Electric turkey fryer

[cbarker777]

I have an electric turkey fryer that has not been used in years it holds 28qt. Do you think I could use it for now till I get a better system built to do biab. It will boil oil so I assume it will boil water. I have not tested it at a temp closer to 154 for a mash but it think it should do it. Does anyone see an issue with this idea?

 

[cbarker777]

So I just did a test boil it takes 30 min to go from 80 to 158 and then another 30 to goto boil the problem is it won't hold a boil if the lid is off. Will that work?

 

[Mark3885]

You are in unchartered territory. I don't know of anybody using a turkey frier to brew. Let us know how it works out.

 

[aangel]

So I just did a test boil it takes 30 min to go from 80 to 158 and then another 30 to goto boil the problem is it won't hold a boil if the lid is off. Will that work?

It won't work. You need a rolling, uncovered boil to evaporate the DMS off.

 

[cbarker777]

That's what I was afraid of. Oh well I will stick with how I did my first batch just a 5 gal on the stove and top up when I put it in the fermenter.

 

[justenoughforme]

You are in unchartered territory. I don't know of anybody using a turkey frier to brew. Let us know how it works out.

lol.


people use turkey fryers as burners for their wort all the time, seems to work for them.

 

[cbarker777]

I am a little surprised that it won't boil with out the lid because it is supposed to be able to boil oil.

 

[mywifehatesmybeer]

lol.


people use turkey fryers as burners for their wort all the time, seems to work for them.

Right? I'm fairly certain a good amount of people use turkey fryers. I'm particularly interested in this as my plan for jumping from 1 to 5 gallon AG currently involves a turkey fryer... is there any downside to this? Aside from getting a cheap one stability and efficiency wise?

 

[zeekage]

The OP is talking about an Electric turkey fryer, not one that has a propane burner under it. The ones with propane burners work fine as a brew kettle / burner combo.

 

[Rockn_M]

Maybe adding an electric heater coil to help maintian the boiling temps with the lid off. I think they are pretty cheap and should just plug into a 120v plug.

 

[Beernik]

Right? I'm fairly certain a good amount of people use turkey fryers. I'm particularly interested in this as my plan for jumping from 1 to 5 gallon AG currently involves a turkey fryer... is there any downside to this? Aside from getting a cheap one stability and efficiency wise?

The problem with the turkey fryer option is that most turkey fryer pots won't hold enough water for 5 gallons finished wort so you'll end up buying another pot anyway. A lot of the burners are rated 35,000 - 45,000 BTU. They will boil 8 gallons, but they aren't quick about it.

If you are looking at 5 gallon BIAB, get a keggle, a minimum 55,000 BTU burner, and a keggle sized bag. It's about the cheapest and easiest route to go. If you want to fry turkeys, buy a turkey fryer pot and hook and use the 55,000 BTU burner.

 

[Peruvian802]

28 quarts may be a little small for 5 gallon batches once all the grain is in there. You might be able to make session beers but certainly not imperials, barleywines, etc. unless you add extract to boost the gravity.

I've read that the 30+ quart models do a decent job of 4-5 gallon batches for eBIAB, but have no direct experience.

edit: I just found this which shows how well an electric turkey fryer could work for eBIAB.

 

[ChelisHubby]

777 ,How much water did you try to boil? while it might not boil 8 gallons it might do 6 and six can take care of a 5 gallon batch, and if you had to top off with a quart of water at the end of boil it would not greatly affect the flavor at all. It must boil with out the lid tho.

 

[Mark3885]

The OP is talking about an Electric turkey fryer, not one that has a propane burner under it. The ones with propane burners work fine as a brew kettle / burner combo.

That was my thought, propane no problem , electric needs a huge heating element to boil. I use electric immersion heaters in my biodiesel processing . The electric element would burn the wort while trying to keep a rolling boil. Propane spreads the heat over the entire bottom surface of the brew pot.

 

[zeekage]

People use electric to boil their wort all the time, though I believe it's best to use the Ultra Low Density elements for that reason.

 

[jeffc]

I live in a 1BR apartment on the 2nd floor so a propane turkey fryer is out of the question, the stove can't support a boil, and I can't mod the electric to 240V. I use a masterbuilt electric turkey fryer for extract brewing and can boil 4 gallons easily with the 1500W element. I cover with foil until reaching boil and then uncover 80% of the way. It maintains a boil for 60 minutes. Others have had more success by wrapping the pot in insulation.

You'll be unable to do a full boil volume without a heatstick.

 

[BigJack]

Consider brewing 3 gallon batches instead of 5.

 

[aprichman]

I do 2.5 gallon batches which start out around 3.6 - 3.7 gallons. Your electric TB should be able to hand volumes of that size, although it is a lot of work for 24 beers