Boiling ~6 gal on gas stove?

Hi yall.

Haven't made a post in awhile or even done anything related to brewing in several months. Spent a couple months in Europe, plus school started and been busy with that.

This might have been covered in another thread, but here's my situation:

I moved into a smaller apartment that has a gas stove. (rare for any apartment I've seen) It appears one large pot can be placed across two burners on one side.

Here's a pic with my celly:



My idea is to find a brew pot to boil about 6 gallons of wort (I'm tired of partial boils). Also note the pot would have to clear the microwave right above at a height of about 12".

Thoughts of energy costs aside, would this work?

Make another note, I have NOT yet been to the local home brew shop to see what they have...yet

Just want to make sure this would work before I buy anything.

You might want to check out this thread.

I regularly do full 6 gallon boils on my stovetop, and I haven't even insulated my pot yet. I do, however, straddle it across two burners.

weirdboy said:

You might want to check out this thread.

I regularly do full 6 gallon boils on my stovetop, and I haven't even insulated my pot yet. I do, however, straddle it across two burners.

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Excellent. I found that thread just after posting. Fantastic info, but I'm weary about catching something on fire with the gas stove. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to home brew shop and see what they have.

Does your pot fit all the way across?

I straddle my 7gal turkey fryer pot across my two gas burners for a 6 gal boil every time I brew. I would just try a boil 6 gal of plain water to see if you can do it first.

I see an electrical outlet in the back ground...perhaps a heatstick could help that old stove bring wort to a boil. Even a small 1500 watt element and the most basic burner would likely achieve a decent boil.

GFI on the outlet for safety! Can't tell from the pic but not too hard to add one.

rainingbullets said:

Excellent. I found that thread just after posting. Fantastic info, but I'm weary about catching something on fire with the gas stove. Looks like I'll have to make a trip to home brew shop and see what they have.

Does your pot fit all the way across?

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No, it does not. I currently use some aluminum foil as a sort of skirt around the pot and burners to help direct the flames that aren't directly underneath the pot.

I use one burner (no straddling here) and can bring 6.5 gallons to a boil. It takes a long time and it isn't very vigorous, but I made some great beers that way before I switched to propane outside. The burner I use looks like the size of your front burners there.

weirdboy said:

No, it does not. I currently use some aluminum foil as a sort of skirt around the pot and burners to help direct the flames that aren't directly underneath the pot.

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I messed around with this and I would suggest extreme caution. It is pretty easy to create a gas tent that can explode or flame burst, trust me

However, I did buy some "burner skirts" that seem to help. They fit on tightly and no risk of a gas bomb.

I think your biggest problem would be clearance.

6 gallon pots are usually quite tall.

I do the same, with two burners on my stove, but I dont have clearance issues. Look at getting a graniteware pot, its what i use. It is a bit shorter and wider, perfect for two burners and sits 12" exactly high. It is an 8.5 gallon pot. paid 45 shipped from amazon

bhatchable said:

I do the same, with two burners on my stove, but I dont have clearance issues. Look at getting a graniteware pot, its what i use. It is a bit shorter and wider, perfect for two burners and sits 12" exactly high. It is an 8.5 gallon pot. paid 45 shipped from amazon

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Interesting, This could be what I'm looking for! No problems with weird flavors, etc.. from these types of pots?

nope, ceramic coated stainless steel. I've dropped it and can't chip or injure it. my grandma has had hers for 40 years, they are solid. No flavor contribution whatsoever. mine is 34 qts, only 12 inch tall and covers two burners perfectly. Even look at their canning pot line...shorter and wider, still 8.5 gallon and only another 2 inches in diameter and maybe 9 or 10 inches tall.. they are amazing home brewpots forf a great price. you just don't have a chance of drilling it to add goodies. But i figure pouring it, as heavy as it can be sometimes) into fermenter after being cooled from the pot is my aeration

Amazon.com: Columbian Home 33-Quart Jar Canner and Rack: Kitchen & Dining

Check this one out man. 10 inches tall, 17.5 round base. just measured against my gas stove, perfect for two burners and it'll give you two inches of play below your overhang microwave

rainingbullets said:

Interesting, This could be what I'm looking for! No problems with weird flavors, etc.. from these types of pots?

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"Weird flavors" are not the problem. What you want is an aluminum pot with at least a 1/8" wall thickness. I have both aluminum and stainless, and the aluminum can get larger volumes to a boil. Heat distribution and absorbsion is much greater with the aluminum. With burner mods, 8 gallon boils in a 10 gallon pot are possible on my gas stovetop.

Something like this:
Aluminum Stock Pot

Edit: Forgot about your clearance problem.
May be one of these:
Sauce Pot

Do a search for sauce pot on the Instaware site for more configurations.

Maybe an oval pot like this would work best

Amazon.com: Magnalite Classic 18-Inch Oval Covered Roaster: Home & Garden

davemb said:

Maybe an oval pot like this would work best

Amazon.com: Magnalite Classic 18-Inch Oval Covered Roaster: Home & Garden

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Holy b'jesus! 132 bones? While I'm sure it's worth it, I also need some money left over to get an immersion chiller to go along with it.

So I went down to the brew shop to see what they had. Sadly, no brew pots like I was looking for. Everything was too tall. But, they did have a really nice 25' copper chiller w/ fittings for $55

Out of all the choices I really like this one:
Aluminum Sauce Pot - 40 Quart, Sauce Pots, Cookware at Instawares

For some reason I'm drawn to the aluminum...just what I'm used to. Too bad they cut the price just short of the $50 free shipping range

rainingbullets said:

Too bad they cut the price just short of the $50 free shipping range

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Add this to the order. Cheezy, but not bad for a backup and $3.01 will get you the free shipping.

Pocket Thermometer - 1-1/4 inch, Thermometers - Kitchen

rainingbullets said:

So I went down to the brew shop to see what they had. Sadly, no brew pots like I was looking for. Everything was too tall. But, they did have a really nice 25' copper chiller w/ fittings for $55

Click to expand...

Make your own IC (IMO)! You can make a 50' one for cheaper than $50 (or do what I did and make a 35' IC and 15' pre-chiller). There are lots of instructions all over the intrawebs. Plus it's fun to do and you get the satisfaction of having built something cool that nobody else will ever be able to identify.

AnOldUR said:

Add this to the order. Cheezy, but not bad for a backup and $3.01 will get you the free shipping.

Pocket Thermometer - 1-1/4 inch, Thermometers - Kitchen

Click to expand...

BOOO "This item does not qualify for free shipping"

Plan: Friday when I have time I will visit Cash and Carry. (restaurant supply store) See what the have as far as large sauce pots. If nothing....screw it. Instawares.com will get my money on shipping.

Also, I like the idea of making my own chiller. I'm wondering if the total cost could be less than $55 (fittings, hose clamps, copper tube, etc)

I hav been brein on a gas stove for years. I use my 7.5 gallon brew kettle and a 2 gallon spaghetti pot together to reach a boil. Once I hit m pre-boil volume, I start heating wort in both. When the small pot boils, I dump it in the kettle and refill it. Once the kettle boils, I quit. It let's me heat from two burners without a huge footprint.
That said, I just got a Bayou sp10 delivered from Amazon today. I fired it up briefly and, good lord, what a difference! I just sat there watching the flame and laughing. I can't wait for brew day!

rainingbullets said:

BOOO "This item does not qualify for free shipping"

Click to expand...

Ahhhh . . . I didn't read the fine print.

Do you need a spoon?

Basting Spoon - S/S - 15'' - Solid, Kitchen Spoons at Instawares
Wooden Spoon - 18in, Miscellaneous Kitchen Supplies at Instawares

Update:

SO I went by Cash and Carry to see what they have. Some decent cookware of course, but they wanted waaay too much for it. Looks like instawares.com it is!

Also, went down to Lowes to check out some copper tubing. Here's the breakdown I got:

3/8" (0.5"OD) 20' coiled copper tubing...$28.47
0.5" X 4' OD plastic hose...$3.64
screw type hose clamps...$0.97
female garden hose fitting...$5.46
18G copper wire 25' (for tying tube)...$4.58

Anything else I need? Maybe a good way to bend around this tubing?

I'm at about $43.12 right now...better than the $55 unit I saw at the brew shop.

Getting back to bending...as I said before, the tubing I liked comes pre-coiled. What's the best way to bend this around? I'm sure there's a tool for this.

On a side note, I will be waiting until I get a brew pot situated to start working on a chiller....need to know what size I need to make it.

Thanks for all your help!

I'm not sure where you are located, but if you can find a crawfish pot that might suite your needs. One I have I think is around 8 gallons and can easily fit across 2 burners. They are aluminum and usually come with a strainer basket as well. You can find them from 5 to 40 or so gal and the big ones are only about $200 - $300, so they aren't to bad on the pocket book.

King Kooker: Our Products

Good for all of you cajun cooking needs. I don't know off hand what their pot widths are though.

Ok, here's the brew pot I got:
Aluminum Sauce Pot - 26 Quart, Sauce Pots, Cookware at Instawares

Just over 50 bucks with shipping and a lid. Not bad at all!

I just hope to god it fits....both across the burners and under my microwave. The website doesn't post dimensions!