any tips for electric stove?

Ill be brewing my first batch in a day or so and unfortunately my stove is electric. Ill be using the power burner..its about twice the size of the other ones. Any tips for adjusting heat or anything after additions or anything? All help is appreciated.

Tip 1: Test out the pot and see if it will boil that much water and how long it will take.

Tip 2: If this is a glass top electric be careful with that much weight on it, depending on batch size. You do not want to crack or break the surface...

Definitely do a test boil with the full amount you would normally do. Make sure it can handle it. I would also be worried about a glass stove top with all that weight. They are pretty thick though. My stove can almost boil 7.5 gallons, so it would be good to know whether it will work or not before you have a pot full of wort.

Not a glass stove stop. Andi did a test run with 3 gallons took about 30 minutes to getbto about 180 about 35-45 to get to 200. Does This seem normal?

Thehopguy said:

Not a glass stove stop. Andi did a test run with 3 gallons took about 30 minutes to getbto about 180 about 35-45 to get to 200. Does This seem normal?

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Normal is very subjective here. You need to boil the full volume you intend to or try. 200F is not boiling 212F is +/- a few F for elevation differences. There is also a difference between a mild boil and a rolling boil. A rolling boil is always better IMO.

I would hate for you to try to boil 5 gallons or more of wort and it only get to 206F after 2 hours. This kind of thing has happened. Knowing your equipment is a HUGE part of making your own beer.

There are also some great stickies in the beginners section that will address many other concerns but with the stove you nor anyone else here will know until you try it or are you only making a 3 gallon batch?

After you get the boil figured out I would suggest going to the local pharmacy and pick up a bottle of these:



and electric stove is slow to react (cool), and a boil overs SUCK!!




Add a few drops and you should be good.

Another thing to watch out for: Once you've actually got it boiling, try and turn the temperature down just enough to keep it going. Leaving it all the way on max is a good way to wind up with LME burned to the bottom of your pot.

My tip would be to go on craigslist and buy a turkey fryer. Unless you are living in an apartment.

bad67z said:

After you get the boil figured out I would suggest going to the local pharmacy and pick up a bottle of these:

and electric stove is slow to react (cool), and a boil overs SUCK!!

Add a few drops and you should be good.

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I actually suggest a spray bottle of starsan. Every time I see the hot break coming up, I give it 2-3 squirts on "mist" and I have never had a boil over since. I loves me my spray bottle of star san. It comes in handy for a quick sanitizing of something as well!

Gonna boil about 3 gallons in a 9 gallon pot. Will be watching closely so not too concerned of a boil over. Can't get a turkey fryer cuz im in an apartment. Ill do another test batch with water again

I insulate with foil and it improves my boil strength and heating times dramatically

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/stovetop-problems-ag-224438/#post2637327

If you have a compatible stove you can also buy a canning element for your electric stove that is often higher wattage. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/stove-top-brewing-w-2600w-canning-element-110924/ I did this about 3 years ago in my last apartment and it works fine in my new apartment too. I leave it in all the time since it makes cooking faster especially when boiling water or wort.

tcklord said:

If you have a compatible stove you can also buy a canning element for your electric stove that is often higher wattage. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/stove-top-brewing-w-2600w-canning-element-110924/ I did this about 3 years ago in my last apartment and it works fine in my new apartment too. I leave it in all the time since it makes cooking faster especially when boiling water or wort.

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Oh yeah I did this too. I also just leave it in, it's nice to have a more powerful burner especially since I cook with a cast iron wok pretty often.

Only cost me about $20.

That's a great tip! I'm gonna have to get one of those.

if you are doing partail mash i would also suggest putting your pot in the oven if possible the warm setting is really close to150*

brandonhagen1 said:

if you are doing partail mash i would also suggest putting your pot in the oven if possible the warm setting is really close to150*

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You know, I've seen people say this a bunch of times... you guys must have gigantic ovens or something, I couldn't even fit a 5gal pot in mine.