Boiling on gas vs electric stove

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jwheeler85

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I've been brewing forever using gas stoves because that's always been available to me. It looks like I might have to more to a place that only has an electric stove. I'm an extract brewer, and usually do 3 gallon boils. I want to hear from anybody who has used both gas and electric for a similar volume:

1) Is it possible to bring this much water to a full boil on an electric stove? If yes, how much longer will that take?


2) Does the electric stove adversely effect the final product? I've heard that the burner coils leave a scorch mark on the inside of the pot, but that this can be removed with a good PBW soak.
 
My electric stove will bring three gallons to a boil, but it takes s while. Its not a hard boil, though. I did one batch on it, then switched to a turkey fryer.
 
I used to brew 3 gallon boils on an electric stove. Although I never actually timed it, achieving a boil took a good long time but I was able to hold a pretty vigorous boil after I got there.

Yeah, my brew kettle has some rings around the bottom from the elements I think its just the way the heat transfers. No effect on the wort that I noticed though. I never bothered to completely clean them off.

One thing to remember is you probably want to actually take it off the burner when making additions because you don't get the instant heat off with electric like you do with gas. I scorched a couple of batches a little bit when I added the extract because I left it on the burner and wasn't stirring enough.

Bottom line is it may affect your technique and timing a little, but it shouldn't have a huge effect on your final product. :mug:
 
it depends on the burner. some electrics are hotter than others. your just going to have to test your stove and find out.
 
You're basically not going to get good results on your electric stove.

Invest in a Camp Chef burner and a new propane canister. The Turkey Frier kits I see out there nowadays would fit the bill perfectly.
 
Lots of legitimate concerns posted above. To overcome them see these two threads:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/improved-boiling-stovetop-53683/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/electric-stove-volume-172062/

I was EASILY able to boil 6.5 gals on my electric stove with some minor tweaks to my equipment and process, without any worry about boil overs. I do a lot of my brewing in the winter when brewing outdoors is just not fun, and I don't even bother pulling out my gas burner because the stove works so well if its cold.
 
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