All grain on the grill?

Thinking of making the jump to all grain and it seems to me that since I already have a super high BTU natural gas grill hooked into my house I could just use it instead of buying propane burners. Less stuff to move around on brew day and less stuff to buy...right? On this forum previously, it was discouraged because of heat lost around the burner, with the resulting difficulty achieving a boil. I don't think that will be an issue with my set up but I haven't tried it yet. Are others doing this or does it just not work? Thanks so much for your help. This site rocks!

Will your grill (and the grates) support the weight of a full kettle?

Try it w/ 6 -7 gallons of water...My nat. gas grill gets very hot....not sure if it would boil 7 gallons though.

You really have to think of the safety aspect here. Boiling wort is, well, boiling. On top of that it is sticky. If that grill collapses you are looking at a life altering experience.

Just don't do it.

Give it a try and find out. Unless someone has your exact setup and climate you might not know what happens until it is too late (i.e. already in process). Take a pot of water and throw it on the grill.

My speculation is that assuming the grill can handle the weight (~50 lbs) there will be too much heat loss to make this an efficient process. Look at how close a burner is to the pot versus the distance on the grill, couple that with the fact that a grill burner is not designed to blast heat into a concentrated area, it is more for a wider dispersed heat as is needed to cook a dozen burgers of a few steaks.

Look at the size of the grill grate and then the number of BTUs to estimate BTU/sq inch, then do the same for a stove burner.

Thanks for the advice! My grill is quite beefy and is built into a stone enclosure. Does anyone know how much 7 gallons of water in a stainless steel kettle weighs? I can probably look up the maximum weight that the grill is designed for. I don't think safety would be any less than a propane burner except the necessity of lifting the boiling pot off and on a higher platform. I guess the big issue is efficeincy since I will be heating some useless space behind the kettle. I think I'll just try to boil 5 gallons and see how that goes and let you all know how it went. Unless the grills recommended weight is exceeded that is.

Oops-I see you already answered my weight question-about 50 lbs. Thanks!

1 lb of water ~8+ lbs. 7 lbs water = 56+lbs, plus the weight of the pot. You are pushing 60lbs on that grill. Not many grills are designed for anywhere near that capacity.

If you already have natural gas plumbed outside why not just Tee off a line to run to a natural gas burner. Some the propae burners most people use can be converted to natural gas and some are also so that way. It would be a safe option in my opinion.

Awesome idea Liquidicem. I think that's exactly what I'll do!!!

tdoft said:

Awesome idea Liquidicem. I think that's exactly what I'll do!!!

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Be sure you know what you are doing!!! Gas leaks are not something you want to experience first hand.

Yeah, I do all my own DIY from basic construction/repairs, water and electrical, but will have pro handle any future gas work I may run into. Worst case Electrical you kill yourself, Worst case Gas, you kill your family and maybe more.

After looking again at my patio/grill set up the answer for going all grain is obvious. I have a firepit (plumbed with natural gas)with a brick/concrete rim that-if I can find a strong round grate will be absolutely perfect for heating big kettles. Anyone know where to find a strong round grate about two feet in diameter?