All grain indoors in winter?

[sportscrazed2]

I want to get into all grain but it's november and it can get into the minus degrees in the winter. I don't know if I can get 5+ gallons boiling on my kitchen stove. Anyone try doing it indoors with a cooler?

 

[Sea]

I've done it indoors with a turkey fryer, though looking back, it was probably a really bad idea....

 

[Bernie Brewer]

go outside and brew, ya wuss.

 

[djt17]

I use a heatstick to assist my stove, works great.

 

[philrose]

Did it on the stovetop just las weekend.

 

[japhroaig]

heat stick/internal element. i was intimidated at first, but it is dayum cheap and easier than you think. just go with 1500 watt elements, they will cause you less headaches.

 

[sportscrazed2]

heat stick/internal element. i was intimidated at first, but it is dayum cheap and easier than you think. just go with 1500 watt elements, they will cause you less headaches.

is there an easy way to find out if my home wiring can support it?

 

[japhroaig]

yes there is. go out to your breaker panel and locate your kitchen breakers. if they say '20' on them, you can use 1500 watt elements. if you have outlets that look like these in your kitchen (http://images.cableorganizer.com/leviton/gfci/7899-sm.jpg -- it's the sideways notch that is the important feature) and your house is fairly new, you could likely use 2000 watt elements, but i am gonna discourage that. if your fridge comes on with 2k going you can easily trip a breaker.

 

[sportscrazed2]

some of the breakers say 15 some say 20. don't know which one is for the kitchen. not willing to really play with it right now since i'm watching tv but tommorow i will plug something into the outlet i will use and see if it goes out

 

[japhroaig]

well, that's where you have to be both careful and precise. building code (i believe) says there should be two 20 amp breakers for the kitchen. but if i can't see it or test it myself, i can't tell you what you have. but in general, if you run a 1500 watt element on a 20 amp circuit--which you should have--then you are causing no more danger to your wiring than running a space heater.

 

[japhroaig]

oh yeah, and that's the wrong way to test a circuit. find your 20 amp circuits and turn them on/off to find the plugs they correspond to. i once plugged 2500 watts into a 15 amp circuit, and it worked until the cord melted o_0

 

[shamrockdoc]

This is how I brew grab your your brew pot and add 4 gal and see if you can get it to boil use the top. Then once thats boiled try 5 and so on and so on then POOF you know can brew indoors whilst using your mashtun and everything!

 

[sportscrazed2]

btw how many will i need to get a good boil going if i decide to go with heatstick? would 1 with the help of my stove help? also how do you tell what the breaker corresponds too without plugging something into the desired outlet and seeing if it turns off?

 

[japhroaig]

plug in a lamp to an outlet, turn lamp on, and start turning your breakers on and off. labels said breakers (seriously, it saves soo much time especially during storms and whatnot).

one 1500 watt heatstick will make a stove 5 gallon batch boil with ease. feck, i can *almost* boil 10 gallons with 1850 watts, it just takes two hours to heat up.

one other thing, when dealing with electricity and water, *always* use a GFCI. they are $10-$20, but can save your life. Lowes/home depot/jerry's sells them, anyone in plumbing or electrical will know exactly what you are asking for.

 

[sportscrazed2]

plug in a lamp to an outlet, turn lamp on, and start turning your breakers on and off. labels said breakers (seriously, it saves soo much time especially during storms and whatnot).

one 1500 watt heatstick will make a stove 5 gallon batch boil with ease. feck, i can *almost* boil 10 gallons with 1850 watts, it just takes two hours to heat up.

one other thing, when dealing with electricity and water, *always* use a GFCI. they are $10-$20, but can save your life. Lowes/home depot/jerry's sells them, anyone in plumbing or electrical will know exactly what you are asking for.

anyone have a link to them on homedepots website or something? don't know quite what to search for.

 

[japhroaig]

here's an expensive one: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

the GFCI you are looking for is basically an extension cord with it's own super-sensitive breaker built-in.

 

[jiggs_casey]

5 gallons on the stove will work. It take a long ass time to get to boil and the boilover is a pain in the butt to clean up.

I do the turkey fryer in the garage now...

 

[sportscrazed2]

5 gallons on the stove will work. It take a long ass time to get to boil and the boilover is a pain in the butt to clean up.

I do the turkey fryer in the garage now...

my garage is full of junk from when the basement flooded before and am too lazy and have acummulated too much crap since then and wouldn't have room for it anyway. also there are birds that live in there. i bought a turkey fryer and can't wait for spring to come so i can do all grain on my deck. all i need is a mash tun and immersion cooler to get started.

 

[japhroaig]

Fermcap is your friend, I *love* it

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/lets-talk-about-foam-control-drops-aka-fermcap-59261/

 

[PSUinDC]

Is there a way to use a heat stick in a pot without drilling/installing it in the pot? So that you can use it in a gas outdoor setup when its not winter?

Also, is it possible to boil 5gallons in a stainless kettle outside in freezing temps, or will propane heaters not be able to outdo the freezing cold?

 

[japhroaig]

dude
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/heatstick-awesome-142803/

 

[djt17]

I use 1 1500W heatstick with my gas stove. I can bring 6 gal of water from mash temp to a boil in about 30 min. Without the heatstick, it took over 1 hr. Elec code now requires that kitchens have GFCI outlets (20 Amp), mine did. I used the above heatstick link & this site: http://www.3d0g.net/brewing/heatstick to build mine. It took less than 1 hr & is really easy.

 

[pj_rage]

I'm just getting into brewing, but I've been doing all grain full boils in my kitchen (live in a condo, so indoors is my only option).

I'm using an 8 gallon megapot on my gas range with a 2000 watt heat stick. The burner I use is the "max output" one on my range which is 12,000 btu. I don't think it would come remotely close to boiling 7 gallons without the heat stick, but then again I've never let it go for hours to find out how far it would go or tried insulating the pot to see how that helps (I started right off with a heat stick). I only know that the the temp does not seem to even really change with just the gas burner on. With the heat stick plus gas, 7 gallons will go from 60F or so (cold tap water) to fully boiling in about 35 minutes. I've never tried, but I'm fairly confident that the heat stick alone would boil the water without the gas at all, I just use it to get a slightly more vigorous boil and speed it up a touch. I have tried the heat stick alone to maintain boil, and it will, but it's just not quite as vigorous of a boil. I went with a 2000w stick because I have 2x 20A GFCI circuits in my kitchen. (I thought I read this is code now, but older homes may not have it). I also used the 3d0g instructions, which were the best design I found out there (IMO).

One other thing, with the foam control drops, I've boiled 7.25 gallons (in the 8 gallon pot) to date with only a bit of splashing from the boil for the first 20 minutes or so before it evaporates down a bit. *Knock on wood* I've not had a boilover (or even remotely close) when using the drops, but again, I've not tried without them either to see the difference.

Hopefully this helps to serve as another data point in the "how many gallons can I full boil on my gas range" question that I know I had and did a lot of research for. There didn't seem to be a set answer, but I basically determined that I would just be better off with a heat stick rather than risk using an insulated pot, crossing my fingers, and waiting hours (if at all) of waiting for a boil. The heatstick was really easy enough to build, and I'm glad I did. I'm actually going to build a back up one, because if it decides to crap out on brew day, I'm going to be out of luck!

 

[PSUinDC]

I went with a 2000w stick because I have 2x 20A GFCI circuits in my kitchen.

So, whats the consensus on this? I read that if you want 2 heat sticks, you need to be running off 2 separate breakers. My breaker box says "Kitchen plugs - 20A", then has a separate one for the Range/Fridge (which are not easily accessible). Would I have to plug one into the GFCI by the stove, and run an extension cord to another GFCI on another circuit to run 2?

 

[ChuckO]

I use 1 1500W heatstick with my gas stove. I can bring 6 gal of water from mash temp to a boil in about 30 min. Without the heatstick, it took over 1 hr. Elec code now requires that kitchens have GFCI outlets (20 Amp), mine did. I used the above heatstick link & this site: http://www.3d0g.net/brewing/heatstick to build mine. It took less than 1 hr & is really easy.

Caution: Modern electric codes require kitchens to have two 20 amp circuits. GFCI is required within 6ft of the sink or other water source. Sometimes outlets near a stove aren't GFCI protected. Plug in a lamp and then test your GFCI to be certain.

 

[pj_rage]

So, whats the consensus on this? I read that if you want 2 heat sticks, you need to be running off 2 separate breakers. My breaker box says "Kitchen plugs - 20A", then has a separate one for the Range/Fridge (which are not easily accessible). Would I have to plug one into the GFCI by the stove, and run an extension cord to another GFCI on another circuit to run 2?

I should be more clear that while I have 2 20A GFCI outlets in my kitchen, I'm only using one of them with the 2000w heat stick. If I were to use two heatsticks at the same time (no need for me at this point), I would use them one on each circuit. You can't run more than one of either 1500w or 2000w on a single 15A or 20A line. "They" say for a 15A circuit, use a 1500w heat stick, for a 20A circuit, you can use a 2000w (or of course a 1500w). In either case, though, you can't/shouldn't run more than one heat stick on that same circuit. Also, the circuit should absolutely be GFCI, and shouldn't have anything else drawing much power turned on at the same time.

And all the normal disclaimers... I'm not an electrician, this information is simply hearsay that I've found in my research. Consult a licensed electrician if you are not sure about anything.

 

[dmbGator]

I've done it indoors with a turkey fryer, though looking back, it was probably a really bad idea....

I can see how that one went. Honey, do not light that candle, open all the windows, and unplug that carbon detector, we're brewing beer.

 

[sportscrazed2]

so is $40 a good price on a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler or can i find them cheaper? That's what they are selling for at homedepot.

 

[japhroaig]

okay, i'm gonna get a little strict here, because this is serious safety we're talkin about.

1. always check your breakers. i have lived in older houses with very low amperage breakers in the kitchen. they do exist, do not assume.
2. this type of outlet can handle up to 1500 watts. http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/15 amp.jpg . Do not plug anything more than that in to it.
3. this type of outlet can handle up to 2000 watts. http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/20 amp.jpg . notice the horizontal notch.

both of those outlets would need an external GFCI, since you are dealing with liquids. they look like this: http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pu...Bq9JCH9OE-KUR32M9sP8zZ-xjsUPdO-wZkwmdDQhK0r3R

if your outlets have two little buttons on them, they have a built in GFCI and you do not need an external one. they look like this: http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pu...4IDfCvEZDr3VFfUw6_3jkIFqg-LXq1O94w8j20QFNPARI

Running too much current can melt wires and cause fires. 1500 watt heat stick in a 20amp outlet is fine. 2000 watt heat stick in a 1500 watt outlet can cause a fire. running a heatstick without a GFCI can kill you.

As for the price question: http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=rubbermaid+cooler&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

and: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=rubbermaid+cooler&x=0&y=0

lastly: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2285617


One last thing about safety

There are 20amp plugs, outlets, and breakers. To run 2000 watts in a safe manner, all three must be 20 amp. If you don't know or aren't sure if something is, it's all right to ask. We just want everyone to be safe and have fun

 

[sportscrazed2]

Indianapolis is 3 hours from here man. I want to get the most bang for my buck when it comes to the cooler. They will probably be cheaper around this time of year since you can keep stuff cool just by leaving it in the trunk of your car

 

[DNW]

I can see how that one went. Honey, do not light that candle, open all the windows, and unplug that carbon detector, we're brewing beer.

I'm sure it's not a great idea to use a turkey fryer indoors. But. A Viking range can put out well over 100,000 BTUs with all the burners on (126,500 for this one). Does a turkey fryer not burn as clean or something?

 

[AnOldUR]

Does a turkey fryer not burn as clean or something?

I think it's as much about have a propane tank indoors.
House go boom! :cross:

 

[japhroaig]

Your house won't go boom, but you may asphyxiate due to carbon monoxide

 

[bernerbrau]

When I lived in an apartment I used to split the batch into two pots on two burners, then combine them when they boiled down enough. One of my beers done this way won me 2nd place in its category in a competition. Honestly, if I'd known about BIAB I probably would have gone that route instead of buying the stuff for a 10 gallon mashtun to brew indoors.

My biggest issue with indoor AG if you make a mess indoors you have to spend a lot of time cleaning up, while you can make a big old mess outside and then just hose it down. Plus, heating stuff on the stove takes a lot longer. I've cut my brew day down by 2 hours by moving it outside.

 

[DNW]

Your house won't go boom, but you may asphyxiate due to carbon monoxide

My point was that a device UL Listed for non-vented interior use (gas range) potentially produces twice as much CO as a turkey fryer.

 

[eelpout]

Also, is it possible to boil 5gallons in a stainless kettle outside in freezing temps, or will propane heaters not be able to outdo the freezing cold?

Oh yea, never had a problem boiling in the winter. garage will heat up to 20 or so when boiling, so thats good.

 

[djt17]

Caution: Modern electric codes require kitchens to have two 20 amp circuits. GFCI is required within 6ft of the sink or other water source. Sometimes outlets near a stove aren't GFCI protected. Plug in a lamp and then test your GFCI to be certain.

Yep, mine have the reset/test buttons & say GFCI on the outlets.

 

[Mermaid]

No heatstick for me. Really bad wiring in the apartment. Cheap landlord says "not broken, no fix". Did my first AG batch a month ago, but it was 3.5 gallons (I split the boil between my 2 5 gallon kettles and while it's a bit clumsy, it works).

I think I'll be doing this from now on, smaller batches are more manageable for me for a number of reasons (including but not limited to the bargain basement stove)

 

[runs4beer]

Do a test run on your kitchen range, I wish I had about 4 years ago.

I can get 7 gal. of wert from just under sparg temp (~145f) to rolling boil in less then 30minutes on the electric glass top kenmore range that was in the house when I bought it.
I had been heating sparge water on the range and mashing in a cooler in the kitchen then putting the kids to bed and then running it out to the turkey fryer to do the boil. One day, after reading that the glass top can hold 65 pounds I slaped the BK on there to at the very least keep it from cooling off and low and behold it boiled. And a whole new brewing option opened...

 

[jkarp]

one other thing, when dealing with electricity and water, *always* use a GFCI. they are $10-$20, but can save your life. Lowes/home depot/jerry's sells them, anyone in plumbing or electrical will know exactly what you are asking for.

Or brew in the kitchen. All kitchen outlets are already GFCI protected.