Question about Boiling

I just got my last bit of equipment to start homebrewing today. So today I decided to test my stove and my brew kettle to see how much water I could boil and in what amount of time. I was able to boil 4 gallons in a 32qt stainless steel pot on an electric stove using 2 burners, however it wasn't a rolling boil, it was pretty soft. What effect will this have on my beer?

My first batch is a kit from midwest that has crushed specialty grains that need to be steeped followed by malt and hops.

I also noticed when I emptied the pot I could see rings from my burners on the bottom of the pot. Will this be harmful to batches? What is the best method to remove these rings? Is keeping heat on high the entire time to keep a boil a bad thing for the pot?

Thanks!

A very vigorous boil is really necessary for a lot of reasons, but most of all for hop utilization. You want the boil to break down the hops and extract their bitterness. Although a fuller boil is awesome, I would actually boil less water at a more vigorous level. I think you will get better results this way.

The rings won't do anything to your batch. I am assuming you are using extract so the biggest thing to be careful of is scorching your extract. Make sure to take your pot off the burner when you add the extract and mix it very thouroughly so it is completely dissolved. If you are really worried about the rings, you can place a plain (not painted) metal coat hanger on each burner and that will help that.

Good luck

I'll agree that a vigorous boil is ideal but not necessary, you won't "ruin" your beer if you don't have a rolling boil. You're not really going to get over 212 degrees anyway, just boil and don't sweat the small stuff! If you're doing a full boil, you'll just want to account for the lack of boil-off. When I do a 5gal batch, I start with 6.5gallons and end up with 5 all said and done.

Is there a formula for determining evaporation rates when boiling?

It is really dependent on the equipment you use. Size and shape of your boil kettle, the vigor of your boil. When I do a 5gal batch I start with 6.55gal, but I use a 15.5gal keggle and a turkey fryer. YMMV.

I was led to believe there is a difference between the "rolling" boil and a "vigorous" boil. I was taught that a rolling boil is one to work towards.

I would characterize my last boil as more vigourous, without that nice smooth rolling boil. Where in the point of the boil does the rolling boil come in? Do I need to add less heat or more? Or am I just chasing a ghost?

They are all words for the same thing IMHO. A nice strong boil. Just find a process that works for you, get it dialed in, there is no right or wrong way to do this; only the right way for you.