How to reduce boil off

CornyKegs 728
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cheesecake

cheesecake

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Well im asking this question because in a hour of boiling i boil off 2 3/4 gallons of water and im looking for ways to reduce that.
Im using a 10 gallon aluminum brew pot with a 4500 watt element. I have to have the element set to 78% to maintain a boil. The pot is not insulated and i don't use a lid so now my question is what should i do to reduce boil off

Thanks in advance:tank:
 
I boil off quite a bit using my 5500 watt element. I found that I only need to keep a 5 gallon batch (starting with 7.25 gallons) at 65% to keep a full rolling boil. You want a boil, of course, but you may be able to turn down the element a bit.

In the summer, I boil off less due to the humidity than I do in the winter. Drier climates cause more boil off.

Aside from possibly reducing the vigorness of the boil, I don't have any suggestions aside from accepting what it is.
 
YooperBrew said:
I boil off quite a bit using my 5500 watt element. I found that I only need to keep a 5 gallon batch (starting with 7.25 gallons) at 65% to keep a full rolling boil. You want a boil, of course, but you may be able to turn down the element a bit.

In the summer, I boil off less due to the humidity than I do in the winter. Drier climates cause more boil off.

Aside from possibly reducing the vigorness of the boil, I don't have any suggestions aside from accepting what it is.
Click to expand...

This year has been freakish for me. 30's and lower with 50 to 70% humidity. Wreaks havoc on estimating boil off. :mad: I have been boiling off less this winter than I did over summer. So, point is, get a hygrometer and keep an eye on humidity levels on brewday to get a feel (over time) of how much you'll need to compensate. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a calculator to do this.
 
Yeah i tried using the element at a lower percentage but it cuts the boil when the element shuts off. im wondering if insulating the pot would help hold heat in to allow me to run the element at a lower percentage
 
cheesecake said:
what should i do to reduce boil off
Click to expand...

Play around with leaving the cover on and lowering the power.

Of course you gotta watch the initial boil when the scummy protein foam develops but after that, all you need is some headroom of pot above the boil.

6" should be more than enough. So maybe pot size is an element of the solution?


Insulating will definitely allow you to lower power and maintain a boil.
Radiant heat loss from a pot is enormous.
 
I wouldn't consider covering the pot to be a viable option at all. Sure you'd reduce the boil off, but at what cost? It wouldn't be worth it. You'd be much better off just starting with more wort to begin with, rather than risking DMS.
 
I am just starting, but in either the Palmer or Papazian book, they suggested boiling with the cover off b/c off-flavor causing chemicals will boil out with the cover off and won't with it on. I have zero experience boiling with a cover, so it may not be a big deal, but I figured I'd throw it out there.
 
well im going to go and pick up some insulation so i can try to insulate the brew pot. hopefully it works
 
YooperBrew said:
I wouldn't consider covering the pot to be a viable option at all. Sure you'd reduce the boil off, but at what cost? It wouldn't be worth it. You'd be much better off just starting with more wort to begin with, rather than risking DMS.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I leave a cover on my pot but it's almost never all the way on.
So I end up making a lot of humidity.
I only have it fully covered when I'm coming up from cold-ish or when it's just water.
 
well im boiling water right now and after insulating the kettle im boiling at 67% power instead of the 78 it took before. boiloff has dropped some but i wont know untill the full 60 minutes is up
 
Well i finished a test boil. i boiled off 1.5 gallons this time with the pot insulated. the power was at 67 percent and it held a boil without dying out..

Insulation is the key
 

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