heat sources?

what heat sources are commonly used for brewing? I'm planning on brewing mine outdoors because i don't think the females in my house want to have the house smelling like a brewery. I know i can use a propane burner, but are electric "hot plates" used? i'm talking about a single burner like a stove. will this give uneven heat or less control? or are they generally too small for a stock pot? thanks for any help!

brandon

Most of your common hot plates do not generate enough heat to get a good boil once you start moving above 3 gallons or so of water. You could assist the boil with an electric hot stick , but that would likely overload your outlet if it is on the same circuit. If cash is low keep an eye on craigslist or the local classified adds for turkey fryers with propane burners, or propane burners by themselves. You'll be much happier with the time to get up to boil with propane.

You're in Texas! Goto Academy sports and get a turky fryer, they have one for as cheap as $25

yeah i'm a texas boy.... was looking at the academy packages online but haven't looked at my local store. i'm not necessarily trying to be cheap, just trying to find the most convenient set up and didn't want to worry about running out of fuel in the middle of my boil. but propane sounds like the way to go.
thanks for your help!
brandon

Academy has some great prices on pots as well. You'll need to dig around a bit...it can be a bit of a disorganized mess.

I'm using the stove still but I can see where a propane burner would be very nice. If you can fit it in your budget I think you'll be much happier with it.

I think it's a good move to go outside. I'm getting some female resistance to the smell when I brew. I find it better than some of the candles she burns but I try to not start battles that I probably can't win.

My local Academy offers a Outdoor Gourmet 116k btuh burner for $19.99.

I have bought 3 and they were great burners although I am skeptical of the listed output and, I would carefully inspoect the welds prior to each brew for signs of stressing.

thanksgiving is coming up. Hmmmm...

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brewing mine outdoors because i don't think the females in my house want to have the house smelling like a brewery.

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What?? You should tell them it smells delicious when brewing. It doesn't smell like a brewery, which most people think of smelling like a permanent malty and yeasty smell. The smells from homebrewing smell more like baking bread or roasting grains, and the smells dissipate within 30 minutes when you're done I've found.

My wife actually said she might be starting to LIKE the smell of my brewing!

+1 on the turkey fryer. Cheapest way to improve over the stove IMO.

agusus said:

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What?? You should tell them it smells delicious when brewing. It doesn't smell like a brewery, which most people think of smelling like a permanent malty and yeasty smell. The smells from homebrewing smell more like baking bread or roasting grains, and the smells dissipate within 30 minutes when you're done I've found.

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What confuses me is that it smells very sweet to me and sweet is a big player in my house. I can't figure out why she doesn't like it that much. It seems to linger quite a while in my house, maybe a few hours. I'm not sure what will happen as the AC runs less and the air isn't filtered as much.