This is how I got my recent 7.25gal boil to go. I am using a crappy electric apartment stove, so I remove all the other burners (because the pot just runs into them otherwise), tinfoil all the way underneath the pot and up the sides. Looks like crap but works... Now that I have read this thread, I am going to run over to an auto supply store tomorrow and see what I can find. I figure if I can get it to give me a weak-ass rolling boil with tinfoil, then I can probably get a decent boil going if I do it properly... though, having read this thread, the advantage of the tinfoil is that it doesn't melt or burn and is extremely cheap. And hideous.
Is 40 below that cold? Put on all your winter clothes, open the garage door just a crack. Fire that turkey fryer up! Jump in jump out of the garage, carbon monoxide monitor a must. I guess I am just spoiled, freezes here in Houston area maybe three times a year, for four days at a time.
Maybe the cure is you guys up North send us guys down South beer during your warm months, we'll ship you some during the cold ones.
I am a problem solver!
__________________
If I had a nickel for every beer I drank....I would be retired already.
So... there's a lot of back and forth here, and I'm trying to filter out solutions that are usable on a gas stove.
from what I see, the "Heat Wave Pro" might be the only store-ready solution.
Question about that - when you cut it to fit the kettle, does the stuffing come out? What sort of tape do you use to put it back together?
Do you tape it to your kettle, do you just wrap it really tight and put a bungee cord around it?
I want to give something a try for my next boil... the heat wave pro is kind of expesnsive but seems like the best solution from what I'm reading.
I'm thinking about making a blanket for my brewpot for use indoors on my electric stove - I'm not sure what I'll use for blanket material, but here's an idea (untried, so far) for holding the blanket onto the pot. I was thinking about how a bungee cord seemed to be ideal if only they were heatproof, then I thought about using a long spring, such as are used on screen doors - the ones that are a solid coil about 16 inches long and maybe 3/8 inch diameter. That won't go all the way around, so tie the two ends together with heavy gauge wire to make a circle and adjust the length of the wire so you have to stretch the spring a little to make ends meet. Seems to me this would work as long as the spring didn't get hot enough to lose its springiness, it's easy to get on and off, waterproof, and it's cheap (< $3 per spring). Maybe use one at the top and one at the bottom.
Very interesting thread. I'm waiting on a new kettle to start doing full boil on my electric stove, so I'm doing a lot of thinking about how I'm gonna get that nice full boil going.
Mcmaster-Carr actually has a pretty nice side-by-side for the various types of thermal insulation they offer (http://www.mcmaster.com/#about-thermal-insulation/=5wsurf), which covers most of the main types I'm aware of except proprietary stuff.
Personally, I'm considering melamine foam; R-value of 3.8 at an inch (as compared to 3.1 for doubled-up foil bubble wrap), good to 350F, from what I've read elsewhere it's highly flame resistant, and it's not terribly expensive. Open cell, but given it's usually used as a cleaning product I can't imagine it would be that difficult to clean out if need be. I'm currently waiting on them to send me the MSDS on it, so I should know for certain soon, but I haven't read anything yet indicating it releases anything into the air either.
One thing I would like to mention, though. A lot of people on this thread are talking about reflective-coated materials for reflecting radiant heat. Those sorts of facings are only useful if there is a gap of airspace between the heat source and the insulation; if the insulation is wrapped tight on the kettle, reflecting radiant heat just isn't going to happen because reflective barriers are highly heat conductive with direct contact. It still works with the bubble wrap because it's faced on both sides, but anything without open airspace on the inside won't be helped by that sort of facing.
__________________ On Deck: No-Name Pale Ale, Hearthfire Housefire Winter Warmer Primary: Nada Secondary: Nada Bottled: Rocky Mountain Irish Red, Frozen North Belgian Wit
Would this stuff work? It's just an aluminum backed insulation that a lot of people use for audio damping in cars much like the Heat Wave Pro and Second Skin suggestions in this thread.
__________________ On Deck: Hop Ottin IPA Clone, Apfelwein Primary 1: All Amarillo IPA Primary 2: Empty Secondary: Empty Keg 1: Irish Red Ale Keg 2: Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale Bottled/Kegged: Oktoberfest, Oatmeal Stout, American Brown Ale, Vanilla Stout, American IPA, Amarillo IPA
Well I just answered my own question by going and getting some of this stuff from Lowe's. I made 4 strips of it each 6" wide and long enough to wrap around my kettle. I then tore off the paper of the adhesive and stuck 2 of them to the other 2 making 2 4' x 6" pieces of insulation. I then duct taped the edges of each so that the stick adhesive stuff couldn't come out. It's very sticky, hard to clean up and smells kind of bad. I then wrapped the 2 pieces around my kettle and duct taped them in place.
I then performed a test in my 20qt kettle (should have my 36qt tomorrow in the mail). Below are my results:
0 Min = 71 deg F
10 Min = 105 deg F
20 Min = 142 deg F
30 Min = 177 deg F
40 Min = 207 deg F
50 Min = 212 deg F
55 Min = Nice rolling boil
I'm happy with the results. The roll of this stuff only cost me $14 and I even wasted some of because it is so damn sticky and basically stuck so bad to another piece that I couldn't get it off. I haven't even done the lid of my kettle yet, once I do that I only expect better results. Couldn't be happier right now! All grain here I come!
__________________ On Deck: Hop Ottin IPA Clone, Apfelwein Primary 1: All Amarillo IPA Primary 2: Empty Secondary: Empty Keg 1: Irish Red Ale Keg 2: Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale Bottled/Kegged: Oktoberfest, Oatmeal Stout, American Brown Ale, Vanilla Stout, American IPA, Amarillo IPA
Last edited by basisforaday; 03-11-2010 at 02:44 PM.
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