Holy boilover, Batman...

I need a bigger brewpot. I was watching my boil religiously for awhile, but got cold and bored and went inside to straighten up the mess I had made in the kitchen mashing and sparging and such. When I went back outside, I found there had been a boilover which had snuffed out my burner.

Not much wort really spilled out, but it made a mess of the outside of my kettle.

I think I need a bigger one. I've been limping along with the one that came with my turkey fryer kit, but it's just barely big enough.

Me too! I'm looking at getting one of the 12.5 gallon ones from Instawares next month.

mmmmmmmmm, keggle.

McCall St. Brewer said:

I think I need a bigger one. I've been limping along with the one that came with my turkey fryer kit, but it's just barely big enough.

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...or try using some Foam control fermcap-s from northern brewer! (unsolicited ad...wheeeee!) Works wonders on starters to keep from boiling over. Don't see why it wouldn't work on full boil. Plus it keeps kreusen down when fermenting. Double boner dude!

Same situation here McCall St., I've been brewin on and off for over twenty years. Hadn't had a boilover in a decade or two. Sure enough, last two batches I left unnattended and boiled over. What a pain in the a$$. Ended up scrubbing my burner w/ a scotch brite so it would burn properly again.

I think even w/ a larger pot it pays to pay attention. Never tried the fermcap.

regards, Mike

I think it was Edwort I saw who uses a wireless digital meat thermometer. Ed could tell you exactly but I think he sets the alarms to a specific temperature then dangles the probe a few inches above the boiling wort. When the foam get close to the probe or makes contact with it he gets a nice heads up warning on the remote receiver and can go tend the kettle before a mess occurs. I think his was something like this: I need one too.

ohiobrewtus said:

mmmmmmmmm, keggle.

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a total must
JJ

don't worry...you can still have boilovers in huge pots....trust me I walked away from a keggle with all kinds of extra space and that foam still managed to climb about a foot and spill over the edge. Nothin' like that burnt wort smell!

You don't need a bigger pot -- you need Fermcap/Foam Control. Magic stuff, right up there with Star San and 5.2 pH stabilizer.

I do 6.5 gal boils in my 7.5 gal pot on my stovetop and I never even think about boil-overs now. I really, really wish I had found this stuff years ago.

Uuurang / Flyguy,

Thanks for the advice, I think I may have to try the fermcap. I'm gettin less attentive w/ every batch.

Mike

ScubaSteve said:

don't worry...you can still have boilovers in huge pots....trust me I walked away from a keggle with all kinds of extra space and that foam still managed to climb about a foot and spill over the edge. Nothin' like that burnt wort smell!

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I think that's the problem with the tall, skinny design of a keggle. My pot is wide and even when I added a 4oz hop addition to 15 gal, it didn't foam but maybe 1" up. I think it's the surface area allowing more foam to cool and subside faster. I also get about 4 out of 19 gal boil-off in 60min - could be a benefit if you're looking for a higher gravity AG...

Beer can boil over a huge pot in no time. I usually start my first runnings boiling while I sparge the mash. I have had boil overs with a wort volume in the kettle of less than 1/3 the kettle volume.

Once you have gotten the hot break and have a nice consistent boil, then you can go inside to clean up. I like that I can see my wort boiling in my garage from my kitchen. That way I can tell if there is any problems with a quick glance.

Craig

I used a spray bottle with water this past weekend and it worked like a charm. When it starts to foam and get close to the top, trigger trigger spray spray mist mist, and it keeps it under control until it drops in a few minutes.

A watched pot never boils they say, but an unwatched pot of wort WILL boil over.