SSRider

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I only have 110 in my shop so I cant use 240, but was wondering if I used a hybrid of gas and electric would it work. Basically I have 2 options, a 1500w element or a 2000w element. If I brought the wort up to boiling temps, could I maintain it with one of these 2 elements. I would raise the temp with the gas, then shut it off and let it boil on the electric for my 60 or 90 minutes. Will either work.

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ScubaSteve

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I'll tell you in the morning

I've got a 1000w element on a timer. The element is a bucket heater that will heat to boiling. I'm going to have it turn on at 0600 for a 0800 kickoff. I'm hoping the element will get me in the neighborhood (it's 35f in my garage so I don't expect a boil) and my SQ14 burners will take care of the rest.

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wilserbrewer

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I use 2000 W heatsticks. One stick will maintain boil of 5-8 gallons.

Galius_Persnickety

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Do you not have both hot sides of the circuit in your shop? If you do, voila, 240V.

The Pol

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Are you thinking of using a HIGH WATT DENSITY 120V element in wort? Scorching will be a concern, unless you use a 240VAC element on 110VAC...

120VAC elements are weak... 1500W or 2000W... AND they are HIGH WATT DENSITY, not good to have in wort, scorching sugars.

Cpt_Kirks

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I'm planning on trying out hybrid gas/electric. After a trip to THD, I should have my 2kw heatstick done today.

Pol, I hear a lot of back and forth on the scorching issue. Some say it will (or could) scorch the wort, some say it can't happen.

Do you know if anyone has done any testing on the scorching issue?

jkarp

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I just ran my first brew through my 6 gal 120V 2KW electric kettle yesterday - a relatively high gravity oatmeal stout. No scorching whatsoever. In reality, the watt-density of a high density 2KW 120V element isn't that much higher than a 4.5KW 240V low density one.

I still need to do a more delicate beer to be 100% sure, but there definitely wasn't a trace of any kind of burning on the element and the wort on this stout tasted just like it had in previous brewings.

Here's a vid of my kettle doing a 5gal test boil:

Cpt_Kirks

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My next brew will be a very light colored blond ale. I plan to try the heatstick out on it, so it will be a good test of the scorching issue.

Ryan_PA

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Sorry to hijack, but for my electric HLT, it seems to take a long time to get 7 gallons to 170*. I am using a 200W 120V HWD element. Aside from going to 240, what options do I have to up the power?

jkarp

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Yeah, you're gonna need more power. What about a heat stick? If your kitchen is relatively modern, code requires it to have two separate 20A circuits so you should have the juice.

I only do 3 gal batches so I never need to boil more than 5 gallons. It takes my kettle right at 60 minutes to go from 50 deg to boil. Any more and I'd definitely have a heat stick to shorten the time.