What powers your boil kettle?

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What powers your boil kettle?

  • Propane

  • Natural Gas

  • Electric

  • Stovetop (including electric, ng, etc.)

  • Other

Results are only viewable after voting.
freddyb

freddyb

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I just finished upgrading my boil kettle setup from a propane mult-tip jet burner/keggle combo to a 5500 watt electric keggle. Did the first run yesterday, a stout, and couldn't be happier with the performance of the new setup.

oldnew.jpg


Just curious to know what everyone else is using to boil their wort. Electric systems seem to be getting a lot of attention lately, but I'd guess a significant majority are using propane.

What powers your current boil kettle?
 
I currently have a couple of Banjo burners, but I'm preparing to make the switch to electric. I only have a 4500W element for my kettles. How long did it take to heat your water with the 5500W?
 
Fingers said:
I currently have a couple of Banjo burners, but I'm preparing to make the switch to electric. I only have a 4500W element for my kettles. How long did it take to heat your water with the 5500W?
Click to expand...

Right now the brew kettle heats the strike water and my converted cooler HLT (1440 watts) heats the sparge water before and during the mash. The brew kettle got the 10 gallons of strike water from tap to ~180 in a little over half an hour...faster than I could weigh and crush my grain so it worked out well timing wise.

I fly sparge and turn on the boil kettle once the element is covered by the wort. From the end of the sparge to the start of the boil was maybe 15 minutes for the 13 gallons or pre-boil volume.
 
IMO Natural Gas or Electric is the way to go. I just switched to brewing outside and I'm loving it, steaming up the house sucks especially in the winter when you shouldn't be running the A/C. Propane works well but who wants to pay $20 every 3 brews on top of having to haul around tanks.
 
Hooked into my NG and use 20 tip jet burners. I know they get a lot of bad press here, I love them. I couldn't imagine having propane tanks. If I didn't have NG, I would have to install a tank large enough to get delivery. :D
 
I currently use propane but tonight actually I have an electrician friend coming over to help me begin the electric conversion. I will being going with 5500w elements in both bk and hlt
 
I am using the stovetop at the mo, but I will be switching to a keggle with electric elements soon. Any thought about putting the elements uner the false bottom, or is that crazy?
 
zanemoseley said:
IMO Natural Gas or Electric is the way to go. I just switched to brewing outside and I'm loving it, steaming up the house sucks especially in the winter when you shouldn't be running the A/C. Propane works well but who wants to pay $20 every 3 brews on top of having to haul around tanks.
Click to expand...

Dog House Brew said:
Hooked into my NG and use 20 tip jet burners. I know they get a lot of bad press here, I love them. I couldn't imagine having propane tanks. If I didn't have NG, I would have to install a tank large enough to get delivery. :D
Click to expand...


I have a big propane tank that is filled quarterly.
Dryer, stove are both propane AND the grill is tied in as well. I tee-d off this system for my burner
 
I just got my electric HERMS. Up until then, I used my natural gas stove top for 5 gallon batches, and a big propane burner outdoors for 10 gallon batches. I'll still use the banjo burner for the biggest batches outdoors, but will do 5-7 gallon batches indoors on the electric.
 
Propane for now, but actively pursuing an all electric brewery. Picked up my kegs last week and hope to start cutting them soon. Then comes the purchase of all the elements, PIDs, wiring, breakers, etc.
 
YooperBrew said:
I just got my electric HERMS. Up until then, I used my natural gas stove top for 5 gallon batches, and a big propane burner outdoors for 10 gallon batches. I'll still use the banjo burner for the biggest batches outdoors, but will do 5-7 gallon batches indoors on the electric.
Click to expand...

THIS is what I am moving towards as well.
When the weather is nice I'd rather be outside but not being able to brew due to wind, rain, ice, snow is a BUMMER
 
Bobby_M said:
Geez Pol, did you leave any room in there for the wort?
Click to expand...

:off:
The chiller takes up the MOST volume, and that was calculated at .5 gallons displacement, so I figured that into the useable volume of the kettle.
 
Propane at the moment. My BK also acts as my HLT.

I'm a ways away from building a rig, but my current thinking is since I don't have the ability to use 240VAC, to keep using propane on the BK, a pump from the BK to the HLT, and the HLT will be electric (120, 1500W) to maintain the temps. Still thinking this through though.
 
I use my electric stove top. My pot is big enough to fit over two burners and it will reach a boil. You just have to wait awhile...

I really need to build a heat stick.
 
The Pol said:
That is one stubby element, what is he using?
Click to expand...

2000 HWD 120VAC element. (4 gallon batches)

Fingers said:
Not worried about leaving the copper chiller in the steel keg? I figure galvanic corrosion might cause some issues eventually.
Click to expand...

The chiller is removable. It is a HERMS coil and a chiller. Normally removed for storage.
 
Munsoned said:
Propane at the moment. My BK also acts as my HLT.

I'm a ways away from building a rig, but my current thinking is since I don't have the ability to use 240VAC, to keep using propane on the BK, a pump from the BK to the HLT, and the HLT will be electric (120, 1500W) to maintain the temps. Still thinking this through though.
Click to expand...

This is what I'll be doing until I get the EBK build in the future. i still need to figure out what I want to do about the 240 supply.
 
Propane, Nat Gas, and Electric are all very cheap around this area.

I have shocked myself enough times working on cars to know I shouldn't be messing with my house.

Propane only works out to a dollar or two a batch for me (10gal), so I see no reason to switch at the moment. Eventually I might switch the MLT or HLT to electric for ease if I feel like I need to burn some money. (120V, so all I have to do is plug it in...)
 
Just curious...for the two of you who voted 'other', what are you using? Coal?
 

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