Mashing in a Turkey Frier

Has anyone tried mashing in an electric turkey frier?

Some of the electric turkey friers have temperature control and out-spouts. Could you mash in there and hold it at 152 using its constant electric heat?

Yes, I've done 5 gallon batches using an electric turkey fryer. The Masterbuilt brand has a 6 gallon pot and heats water to 200F in ~30 minutes (with the lid on).



The only issue is the calibration of the temperature controller. It works in 25F increments (e.g., 150F, 175F, 200F, etc.), but mine is always about 20F lower than the set temperature. Which works out great because 175F = 155F (perfect mash temperature) and 225F = 205F (perfect boiling temperature).

So, yes, for 5 gallon batches is works great and cleanup is pretty easy.

Heh, isn't boiling 212 degrees???

Biggest thing will be how constant it is. For me if its pretty close I dont stress about it especially if your just starting out. I should work. I would go with a stainless steel braid hooked up somehow.

Would you drain the wort out, clean the grains out of the turkey fryer, then put the wort back in for the boil? Or boil elsewhere?

Seems like a cool DYI method if you could work out the kinks. Set and forget it.

SILVER13ACK said:

Heh, isn't boiling 212 degrees???

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Yes, the last time I checked.

If you stay just below (205F - 210F) the boiling point:

1.) There is no possibility of a boil over.

2.) The wort retains a higher percentage of the "aroma" from the hops which are driven off at higher temperatures.

3.) You get 80% of the hop isomerization efficiency you do at 212F, which is typically only ~25% anyway. So, ~20% utilization at 205F works fine for anything but an IPA.

For more information, see this publication on hop efficiency as a factor of time and temperature.

blacklab said:

Would you drain the wort out, clean the grains out of the turkey fryer, then put the wort back in for the boil? Or boil elsewhere?

Seems like a cool DYI method if you could work out the kinks. Set and forget it.

Click to expand...

I think there are a couple of options that would work for most people:

1.) Single turkey fryer with a recirculating pump (optional) to avoid hot spots. Use the grain in bag method and no transfer is necessary. This is how I started out brewing years ago and it worked well, 70% - 80% efficiency.

2.) Two turkey fryers with a recirculating pump and/or transfer pump. Mash in one fryer and boil in the other. A simple, single tier system that requires a pump and some valves.

Just keep in mind, this method doesn't really scale beyond 5 gallon batches. But, you can brew indoors with this setup and cleanup is straightforward.

so what's the heating element look like on one of those suckers?

I saw an electric fryer, got this idea and immediately rushed to hbt for confirmation that if it looks too easy to be true it probably is...

SILVER13ACK said:

Heh, isn't boiling 212 degrees???

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Only at sea level, if I'm not mistaken.

I have one of those but have never mashed in it. IME the heat controller is not accurate enough to maintain mash temps. If I were to try it, I would simply use the electric element to achieve strike temp, dough in and check temp., then I would wrap the unit in a couple of blankets for the rest.

If you fire the element to raise or maintain the mash temp., I would stir constantly to avoid scorching the grain.

These are nice little boilers, but they do have limitations. I remember I guy who built a 5 gal. system w/ these electric units. He placed a layer of insulation inside the kettle housing to boost its ability and reported improved results. If I recall they are only 1650 watts, so patience is a virtue if heating larger volumes.

I mashed a 2 gallon batch in a crock pot plugged into my Ranco controller once. It worked fine.

SILVER13ACK said:

Heh, isn't boiling 212 degrees???

Click to expand...

At sea level, actually 205 here. Played hell with my head the first time I tried to calibrate a thermometer.

Dave R said:

Only at sea level, if I'm not mistaken.

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Exactly, here in Utah, I've got about 208 (or in that ballpark) to boil... higher altitude means lower boiling point. And that's a huge rolling boil too, not some little bubbly thing.

see: WikiAnswers - How does the elevation and air pressure affect the boiling point of water

for a good explanation