Camping stove?

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Lushife

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I'm gonna be getting a yeast starter kit soon. A problem I have is that my stove is electric but I do have a. Propane camping stove. One of those two burner Coleman things. What I was wonder is if it would be okay to make starters in the flask using the camp stove. Thanks.
 
Probably would be, just cautious about using propane indoors and stuff as it can produce lots of bad gases etc. Heat is heat...you can't use those flasks on a electric coil or ceramic-top stove?
 
Lushife said:
I'm gonna be getting a yeast starter kit soon. A problem I have is that my stove is electric but I do have a. Propane camping stove. One of those two burner Coleman things. What I was wonder is if it would be okay to make starters in the flask using the camp stove. Thanks.

It'll work fine but not indoors. Do not burn propane indoors:)
 
I personally find it a nightmare to boil a starter in the flask (wort volcano, anyone?). I just boil in a big pot and then once the starter wort is cool then I transfer to the flask and pitch the yeast.
 
I love boiling starters in a flask. My feeling is boiling in the flask eliminates any possible transfer infections that may result from boiling in a separate vessel. As for the volcano effect you can either spend the money on fermcap or use infant gas drops(same stuff at half the price) to stop the foam. You only need two or three drops in a 2 liter starter.
 
Psych: Some people report increased rate of breakage on standard coil electric elements. Flat cooktops shouldn't be a problem as they're not unlike lab hotplates in their heat distribution.

Some other HBTers talking about borosilicate heating methods: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/erlenmeyer-flask-electric-stove-top-181445/

I've been using a ceramic top electric range without issue. I've also heard of some people using a heavy pan to evenly distribute the heat from coil burners.
 
Thanks everyone. The reason I wanna boil in the flask is cause I'm worried about the wort getting contaminated while cooling or transferring.
 
Lushife said:
Thanks everyone. The reason I wanna boil in the flask is cause I'm worried about the wort getting contaminated while cooling or transferring.

If you use best practice procedures and properly sanitize then there should be no worries. This goes for the entire process as it is not the only time transfers will be involved in the brewing process.

Anything that comes in contact with your chilled wort or finished beer has the potential to infect the batch so now is the time to understand and master your cleaning and sanitizing procedures:)
 
duboman said:
If you use best practice procedures and properly sanitize then there should be no worries. This goes for the entire process as it is not the only time transfers will be involved in the brewing process.

Anything that comes in contact with your chilled wort or finished beer has the potential to infect the batch so now is the time to understand and master your cleaning and sanitizing procedures:)

Well yeah I'm pretty good about sanitizing everything I just wanted to have one less thing to worry about.
 
Lush -

I'd say you are on the right track with the "one less thing to worry about" attitude. No point in worrying with a transfer from kettle to flask if you can easily avoid it. I boil on a regular electric coil stove all the time. I just use a wire gauze - http://www.sciencelab.com/page/S/PVAR/20932/10-4000

Matt hit it on the head - get some FermCap or gas drop and there is 0% chance of boiling over.
 
Ah, you're all a bunch of worry-worts (pun intended) in regards to contamination. It takes a lot less time to cool your wort in a big pot than it does in a flask. Less time spent cooling equals less chance of contamination, so it's a trade-off.
 
I use a camping stove indoors(with the window open) and don't have any problems at all. However, I do first boil the starter wort in a pot on the regular stove first until the hot break is over, and then transfer it to the flask to continue the boil for 10 minutes or so on the camping stove.
 
dbsmith said:
I use a camping stove indoors(with the window open) and don't have any problems at all. However, I do first boil the starter wort in a pot on the regular stove first until the hot break is over, and then transfer it to the flask to continue the boil for 10 minutes or so on the camping stove.

IMO, windows open does not create a safe environment to burn propane indoors and personally I wouldn't be recommending that:)

Second, while I understand you boiling the way you do you are also increasing opportunity for accident by transferring a boiling hot liquid between vessels when really not necessary, get some Ferm Cap and the flask won't gush on you.

Sorry, I'm a parent and have read too many threads of people getting hurt unnecessarily.
 
Boil it on the stove and get the good quality flask that you can just dip in an ice bath in the sink and it cools down really quick. As for the boil over issue, just watch it as it heats, take the time to read up on one of your homebrew books you have or should have, and then turn down the heat. I haven't had an issue with boil overs for awhile but it never hurts to have an oven mitt handy.
 
IMO, windows open does not create a safe environment to burn propane indoors and personally I wouldn't be recommending that:)

Second, while I understand you boiling the way you do you are also increasing opportunity for accident by transferring a boiling hot liquid between vessels when really not necessary, get some Ferm Cap and the flask won't gush on you.

Sorry, I'm a parent and have read too many threads of people getting hurt unnecessarily.

Meh I suppose the transfer isn't the safest thing in the world, but the amount of liquid transferred is tiny because you don't need to use the full starter volume to dissolve the DME into it. I keep most of the liquid in the flask.

As for the stove, as long as you are watching the flame to make sure it doesn't go out and have some good ventilation, I don't think there is much to worry about, but there is nothing wrong with being overly cautious and doing it on the porch if it feels safer :mug:
 
Ah, you're all a bunch of worry-worts (pun intended) in regards to contamination. It takes a lot less time to cool your wort in a big pot than it does in a flask. Less time spent cooling equals less chance of contamination, so it's a trade-off.

As long as you have sanitized foil over the top of the flask contaminants won't be able to get in, so that's not really a worry.
 
afr0byte said:
As long as you have sanitized foil over the top of the flask contaminants won't be able to get in, so that's not really a worry.

Can you put those special foam stoppers on a hot flask?
 
Lushife said:
Can you put those special foam stoppers on a hot flask?

Yes. I even boil a bit with them on to let the steam sanitize it as it passes through.
 
emjay said:
Yes. I even boil a bit with them on to let the steam sanitize it as it passes through.

Cool, thanks. I thought you could but wasn't sure.
 
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