Burners...Electric?

[WolfyJ]

Howdy yall, first real post pertaining to brewing after being a forum stalker for a while... theres so much info to take in. Anywho this is one of the few things I couldnt find so if theres already been a few posts on it then I'd like to apologize.

I know a lot of people use turkey burners im planning on getting one myself. But I was curious about using electric burners and if people use them or not. Ie. If anyone has any pros or cons as to why or why not use them.

This one is merely an example

Amazon.com: Waring Pro SB30 1300-Watt Portable Single Burner: Kitchen & Dining

I'd figure id have to get something more powerfull mabye? But any input would be much appruciated.

Reason is I set up shop (well still cleaning a lot of the crap outa the work room that I havent used in awhile and gota vacume >_>) and there i a door that leads outside that I can use a propane burner but theres steps leading up and its literaly -just- enough area to put the burner and get by adding ingrediants there. (Im starting with extract brewing just to get my feet wet and work from there)

 

[The Pol]

1300W is a really weak burner. If you were looking in the 4000-5000W range, Id say go for it.

Most electric brewers use water heater elements that are submerged in the wort.

I would say the abolsute minimum for a burner like that, that will heat passively... would be 4000-5000W and 240VAC

 

[walther]

I use a submerged heating element.
2400W is sufficient for 20-30L.

Someone will soon mention scorching,.... I have never experienced it.
Very happy with electricity.

cheers,
walther

 

[freddyb]

I brewed a batch of Brandon O's Graff using a burner like the one you linked for the wort portion of the recipe. It was done as an experiment to see if that type of burner was any good for brewing tasks. It barely had the power to boil the ~1 gallon of wort in the small pot.

SWMBO might use it for maintaining mash temp when she does her small batch all-grain brews this winter. I do not recommend this type of burner. It was a freebie so I'm not too heartbroken.

If you want to go electric, look a the many examples of heat sticks or eKettles made by others on this site. Lots of good info around.

 

[The Pol]

FWIW, if I turn my element below 65%, it isnt what I would consider a vigorous boil, that is 3,575W of power into 7.5 gallons.

Also, the smaller the element, the longer it will take to reach a boil. 5500W takes me 12 minuted from 155F (after sparge temp)

 

[SnakeAnthony6375]

I'm in a similar situation with figuring out what the next step is. I've been a stovetop brewer for a year and I'm moving on to doing full batch boils. The turkey fryer is an option, but I have to admit I am very intrigued by the water heater elements. I unfortunately do not know anything about the set-up of those. Would someone like to give a run-down of their electric set-up and describe what is needed for it? Much appreciated...

 

[The Pol]

I'm in a similar situation with figuring out what the next step is. I've been a stovetop brewer for a year and I'm moving on to doing full batch boils. The turkey fryer is an option, but I have to admit I am very intrigued by the water heater elements. I unfortunately do not know anything about the set-up of those. Would someone like to give a run-down of their electric set-up and describe what is needed for it? Much appreciated...

Numerous threads here detailing electric builds. Unfortunatley there is no way to boil it all down to a couple sentences if you are just getting into it. There is plenty of reading to do, but it isnt as hard as it seesm at first. Here is my electric boil kettle thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/bling-bling-electric-herms-conversion-93217/

 

[WolfyJ]

Very cool so far, thank yall for the repsonses so far.