Will This work? Electric Turkey Fryer from Wally World.

I was wondering if anyone could help me out on this?
Walmart.com: Cajun Injector 30-Quart Electric Turkey Fryer: Grills & Outdoor Cooking
Will this work for brewing 5 gals? Would it be cheaper then using a stove top? Anyone have any idea about how much this would cost in electric to brew 5 gals setup? I don't have a lot of money to spend on electric brewing right now, i thought this would be a good thing to start with for now. Thanks in advance.

I don't mess with numbers(I hate math) but it's going to be cheaper than propane in the long run. As far as it working, fill her up with water and see how long it takes to boil, and how well it does and let us know.

Electric turkey friers are pretty low wattage, and will be slow to boil! 1650 if i recall. IMHO you would be better served getting a 40 qt aluminum pot and installing a 2000w element.

Search the forum, others have used these w/ limited success. Not worth 100 bucks IMHO. I have one, used it a bit and now use it to steam hot dogs at large parties.

1650 watt stainless steel heating element. Takes about 55 minutes to heat the oil from room temp to 400 degrees.

shadows69 said:

1650 watt stainless steel heating element. Takes about 55 minutes to heat the oil from room temp to 400 degrees.

Click to expand...

very impressive...however water and oil behave very differently as far as heating...the energy required to boil is far greater due to the release of stem / energy...without a lid these things are hard pressed to boil 5=6 gallons

fill er up and let us know how long it takes to boil & your starting temperature !

I didn't get the fryer yet. I was getting some input here. Not sure this would be worth it. Seems like I might have to stick to the stove top or propane for now.

Over in the Countertop brewery in the DIY forum, Oracle has a picture of his setup

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/countertop-brutus-20-a-131411/index50.html#post3051129

over in the countertop brewery in the DIY forum, Oracle has posted up pictures of hist setup


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/countertop-brutus-20-a-131411/index50.html#post3051129

Well, it wouldn't kill you to try boiling some water in it and returning it if it sucks. They have a decent return policy, after all. That way you know for sure

There was another thread a few weeks ago, buy did a pretty measured review. I think it took hour and half to boil.

brrit said:

Dr. Francois - Academy is a brick and morter store. (www.academy.com). The store I went to had several in stock.

Brought the thing home and wanted to see how long it would take to boil water. Let's just say this isn't going to work for the impatient types out there.

In bringing to boil 6 gallons of water, here are my readings with the Cajun Injector Electric Turkey Fryer:

0 min 76 degrees
5 min 84 degrees
10 min 92 degrees
15 min 102 degrees
20 min 111 degrees
25 min 120 degrees
30 min 128 degrees
35 min 136 degrees
40 min 145 degrees
45 min 153 degrees
50 min 161 degrees
55 min 169 degrees
60 min 177 degrees
65 min 183 degrees
70 min 191 degrees
75 min 199 degrees
80 min 205 degrees
84 min Boiling!!!!! (Strong boil too)

So... Takes forever, but gets there eventually. Once boiling, it was a much stronger boil than I can achieve on my stovetop though. FWIW.

Click to expand...

This is from the other thread.

Thank you for all the input. After reading this ....its a no go for me. An hour and a half to boil no way. Stove top of 25 mins to boil is long enough of wait time for me.

Zackly. It would be cool for small apt or 3 gallons maybe.

I use a similar one (Mastercraft brand, or something like that... it begins with "Master") as a HLT and I can bring five gallons from tap temperature to strike temperature in about half an hour or so. I usually start this going when I'm getting my other stuff together, so it's no issue for me.

I have this exact fryer. I had a gift cert from walmart and thought I'd give it a try. It actually works really well. I've done partial and full boil brews with it. It will hold more than 6 gallons and heating time is not bad at all. the electric element has a built in thermostat. So I just set it to max and it gets 6 gallons to a full boil in about 35 minutes although this is achieved with the lid on. Once it reaches a boil, I do remove it to steam off chlorine in the water. It has a basket that is great for steeping grains. It's not really necessary but nice to have. The best thing though, is the spout on the pot itself that allows you to siphon to the fermenter and leave most of the hops in the pot. the lid has holes in it for a thermometer to fit in. I know this is not a professional setup but hell, for 90 bucks I've been really happy with it.

Really 35 mins for 6 gals. That's not bad at all.

What about using this as a Mash tun. Can you control the temp or do you just turn it on and it is maxed out????

I'm interested in one too. Hope to get more info and input. The crowd seems 50/50 on this issue. I would go propane but the landlord is a nervous nelly and wouldn't like the new deck set on fire. Plus the boil over on the stove top is a major drag to clean up after a brew day.

The newer model like the one I have from walmart has a digital temp setting. I've set it to several temps and tested it and it's pretty accurate.

I'd like to have another one to use as a HLT but really don't want to spend 90 bucks. If anyone comes across a deal on one, I sure would appreciate a heads up. Looking to spend around $50-$60.

Hi there.
I just went to my local store (Canadian Tire) and they had 2 left on sale - from $99.99 downl to $24.99 - one of the boxes was opened, and missing the lid.
I got both and am trying right now to see how this thing heats up.
So far, it looks like average. I am heating 20liters (about 5 gal I believe) of whater, and without the lid, it is almost at strike temperature (165 deg F) afte one hour. I purposely made it without the lid to test things in the worst situations. I will also try isolating the aluminum pot cause I believe this is one of the places it looses a lot of heat.

Overall, the things is quite well done. I particularely like the spigot at the bottom, which I don't have in my other 34 qts kettle. I will let it go to see how long it can get to a rolling boil with that quantity of water. Naturally, the hot liquor will be more than my starting 64 deg. F, so I expect a better time ratio. Also, I plan to put the lid on while it heats, only removing it when it boils.

The advantages for me are that I can brew during winter in my basement (I don't have a garage).
Also, there is a dial to set the temperature, so I can probably keep a temperature (roughly since it is not digital) which is hard to do on my stove top or on my propane burner.
I can use a regular 120v outlet - no need to wire something special.
And lastly, if this is too long, I will use the element from the second one I got to speed things up - actually, this is the main reason I got the last two

Here is the temperature over time so far :
0 min - 64 F
15 min - 88 F
20 min - 97 F
25 min - 106 F
30 min - 114 F
35 min - 124 F
40 min - 131 F (got tired and put on the lid :s)
45 min - 140 F
50 min - 148 F
55 min - 156 F
60 min - 165 F (I normaly aim for 164 F for my initial water temp in my mash tun)
65 min - 173 F
70 min - 181 F
75 min - 187 F
80 min - 193 F
85 min - 201 F
90 min - 206 F
95 min - 210 F
99 min - 212 F
At this point, I had a good start of a boil, and i kept it for about 10 minutes without the lid to see how it would behave. the boil went on increasing even without the lid, so yes it can keep boiling.

Please keep in mind that this was a total of 20 liters, startin at 64 F. Not the normal qty of water you start off for a 5 gal batch.

Hope this helps someone!
Zolt

Thanks for the information. Still doesn't make me want to run out and buy one. Guess I'm stuck with the stovetop and propane in the warmer weather.

I use a Masterbuilt 1650w fryer for my mini-mash kits. It also had a digital thermostat which keeps a 3-4° range which is nice. But then again, I also got it for free so I really didn't have to justify the purchase

It will struggle to do a full 5 gallon boil in a decent amount of time. If you are looking to do a 5 gallon boil in a 1650w setup, I heavily suggest an additional heat stick to get it to boiling temp within a reasonable amount of time. It's enough wattage to maintain a boil, but it isn't great for actually raising the temps. I do 4 gallon boil on my setup - but I don't wait that long anymore, read below for tips.

Advice:

A 1650w element sucks in terms of raising the temp of water in a decent amount of time. If you want to really speed things along, you need to help raise the water temp. Use a heat stick (probably fastest) to get it to boiling/mash temps. If you are a cheap bastard who likes to brew indoors (like me), just preheat the water on the stove. I'm blessed with a 4-burner natural gas stove so I basically preheat it to my desired temp on the stove and then transfer to the fryer to maintain temps.

I know many people will frown on a 1650w setup, but if you can get one like mine with a built in digital thermostat for under $100, or preferably free - and you help it a little -- you can have a workable setup that gets the job done pretty darn quickly and cheaply.

One thing that is a must with these things, is that you've got to have them on the circuit by themselves. There can't be anything on the same breaker that they are on. Like a heat stick, they will pull almost the entire 120 amps from the circuit. If there is anything else at all on the same circuit, even a light bulb, it will kill the performance of the fryer. It's best to use a dedicated plug like in a kitchen or laundry room. I know this from personal experience and trust me, it makes all the difference. Since learning this I use mine almost exclusively.

sawwas72 said:

One thing that is a must with these things, is that you've got to have them on the circuit by themselves. There can't be anything on the same breaker that they are on. Like a heat stick, they will pull almost the entire 120 amps from the circuit. If there is anything else at all on the same circuit, even a light bulb, it will kill the performance of the fryer. It's best to use a dedicated plug like in a kitchen or laundry room. I know this from personal experience and trust me, it makes all the difference. Since learning this I use mine almost exclusively.

Click to expand...

I think you slipped a decimal point in there... perhaps they pull 12 amps, but certainly not 120.

(sending from my phone, so I hope it works properly)
So, I wasn't that happy with the time taken to heat the water - check my post a bit higher in this thread.
Having 2 of these electric turkey fryers for quite cheap, I decided to combined both. I took the heating element assembly from one and installed it on the second, making sure there is a smal gap between both elements when installed.
This time, taking 20 liters of 50 F water to boil temperature was only 50 minutes - something I can live with! (...and yes, this time my tap water was 50 F, not 60 F like in my previous test.)
Also, considering that the water won't be 50 F when I prepare for the boil, this should be good enough.
The only drawback is the size of my batches - 20 liters is about the max boil volume I can achieve without boil over... For this, I need to figure out a way to attach both elements on my 35 liters kettle!

What is the lowest temperature you can set the thermostat to? I'm wondering if it will go low enough to hold a mash temperature without having to keep an eye on it or add another temp controller to maintain the temp.

Yes, correct. 12 amps. Thanks.

I think the lowest setting is150 degrees.

I just picked one up from the local Wal-Mart. It would be perfect for doing the small batches I want to do at competition time, 1 - 2 Gallons. However, I'm going to need to replace the temperature controller or hack it to get the type of temperature control I want.

Right now it looks as if I can only have one temperature for the mash and that is 150 degrees F. It took 20 minutes to bring 4 gallons of water to temp which for me is perfect for a small batch.

The next step up is 170 degrees F which is fine for Mash Out, but It's not going to be good enough for the various recipes I want to brew. I want a range from 110-175 degrees, anything over that is pretty much inconsequential to me since, boiling would be the next logical step in the process.

The other thing I noticed is the temperature differential is about 5 degrees before the unit kicks back on. This needs to be tightened up quite a bit for what I want.

Overall, I think with a little hacking of the Temperature Controller or by replacing it totally I think it will make a really nice mini-biab vessel with the addition of a pump to recirculate the wort to even out the temperature across the batch during mashing.

So, it looks like I got a little work to do over the next week or so to get it to where I want it.

Jim Lavin
http://otakubrewing.com

I tore apart the temp controller housing last night and found that it would not be too hard to mod this out and use a different controller to manage the temperatures.

There are basically three sets of wires that run to the controller board; 12VAC, RTD Inputs and the Relay Control wires.

These would be pretty easy to extend out of the controller housing and run to a separate control box that could then control the heating element based on the RTD readings.

I'm going to do some more work on it tonight, but hope to have a control circuit on a breadboard by the end of the week that will allow me to set a temperature profile and drive the heating element based on the RTD readings.

I'll be posting my changes on my brewing blog, for anyone interested and keep this post up to date with my progress.

Later!

Jim Lavin
http://otakubrewing.com

Great project!
I have question about mashing. Is there any problem leaving the grain in the vessel while the heat is on? I also thought about using it instead of my mash tun, but was afraid of altering the grain by doing so.
Let me know how your little electric project turns out - i'm quite interested. I am just wondering though if the problem is the sensor, or the thermostat. Good chance it is the thermostat, but you never know.
Good luck anyway.

Zoltanar said:

Great project!
I have question about mashing. Is there any problem leaving the grain in the vessel while the heat is on? I also thought about using it instead of my mash tun, but was afraid of altering the grain by doing so.
Let me know how your little electric project turns out - i'm quite interested. I am just wondering though if the problem is the sensor, or the thermostat. Good chance it is the thermostat, but you never know.
Good luck anyway.

Click to expand...

A lot of people have heated mash tuns and heating the mash will not be problematic as long as you control the temperature and don't let it go too high during the heating process.

As for the issue with the Fryer's controller, I'm pretty sure that the issue is with the controller and not the thermistor. The controller was pre-programmed for a given set of temperatures and a temp range. I've spent an hour or so playing with the thermistor and it has a pretty high resolution.

I should have the basic control circuits finished this weekend and I hope to take it out for a spin using a breadboard version of the circuit to see how it works.

Great news - both : the thermistor, and your project

Zoltanar said:

Great project!
I have question about mashing. Is there any problem leaving the grain in the vessel while the heat is on? I also thought about using it instead of my mash tun, but was afraid of altering the grain by doing so.
Let me know how your little electric project turns out - i'm quite interested. I am just wondering though if the problem is the sensor, or the thermostat. Good chance it is the thermostat, but you never know.
Good luck anyway.

Click to expand...

I would be sure to constantly stir a mash in contact with an active powered electric element...thinner the mash the better as well, or you will risk scorching the grain.

I just finished my first BIAB with a 1650w fryer -- take a look at this insulation thread. It greatly improved the performance of the fryer and it took care of a 5.75 gallon mash/boil with no problems. It'll also hold your mash temp for over an hour without having to reheat. Also, if you are BIAB - you shouldn't have to worry about scorching as the bag insulates the grain from direct contact with the element.

Great hint about insulating the fryer to reduce heat loss. I will have to pick up some this weekend and insulate the inside of the fryer's outer container.

I'm also planning on extending the hole where the door is to the top of the fryer's outer container so I can add an upper bulkhead fitting for recirculating the mash.

I was hoping to be able to use the basket that came with the fryer to help keep the grain bag off of the heating element, but I think I'll have to wait til I get the controller finished to see if it's needed or not.

Thanks for the tips!

Jim Lavin - Otaku Brewer
http://otakubrewing.com

For what it's worth, I have a similar setup (see link posted above by geeze). I bought mine used (return) from an eBay seller. Supposed to have been "new", but returned. Actual unit had clearly been used (oil/batter residue on the heating element), but more importantly, the digital controller was cracked and did not work. I tore it apart, wired the element directly to the power cord and am controlling it by an external PID-style unit I cobbled together from a Eurotherm controller (eBay again) paired with solid state
relays and type K thermocouples. I replaced the glass lid (I actually ruined it by trying to drill a hole in the tempered glass - silly me) with a re-purposed aluminum pot lid. I also added several layers of insulation to the turkey fryer aluminum pot, basically filling the space between the pot and the outer case. This definitely helped with the heat-up and stability of the temperatures. Even with the insulation, the 1650 watt element takes a while from room temps. I am including an early graph (before the full
insulation upgrade) showing the heat-up time for 5 gallons along with the chill time using the CFC I constructed. 5 gallons works fine, but I have gone up to 6 gallons with similar success, just remember to remove the lid when you go to boil or expect a mess (experience talking).

I like the idea of preheating some of the water on the stove to shorten the heat-up time. This would save having to use a higher wattage element (or two). As mentioned above, it is easy to overload a circuit when this is going full blast and the CFC is running too. Having access to separate circuits is helpful (or a dedicated circuit with a 20 amp breaker).

So I picked up all the parts to make the new Temperature Controller today at a local Electronics shop. Now All I need to do is spend the rest of the day breadboarding the circuits and getting the code written for the Netduino Plus Controller I'm going to use.

Hopefully I'll have some pics and results to share soon.