How big of a batch can you do on a stove?

[Beer Viking]

At what point do you need to heat it up outside with propane instead?

 

[Immocles]

Depends on the stove. I only had a 5g kettle but I had no issues boiling 4gallons to have a hair under 3g into the fermenter. That was with a gas stove, not sure how well the cheap flattop I had at my old house would have managed. A friend of mine had extreme difficulties boiling 2.5 to 3g on his electric.

 

[Spikybits]

Depends on the stove. I only had a 5g kettle but I had no issues boiling 4gallons to have a hair under 3g into the fermenter. That was with a gas stove, not sure how well the cheap flattop I had at my old house would have managed. A friend of mine had extreme difficulties boiling 2.5 to 3g on his electric.

this. I could do a 3g batch with the kettle covering two stove burners. It was slower than my propane burner but not unbearable. Using a gas stove

 

[Dgallo]

Depends on how many BTUs your burner can throw. If you have a decent brand and size, you can easily do a 10 gallon when doing a 2/5th boil volume with extract and then top up the volume in the FV

 

[Knightshade]

I did a 5G batch on my stove top (7.5G Anvil Boil Kettle), which was at the very limit of its capacity according to the BTUs it was capable of producing.

 

[davidabcd]

Just when you can't get a reasonably quick boil.
For an average stove, up to about three gallons for an extract. You can do more but there's a lot of waiting.
The other way to answer the question is when you switch to a full five gallon batch using all-grain.

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

Depends on how creative you want to be. Many years ago - see pic - circa 1995. I did 5 gallon all grain full boils in the kitchen on the stove - but I used two kettles (aka "pots") and two burners . Sometime after that I got a King Kooker propane stove and a bigger kettle (aka big pot) and moved the boiling to outside.

 

[Coastalbrew]

If you have a glass top stove make sure to check the weight limit. I have read horror stories of people shattering the glass top during the boil with to much weight.

 

[brew_darrymore]

I do 5.5 gallon batches on an electric stove top in Ontario.

 

[AlexKay]

I have a pretty high-powered electric range, and can do 5-gallon batches in a 10-gallon pot (6 to 6.5 gallons before boil.)

 

[Beer Viking]

I propobly would never make a bigger batch then a 5 gallon all grain one so by the looks of it I'm in the clear.

 

[bracconiere]

I propobly would never make a bigger batch then a 5 gallon all grain one so by the looks of it I'm in the clear.

i boil ~14 gallons on my stove. my 15 gallon kettle covers two burners. i did use a pairing knife to bore my orifices a bit for a bigger flame, but wasn't essential. and being i have a burnt counter now, and had to replace my ovens control board, do to heat. i use heat shields on everything now....

 

[Ogilthorpe2]

It’s all about the BTU’s.

I have a commercial style range with 22,000 BTU burners, which are significantly bigger than your average range. 5 gallon batches are a breeze, 10 no problem. I’ve never tried 15, but I’d bet it’s doable.

If you’re going bigger than 15, I’d guess you almost have to go outside. Unless you’re using multiple burners.

 

[Qhrumphf]

As others have said, it's the power. A quality gas fired stove can handle some hefty volume, especially if you split burners. If you've got a near-commercial grade stove it can probably handle as much as the average turkey fryer burner. I've done 15 gals on a high end stove and had to throttle that way back. I can comfortably handle 5 gallons batches in my 10 gallon kettle over two burners on my home stove. With a second 5 gallon kettle straddling the other two burners I've done 10 gal batches, though the boil off rate in that case is VERY high.

Electric stoves, especially glass/ceramic top ones, will significantly limit it. As will induction.

If you've got an electric stove, then you could consider unplugging the stove and using its power outlet to run an electric brewing system, as many urban apartment dwelling brewers do.

 

[RetroGameBoy]

I do extract currently, usually boil 2.5-3 gallon wort for 5 gallon fermentation batches. If I had the kettle and space above, easy to do more. Gas stove

 

[RM-MN]

i got a propane burner and tried it out on a 5 gallon batch outdoors. It was a windy day and -20F when I tried it. The wort temp just went down. I finally brought it indoors and finished the boil on my kitchen range. Just an anecdote as to what can happen.

 

[Coastalbrew]

Have you ever considered getting an all in one system like the Brewer's edge mash and boil or anvil foundry? I used my stove top for several years doing extract and stepping grain recipe kits and it was fine. I tried my first all grain BIAB on the stove top and immediately knew that I needed to do something else. I bought the mash and boil and on the first brew, knew I had done the right thing. It was easy to use, I didn't have to lift or pour heavy pots of hot wort, it is easy to store and clean, and my beer has been significantly better. It is the best piece of brewing equipment I've ever bought hands down.

 

[MikeCo]

I do 5.5 gallon batches in winter on my gas range. It's a GE that has a large 15,000 BTU burner. It takes longer than using my electric or propane systems, but it works fine. I think it usually takes about 45 minutes to get 7 gallons to a boil from around 152 degerees F.

 

[skidmark]

You can also provide supplemental heat with a 110VAC heatstick.