electric turkey fryer

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

friarjohn

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Messages
337
Reaction score
2
Location
Peoria
just wondering, the masterbilt electric 28 quaurt electric turkey fryer says it will go up to 400 degrees. it has an adjustable thermostat. Wally-mart is selling for $100 bucks. anyone using of these?
 
I bought masterbuilt's butterball branded indoor turkey fryer and used it during Thanksgiving. It's a little smaller than the one you're mentioning, but probably uses the same heating element, becuase you can't go but so big on 120V/15A.

It worked great for the turkey, much easier than my gas-fired model (which is now used for beer brewing). The temperature control was accurate enough when heating oil (+/- 5 degrees), but waaaaaaaaaaay off (+/- 40 degrees) when heating water.

I also used it to steam 5 lbs of clams, for which it worked great. I think both models are universal fryer/boiler/steamers.

The one I have is essentially a big honkin fry daddy in a nice case with a temp control and timer. ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JM1ZMY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 ) I was able to get it at a pre-T-day sale for $99 at Academy Sports.

It took about 35 minutes for the oil to come up to frying temp (375) which is the max setting on the model I have.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ive been using one for a couple of years as a HLT and jrfuda is right about the temp sensor when heating water. it helps a little to stir the water on occasion but it still falls somewhere about -15 degrees compared to other thermostats.
the only other thing I can think of as negative is heating time but that really is negated if I start heating the HLT water first and then mill my grain. if I do it that way, and start with hot water from the faucet it works out and is nearly ready by the time the milling is done.
 
I have one that I use as an MLT for brew-in-a-bag. It can do 2 1/2 to 3 gallons. I just heat some sparge water on the stovetop to rinse the bag. I picked it up off Ebay for about $75 new.

I strap a 5 gallon paint strainer inside the steamer/strainer that came with it, and once I pull the grains, I can use it as a boil kettle. Can't really boil more than 2 gallons though without covering it with the lid. Once I achieve boil, I can partially crack the lid, but if you uncover it totally, you'll lose the boil. I think the element is only about 1200 watts or so.

Getting the aluminum kettle out of the housing to chill in the sink is a little awkward, because you have to tilt the kettle to clear the drain spout on the housing, while avoiding spilling the wort. Not impossible, just awkward.

As others have said - forget about the temp being accurate with the dial. My experience is that it's at least 25 degrees off on a mash. I just use it to maintain temps.

The setup does work OK though for doing step mashes, but you've got to stir like crazy & keep from getting hot spots.

Look at the "Similar Threads" below - and you'll see more than a few people have tried these with varying success.
 
Back
Top