With electric (especially one on the lower power output side) boilover should not be anything you cannot easily avoid.

 

[BBBF]

Just looking for anybody who has been using a standalone 120 volt outlet to do all grain brewing. I want to do small batches, ideally 3 gallons of bottled beer. I assume that's gonna require a 5 gallon boil. Would a 20 amp/2200 watt element handle that?

Yes. You could do a 5 gallon batch with 2000 watts. It takes a little longer to get to boil.

I brewed 11 gallons in a 13 gallon kettle for a couple years... With electric (especially one on the lower power output side) boilover should not be anything you cannot easily avoid.

I've had a few electric boil overs, but less on electric because only allow myself to be distracted or leave the room while coming up to the set temperature of 210F and then watch the final 2 degrees like a hawk.