Help me build a basic electric brew kettle?

[PhillipKegs]

Hey all-

I want to build an electric brew kettle. Currently I'm brewing with a 3 gallon pot on an electric range. It's a bit of a pain in the ass and my girlfriend is going to kill me if I make another mess on the stove. Gas isn't an option as I live in an apartment.

So, I want to buy/build a nice electric kettle. I've been looking at the Blichmann 7.5 gal with a Boil Coil and a Johnson controller. Is this a good idea? Is there a better way to spend $550 and move towards electric brewing?

I currently make exclusively 5 gallon batches from DME with character grains. I ferment in kegs.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bcgriff]

Check out some of the DIY electric kettles here:
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/

I just built one with an old pot I had. Pretty easy and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Blichmann option.

 

[MightyParched]

If you wanted to go on the budget, nothing wrong with Bayou Classic Stock Pot with your boil coil. It was my setup before going to a triple set of MegaPots. Blichmanns are pretty sweet though.

 

[JoshuaW]

If you have an electric stove, you probably have access to a minimum of 30amps 240v, which means you dont need to stick to the low powered 120v boilcoil/johnson controller you were looking at.

Look at some of the plans for eBiab controllers, those will basically do what you want. If you want a decked out kettle, get one from Spike's. They are awesome and wont break the bank.

Here is what I see for you:

$300 kettle from Spike's Brewing (10 gallon kettle with thermometer, sight glass, ball valve port, triclamp for heating element)

$40 for the all stainless element from Brew Hardware

$45 for the element enclosure with triclamp from Brew Hardware

$120 for a PID 30a BIAB kit from eBrewSupply

$100 for parts and enclosure to finish the kit from eBrewsupply

Thats a little more than $550, and if you wanted to trim it down you could get a kettle from cobrewingsystems.com, which is a site sponsor here as well.


This will build you a better system that will be able to grow with you. You will immediately be able to do eBIAB, if that is something that interests you. You wont be using any propriatary parts, so if something breaks you wont be at the mercy of Blichman to replace it, you can just go and buy an off the shelf part and repair it yourself! Yes, it has a DIY component, but its nothing very intense. Following the instructions and guides here, and you wont have any problems.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I would go at least ten - twelve gallon pot. I think you keep messing the stove cause your pot is too small. Much cheaper to buy a pot, and use the stove and supplement heat with a heatstick. Brewhardware sells the best available. Your stove plus a 2000w heatstick will boil a 5 gallon batch easily.

Or perhaps look into an induction plate plate and kettle. $550 for a 7.5 gallon blichmann and a 2250 w element doesn't excite me.

 

[augiedoggy]

Hey all-

I want to build an electric brew kettle. Currently I'm brewing with a 3 gallon pot on an electric range. It's a bit of a pain in the ass and my girlfriend is going to kill me if I make another mess on the stove. Gas isn't an option as I live in an apartment.

So, I want to buy/build a nice electric kettle. I've been looking at the Blichmann 7.5 gal with a Boil Coil and a Johnson controller. Is this a good idea? Is there a better way to spend $550 and move towards electric brewing?

I currently make exclusively 5 gallon batches from DME with character grains. I ferment in kegs.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, many more reasonably priced options as mentioned... You can buy a 3500w induction burner for $125. and buy a nice larger pot for it for around $100 and be ready for when you want to brew larger amounts.
blichmann products are nice.... just as a diamond studded moneyclip... top notch for sure, but just as a money clip belongs in your pocket or on your dresser and shouldnt really be shown off anyway and a more reasonably priced clip will let you actually keep some money to put into it. You can go much further without the designer stuff and accomplish the same thing just as well with just as much ease if you dont buy the most expensively priced homebrew stuff in the industry.the blichmann stuff really is some of the best quality stuff but for what it is and what it does it could be considered overkill ..Now if you a lot of extra money and its not a concern.... Well thats what diamond studded money clips and designer products are for right? My opinion and everyone's varies...