Electric Stove & Volume

I planned on using my electric stove for my brewing process, but after reading some of the problems people have I may have to find another way. My question is what volume of water are you bringing to a boil for a 5 gallon batch of beer? I have The Complete Joy of Home Brewing (3E) and the instructions he gives in the "Especially For Beginners" section is to bring 2 gallons to a boil, and add 3 gallons of cold water to your carboy. Then, when everything is ready, add your 2 gallons + ingredients to the 3 gallons of cold water, bringing your final volume to 5 gallons.

The posters I have seen who have problems getting their water to boil on an electric stove say they're boiling all 5 gallons at once. Which way is preferred? Will I be okay with an electric stove top if I do the 2 gallons boiled added to 3 gallons cold water?

it is preferred to do all 5 gallons at once. but if your stove cant handle it, it cant handle it. just do some research on converting recipes to partial boils. also do a test to see how much water you can boil on your stove. you may luck out and be able to boil all 5 gallons. try using more than one burner if you can.

2 Pots is all I can think of, and my method with electric stove. But, the price of a second nice stainless steel brew pot, vs the cost of a propane burner for your existing pot is something to consider. The propane burner is a multi-tasker- lowcountry boil, fish fry, etc.

Thanks for the advice, I'll consider getting one of those propane burners and just do it on my porch (live in an apartment complex). Do you ever worry about working in the outdoor environment, is there a higher chance of infection vs. working indoors?

*The biggest pot I have is 8qt so I can't do a practice run on getting 5 gallons to boil yet.

I've brought 7 gallons of wort to a boil on my electric stove without any trouble.

I built an insulating jacket around my kettle.

I don't have a real good picture of it but you can see it somewhat in this picture:

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/4184/img0364rg.jpg

I had no problem boiling 6.5 gals on my stovetop with a few tweaks. See my signature below for a link to some tips.

Great threads there FlyGuy, I've heard of people complaining about the non-stainless steel pots, have you ever had a problem?

Also, I LOVE the T-siphon design. Just to clarify, the T section needs to be hanging BELOW the bottom of the top vessel (primary) but above the bottom vessel (secondary or bottling bucket), right?

ThirdGen said:

Thanks for the advice, I'll consider getting one of those propane burners and just do it on my porch (live in an apartment complex). Do you ever worry about working in the outdoor environment, is there a higher chance of infection vs. working indoors?

*The biggest pot I have is 8qt so I can't do a practice run on getting 5 gallons to boil yet.

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as long as the water is above 140F-150F the risk of infection is slim to none. if the water is boiling the risk is zero. anything that gets into your brew during the boil is "flavoring". my friend and i brew in his garage with the door open just a foot or two inside the opening. we haven't had a problem yet. i probably wouldn't brew outdoors on a windy day. don't want to get dirt in your brew, tastes awful. if your worried put a lid on your pot while you are cooling.

I boiled about 3.5 gallons on a standard whirlpool stove with no issues. It takes a while to get up to temp, but it can boil. Then I add the remaining 2 or so gallons in the primary fermenter, to which I added the chilled wort.

ThirdGen said:

Great threads there FlyGuy, I've heard of people complaining about the non-stainless steel pots, have you ever had a problem?

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No, not at all. Aluminum pots are superior to SS in my opinion. Most of the people that complain about aluminum pots have never actually used them, or don't know how to treat them properly.

Also, I LOVE the T-siphon design. Just to clarify, the T section needs to be hanging BELOW the bottom of the top vessel (primary) but above the bottom vessel (secondary or bottling bucket), right?

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Yes, it is still a siphon, so it will only work if the length of tubing running down into the destination vessel is below the bottom of the source vessel. Glad you liked it!

Remember, one benefit of using a propane burner is that since it requires that you move outside to use it, whatever you do will stay out there. The smell of your boiling wort, the smell of burning sugars if/when you have a boilover, etc.

SWMBO never questioned the expense of the propane burner setup since it meant I would no longer be "stinking up the house." Also, one boilover on my smoothtop electric range resulted in a 20 minute brewing delay so that I could stop the smoke detectors from alarming, turn off the burner, scrape off the sizzling wort, switch burners and clean up the mess, and resume boiling...the first time I boiled over on my propane burner, I just kept it going. Nothing to cleanup out there.

I picked up a canning element for $25 for my stove, really increases the heat my stove can output.

The general thought is that the more water you can have in your boil the better off you are (mainly for lighter color, better hop utilization, dechlorinating of water). Very little adjustment needs to be made to your recipe if you are using extract.
When on the stove I use 2 pots, splitting the ingredients and can boil 3 gallons in each fairly well.
I recently picked up a 35 quart pot and could not really keep a boil rolling very well on my electric stove. I moved to the garage and a propane burner. -- I will not be going back to the kitchen until it is VERY cold in the garage.

Our stovetop could bring the water to boil, however it was a lengthy wait. Like nebben the wife didn't like the stinking up of the house deal either. You can always buy a cheap turkey fryer burner as well. My next batch will be outside!

If I end up doing the 2 gallon boils for the wort, what's the minimum size pot I would need to achieve a good rolling boil, 10 quarts? What would be ideal?

Same question for if I do all 5 gallons at once (6 gallon pot?). Thanks!

Keep in mind you're going to lose ~gallon during your boil, more if you're using whole leaf hops or a lot of hops in general for an ipa.

For a 5 gallon beer, I would boil 6-6.5 gallons of wort. For ease of working, I would suggest an 8 gallon kettle.

I've boiled up 4 gallons on an apartment stove. However, it takes forever to reach 212F.

Depending on what your brewing technique is (i.e. if you are doing partial mash or extract), you can usually get away with boiling 2-3.5 gallons, depending on the recipe without any problems on a stove.

If you're going AG, you'll need to go the propane route, supplement your stove with an additional heating element, or do multiple boils/multiple pots.

Propane is getting pricey and will probably stay pricey, so that's definitely a factor to consider...

Thanks ReverseApacheMaster, propane is indeed a bit expensive. I was going to do extract initially so I think the electric stove should be fine.

ThirdGen said:

Thanks ReverseApacheMaster, propane is indeed a bit expensive. I was going to do extract initially so I think the electric stove should be fine.

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You'll be fine that way. Just figure out the maximum you can boil in a decent amount of time and go with that.

Before I got a canning element I could do 4 gallons, but it took forever. 3.5 was about right.

Sounds good. So just to clarify, the initial boil volume can vary (2, 3.5, or 5 gallons) because basically you're just making the wort and activating the diastase enzymes to convert your starches to fermentable sugars. Everything will end up in the right proportions once you top your primary to 5 gallons and pitch your yeast.

This fit my standard apartment stove just fine:

http://www.partadvantage.com/store/showpart/10269027

bovineblitz said:

This fit my standard apartment stove just fine:

http://www.partadvantage.com/store/showpart/10269027

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I think those canning elements are a great idea. With one of those (cheaper than a propane burner, BTW), and by following the tips in my Improved Boiling on the Stovetop thread (see my sig), anyone should EASILY be able to get 6.5 gals to a rolling boil on the stovetop very quickly. Not sure why there are so many people saying it can't be done...