Thinking of a Camp Chef Tahoe

I've been brewing all grain inside for the last 2 and a bit years. I have a NG stove top and my boil pot covers three burners (the big one and two little ones) they bring my 5 gallon batches to a boil no problem have to turn all three down to 50% once a rolling boil is achieved. (takes wort ~20 - 25 minutes to come to a boil).

So I'm quite comfortable inside by the Big Screen TV for football season, warm in the winter.

But the wife has been making noises and during are short summer heating the whole house up is an issue. Been looking at this Camp Chef Tahoe TB90LW that's on sale at Peavy Mart right now. Three burners 30,000 BTU each. Will be using it in conjunction with 10 gallon Boilermakers. I also have a 1,000watt bucket heater I use for auxillary heat when necessary.

These are my individual issues. One, I am in Northern Alberta. So outdoor brewing is not really feasable for almost 6 months so it packing up small is a real plus. (will revert back to indoor and face the rath of SWMBO in the winter) Also that means buying sculpture from Northern Brewer is not possible and shipping a bit prohibative from More Beer.

Two, I'm a pretty comitted batch sparger and probably will continue so gravity etc. is not that important. (although I al ready have a March pump).

Any experience on these? Will it take two hours for a boil? Will the legs collapse soaking me with 5 gallons of boiling wort?

TIA

Rudeboy

Camp Chef makes good stuff. I have one of their low pressure burners and it works well for my direct fired mash tun. Now then, it appears that the Tahoe unit is equipped with three low pressure burners. They will get you to a boil, but it will be slow. You'd be better of with at least two high pressure burners. The legs should be able to support the weight, but I would check into that further if I were you. The bigger issue is space. I'm not so sure you could fit three kettles on it. Maybe if you limit yourself to 5 gallon batches you could make it work, but for the price, you might be better off buying two or three individual cookers with more horsepower on at least two of them. Give the Camp Chef people a call and ask some questions. I'm sure they can help you determine if it will be suitable for your needs.

Got a basement? Go indoor electric and brew year round down there, it can be done cheap and simple.

wilserbrewer said:

Got a basement? Go indoor electric and brew year round down there, it can be done cheap and simple.

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Oah Kay, any plans. Sans 220.

Rudeboy

Rudeboy said:

Oah Kay, any plans. Sans 220.

Rudeboy

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No plans sorry, a 1500w 120v element in a cooler will heat plenty of sparge water if you are patient, if impatient, put it on a cheap appliance timer and plan ahead. Two 120 circuits will support 3-4000 watts. 15 amp will do 1500, 20 amp willl do 2000. I use heat sticks, but the elements could easily be kettle or cooler mounted if that is your preference. My "manual" pump for sparge water is on the lower shelf, originally a three tier, I cut it down to a simple two tier and prefer to just use the pitcher moving a gallon at a time for sparging. IME 2 elements at 2000w each easily boils ten gallons for a 1/4 keg ( 7.75 gal.) batch. The simple window fan clears the room nicely if allowed to run for an hour or so after the boil.