Spike brew kettle

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jodell

Welltown Brewery
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So I just bought myself the 20gallon Spike brew kettle with a few custom welds in it and wow I am excited for it to come in (I'm guessing a few weeks). Now all I have to do is get a HLT and a MT from them too...

Also need to figure out what recipe I am going to break it in with;

a Hoppy Pilsner
Imperial Stout
Pale Ale
Hefeweizen
or a Porter

My last three brews were a marzen/pumpkin ale split batch, and black lager/ dry stout split batch, and a really friggin good IPA.

What do you all think I should break it in with?
 
I would vote for that really friggin good IPA!

Honestly I have always brewed on a new kettle with recipes I am familiar with. Even if I am doubling up on the recipe at least I know what to expect, with the boil off the only unknown...

Really good choice for equipment!!!

:mug:
 
If you don't mind me asking, what custom welds did you have added and what was the added cost?

I'm thinking about turning my current 14 gal kettle into a HLT and buying a new kettle. I like the custom options Spike offers, specifically for adding an electric element with a tri-clover fitting. Never had a leak with my weldless set-up, but tri-clover sure is nice!
 
I would vote for that really friggin good IPA!

Honestly I have always brewed on a new kettle with recipes I am familiar with. Even if I am doubling up on the recipe at least I know what to expect, with the boil off the only unknown...

Really good choice for equipment!!!

:mug:

I have brewed all of these except the hefe, and I just moved to an area where I can get bells and I just tried there winter white ale and loved it! I would do the IPA but I still have half a keg and 30 bottles of it... so that's the only reason I'm not doing that one. I am really excited to get this kettle in though!
 
If you don't mind me asking, what custom welds did you have added and what was the added cost?

I'm thinking about turning my current 14 gal kettle into a HLT and buying a new kettle. I like the custom options Spike offers, specifically for adding an electric element with a tri-clover fitting. Never had a leak with my weldless set-up, but tri-clover sure is nice!

I only added a port to install a whirlpool port. If I didn't have all the parts to put a heating element in already I would have gone with tri-clover fittings.
 
Where on the kettle do you have the whirlpool port? I'd like one as well, but I'm not sure what the proper location should be (how high up on the kettle)
 
He told me just above the ball valve and to the side. I think it's 4in up, about at the 4-5 gallon mark. If you contact them they are very helpful
 
Just bought the ingredients for the Hefeweizen and the Pilsner. We are going german in my house for awhile. really can't wait for this kettle to come in
 
Thanks! Sounds like they have figured out the optimal location.

Can anyone post some pictures of their whirlpool port?


Here are the plans and an image that spike brewing sent me.

Boil Kettle_15_crop.png


Whirlpool - Copy.jpg
 
duvnull, that's the same, front, configuration as I have on my whirlpool. The only addition I have is a 1.5 TC for my electric element on the back. I had mine directly opposite the valve, which...if I could do it over again...I would have offset the 1.5 TC so the tip of the heating element was not moving into the other fittings. I ended up bending the element and all worked out well. But something to keep in mind if someone was to do this setup with a heating element.

I will say, again...I do love my Spike kettles. I've brewed on Bayou and Blichmann...I would take the Spike over either. Love'em!
 
Here are the plans and an image that spike brewing sent me.

Thanks! The pictures and diagram are a great help!

duvnull, that's the same, front, configuration as I have on my whirlpool. The only addition I have is a 1.5 TC for my electric element on the back. I had mine directly opposite the valve, which...if I could do it over again...I would have offset the 1.5 TC so the tip of the heating element was not moving into the other fittings. I ended up bending the element and all worked out well. But something to keep in mind if someone was to do this setup with a heating element.

That's great info, as I want the electric element too! What size element did you use, and how long was it compared to the diameter of the kettle? I typically see the element either at the back or on the side, 90 degrees from the outlet port.

I've seen 2" and 1.5" TC fittings for electric elements; any insight into which size is best? Seems like 1.5" is most common, but most of the vendors out there sell both sizes.

I will say, again...I do love my Spike kettles. I've brewed on Bayou and Blichmann...I would take the Spike over either. Love'em!

What in particular makes it better than the competition? I'm considering either Spike or Stout at this point, mainly because they both offer the welded fittings instead of weldless.
 
That's great info, as I want the electric element too! What size element did you use, and how long was it compared to the diameter of the kettle? I typically see the element either at the back or on the side, 90 degrees from the outlet port.


I bought BrewHardware.com 's 1.5" TC 5500W ULWD ripple heating element


Works real nice for my 5gallon 2 Kettle K-Rims system. The element would fit into the kettle, but it would touch the inside of the valve. This obviously wasn't going to work considering I still had to add the interior pick-up tube. I bent it carefully and it went pretty easy. I was happy with the results.


ele_zpsl5t21e9h.jpg


ele1_zpsgcbhnmjc.jpg



ele2_zpsq3fcmzst.jpg


I've seen 2" and 1.5" TC fittings for electric elements; any insight into which size is best? Seems like 1.5" is most common, but most of the vendors out there sell both sizes.

My heating element had the 1.5" TC built into the element. The 1.5" worked fine...I'm sure 2" would be good too.

What in particular makes it better than the competition? I'm considering either Spike or Stout at this point, mainly because they both offer the welded fittings instead of weldless.

I haven't used the Stout kettles. But comparing Blichmann and Bayou to the Spike. I thought heft, weight and heat retention was on par with Blichmann. But then you have the welded fittings on the Spike which is nice. I like the SPike false bottom better also. It seems to get less grain stuck in between the openings...and on this subject...false bottom cleaning is a snap with the Spike. Blichmann I always seem to have to pick some out of the slots. Lids fit nicely on the Spike handles is a nice touch. While there is nothing wrong with brewing on Bayou Kettles...I don't think they are on par with the quality of either the Blichmann or the Spike.

I put a good deal of thought into ordering my kettles. I'm really pleased with them. If I had to order them over, I would give more consideration to TC fittings for all connections...then price out the valve difference. Not sure if I would have gone all TC, but it's something worth looking into.

Have Fun!
 
All good info - Thanks!

I'm assuming if your system is 5 gallons, then the kettle is 10 gallons. How long was the heating element? Spike's site says the 10 gallon kettle is 13.8" diameter, and a lot of the 5500W elements say they are 14" long. From your picture, it looks like overall length isn't an issue, but I want to be sure before I spend the money...
 
I've seen 2" and 1.5" TC fittings for electric elements; any insight into which size is best? Seems like 1.5" is most common, but most of the vendors out there sell both sizes.

2" makes for easier insertion/removal of the heating element, when compared to 1.5". not as big a deal for straight elements but a nice feature for the ripple elements.
 
All good info - Thanks!

I'm assuming if your system is 5 gallons, then the kettle is 10 gallons. How long was the heating element? Spike's site says the 10 gallon kettle is 13.8" diameter, and a lot of the 5500W elements say they are 14" long. From your picture, it looks like overall length isn't an issue, but I want to be sure before I spend the money...


Yes, the kettles are 10gallon kettles. Element is approximately 13.5" long to the TC flange. The TC ferrule, on the Spike kettle, is about 1 1/4"...this leaves about 12" of the heating element inside the kettle. The 1.5" TC with my ripple is easy to put in...perhaps others are different. Hope the info helps.

One other thing. If you get the TC fitting for your heating element, I would go ahead and get the blank cap too. It would be handy if you remove your heating element and wash the kettle in the utility sink.
 
So I just bought myself the 20gallon Spike brew kettle with a few custom welds in it and wow I am excited for it to come in (I'm guessing a few weeks).

If you don't mind my asking, what did they charge for the custom welds?

I'm planning to purchase a 50 gal. Kettle next month but wonder what it's going to cost for a 1-1/2" TC and whirlpool fitting. I don't mind paying a reasonable cost to have these fittings installed and welded but I understand their custom welds can be quite expensive.
 
Anybody know what they'really typical boil off rate for a 20 gallon spike kettle is? I need a ballpark answer for my brew tomorrow
 
Anybody know what they'really typical boil off rate for a 20 gallon spike kettle is? I need a ballpark answer for my brew tomorrow

boil off rate is a function of your heat source and the amount of energy. if electric, what size is your heating element? what voltage? what is the duty cycle? if propane, what type of burner? boiling indoors or outdoors? kettle size/configuration doesn't play into it much, other than it takes more time to heat up more water.

i also have 20 gal spike kettles on an electric setup. 5500 watt element running at 240 volt. my boil off rate is about 1.9 gallons per hour with my pid set on manual and 90% duty cycle (element on full blast for 90% of a given time frame, then off for 10% off that time frame).
 
boil off rate is a function of your heat source and the amount of energy. if electric, what size is your heating element? what voltage? what is the duty cycle? if propane, what type of burner? boiling indoors or outdoors? kettle size/configuration doesn't play into it much, other than it takes more time to heat up more water.

i also have 20 gal spike kettles on an electric setup. 5500 watt element running at 240 volt. my boil off rate is about 1.9 gallons per hour with my pid set on manual and 90% duty cycle (element on full blast for 90% of a given time frame, then off for 10% off that time frame).

I have a SSBrewtech same pot and element size. Once I get it to a boil I cut it back to 65-70% and get 1.2 GPH. Not saying you are doing it wrong just illustrating how much difference you can get and reinforcing your first statement
 
I too would love an answer to this question.

I had them price out a 15g kettle with one extra weld. The kettle was $270 compared to the standard $240, so seems like $30 a weld. I ended up just buying off the shelf, since the custom work took an extra week, and I wanted to get brewing. (Of course, it still took them a week to ship, but that's a whole other story...)
 
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