Is pot rocking normal?

OK, getting closer to the first brew day. Went to the LHBS yesterday and bought my basic equipment kit. Also went to Bass Pro and bought a brew pot: 7.5 gallon stainless steel with a spigot. Thought I'd test my stove to see how long it takes to boil 3 gallons of water. Measured it out, set the electric stove to high and was very concerned when the pot started rocking back and forth. Fearing it might break the ceramic stovetop, I placed my hand on the handle to steady it. Once it got up to 150F it seemed to settle down. The boil took about 15 minutes, and I had none of the issues I have heard here from others about the stove shutting off from overheating. Is the rocking normal? Is this a first time only issue that will settle out? should I take the pot back? Stats:

Brew Pot: Bass Pro 30 QT stainless steel pot with spigot
Stove: GE self cleaning electric range, ceramictop/radiant elements

We also have a flat ceramic stove top which causes some pots to rock/wiggle when we are cooking. I have not experienced this with my heavy brewpot, but it is pretty consistent with lighter weight pots.

Rather than immediately turning the burner to high, try starting out with a lower temp and then increasing as the water heats. Might be less efficient, but may eliminate the rocking which is an annoyance and potential distraction.

You might also add a propane burner to your 'eventual upgrade' list...

I had a ceramic stove back right when I got out of college and it used to set pots rocking like that. A physicist friend explained the mechanism to me...I can't for the life of me remember it now, and if I tried to guess I'm sure I'd botch it up. It is "normal" in terms of the physics involved, but that is not to say that it is good for your stove. If it settles down above 150F, I'd probably just keep it firmly anchored until then.

Sorry that's not much help. It isn't really the pot's problem, unless it has a convex bottom and won't sit flat.

I have regular electric elements. My 6.5 gal, 3 gal & 2 gal pots all wiggle but stop at some temp. Has always done it, been using the 3 gal pot 25 years for cooking other stuff. I don't worry about it.

ok, i'll let it be. Perhaps if I put a weight on one of the handles to mimic my hand it'll settle out. It is a pretty light weight ssteel, but waddaya want for $50.00?

Here is what I did to calm my rocking pot down! Added two weights to the handles. Worked great!!!

Have that same kettle and use a GE profile glass cooktop. Found that I need to use the side that has a bridge element between the two burners to get a good boil in a reasonable time. Mine makes noise, sounds like there is water between the kettle and cooktop, but didn't shake or rock much. Once the boil was going the noises stopped.

Not only did the weights stop Gmarcucios' pot from rocking, the pot developed it's own six pack !!

This really is a blast from the past. I got it to stop rocking by starting out a 4 rather than 10 on the burner intensity setting. Heat slowly and rocking is a thing of the past.

Usually this happens when the bottom of your pot is very thin. If you have a heavy bottomed pot, it doesn't tend to happen, but if its thin your pot will go out of round as the metal expands.

I think this is exacerbated by electric stoves since they don't tend to heat evenly. Just be careful b/c you don't want it to go permanently out of round.

spokaniac said:

Have that same kettle and use a GE profile glass cooktop. Found that I need to use the side that has a bridge element between the two burners to get a good boil in a reasonable time. Mine makes noise, sounds like there is water between the kettle and cooktop, but didn't shake or rock much. Once the boil was going the noises stopped.

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My stove doesn't have a bridge between two burners. My concern is more safety than anything. I don't want the foolish pot to fly off the stove onto me with boiling water in it.

TomD said:

Not only did the weights stop Gmarcucios' pot from rocking, the pot developed it's own six pack !!

Click to expand...

I doubt if I'll have a "six pack" after drinking all of the beer