I have been thinking about switching from propane to electric heat for a while and today I made the switch. I took an old brew kettle and drilled a hole in the side that fits a standard 1500W water heater element. I wired it in through a GFCI (safety first) and tried boiling 3 gallons of water. It took 40 minutes to go from 60 degrees to boiling. I did notice that the boiling was primarily occurring directly over the element, but it was being circulated throughout the kettle. Since my hot tap water comes out at 130 degrees, I figure I should be able to get 5 gallons to boil in 30 minutes or so. I have not brewed yet, but I wondered if anyone else had done anything like this. I could not find anything with a search. The entire set up (minus the wiring which I had laying around) cost about $30. I will recover that in two propane tanks. I would like to hear anyone else's experience.
Made an electric kettle
- Thread starter nothreat
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Scut_Monkey
Well-Known Member
Glad to hear it turned out good. Pictures are always good! I'm looking to make an electric setup in the future to allow brewing inside without freezing.
Yes, it has been done. Lots. I have two 15.5 gallon sanke kegs with 5500W 240V elements in them that really get it ON.
Electric rocks.
OhioBrewingTechnologies
Well-Known Member
Are you on city or well water? Are you sure you want to use that water for making beer?
NTOLERANCE
Well-Known Member
I just got a pair of 15 gal keggles and dont have any burners.
Got a pic or link of your electric setup?
I built my stuff based on the documented efforts of others, namely The Pol. See this thread for lots of great info.
For your viewing pleasure:
nothreat
Well-Known Member
I will get some pictures, but my camera is not here right now. Since ScutMonkey mentioned brewing without freezing, I should mention that the temperature was 39 degrees outside where I was boiling, so it was a pretty good test. I also want brew in the garage in the winter without leaving the door open. The SWMBO does not like the smell of wort in the house! I need to make some type of cap or covering for the element electrical connections. I thought about smearing RTV/Silicon Rubber over the whole unit. Nonconductive and easily removed, but fairly durable.
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