Good electric burner/hot plate for sparge

[rmr9]

I’ve been tasked with “coming up with Christmas ideas” for myself and I thought it would be nice to have an electric burner/hot plate that I could plug in on brew days to heat my sparge water. I usually sparge with just 2 gallons since I use a Brewzilla so I wouldn’t need a super powerful one, but I’m curious if anyone here has something similar that they like!

 

[skunkape]

Electric kettles work well for sparge. Can't heat 2 gals at once but they heat quickly to a specified temp.

 

[rmr9]

Electric kettles work well for sparge. Can't heat 2 gals at once but they heat quickly to a specified temp.

That’s a good point, maybe find a larger one of those, maybe 2 liter or something and do it in a couple batches

 

[MaxStout]

I use one of these. Nothin' fancy, but does the job for heating 2 or 3 gallons.

 

[rmr9]

Oh nice! A solid price for it as well. All the better if it can heat 2-3 gallons too.

 

[govner1]

If you want convenience and compact how about an Avantco induction hot plate?

 

[Cameronl]

I used to use an old Coleman stove (white gas, not propane) for heating sparge water. Whatever works.

 

[hottpeper13]

I had a Burtan 1800 watt induction burner that died after 10 years and Amazon was the only place to get one and I quit Amazon 3 years ago and save a crap ton. So I got the NuWave 1500 w and it takes 5 gal in an insulated kettle to boil in 2 hours. Bonus is you can use it in the kitchen when needed. I would put that in the household budget and pick out something(Anton-Par) cooler for Christmas.

 

[rmr9]

These are all good ideas, honestly as long as it’s something that works well it’s good enough for me. I’m just trying to avoid having to walk around and go back upstairs to get my sparge water and carry it all the way back down. Maybe I’ve become lazy…

 

[Tinwhistler]

I use a 2-1/2 gallon kettle with an Anova sous vide precision cooker and it works great.

 

[jschein]

I just heat up all my water, about 7 gallons to mash temp, draw off the 3 gallons for the sparge into a pot. The sparge water temp drops to about 105.
I don’t heat it back up and never had an extraction issue.
I would find another area to spend the money

 

[doug293cz]

I just heat up all my water, about 7 gallons to mash temp, draw off the 3 gallons for the sparge into a pot. The sparge water temp drops to about 105.
I don’t heat it back up and never had an extraction issue.
I would find another area to spend the money

Yes, sparging with cool water works just as well as sparging with hot water. The only drawback is it takes longer to heat to boil if the sparge water is cool (although it doesn't take any more energy.)

Brew on

 

[T Murph]

I'm thinking about getting a 3500 watt for doing decoction mashes. Anyone have a suggestion for a brand of 3500 watt induction burners.

 

[skunkape]

I have a Grainfather for my all-grain brewing and use my old Mash N Boil unit for heating sparge water. No volume problems there.

 

[MaxStout]

These are all good ideas, honestly as long as it’s something that works well it’s good enough for me. I’m just trying to avoid having to walk around and go back upstairs to get my sparge water and carry it all the way back down. Maybe I’ve become lazy…

The safety factor, too. Not having to schlep a kettle of hot water down a flight of stairs is a good idea.

 

[rmr9]

Safety is a bug part of it too. I find that moving even a few gallons is a lot harder than it used to be. Sometimes I’m a bit sore after a brew day.

 

[Chorgey]

I do not heat my sparge water. I have a Grainfather G30

 

[hottpeper13]

I have the Advanco 3500 for boil and decoction. It runs on 220v,and handles my 15 gal Spike BK.

 

[govner1]

I'm thinking about getting a 3500 watt for doing decoction mashes. Anyone have a suggestion for a brand of 3500 watt induction burners.

Avantco

 

[rmr9]

I use one of these. Nothin' fancy, but does the job for heating 2 or 3 gallons.

Ever use this guy for a decoction?

 

[MaxStout]

Ever use this guy for a decoction?

Never done a decoction, but I think it would be plenty adequate for heating one.

 

[cfrazier77]

I would go with an induction burner and pot as mentioned above. They are more efficient than coil burners and you can use them for other uses. I use mine for geletin, priming sugar, sparging, and heating a pressure cooker for sterization.