How big of a boil kettle do I need?

[loetz]

I'm putting together equipment for a HERMS brewery, but I don't have a boil kettle yet.
So far I have an 18.5 gal (70L) mash tun and a 7.6 gal (29L) canning kettle that I plan to use for an HLT. How much wort do you think I will produce in a single run?

 

[KNOTSANE]

Guess it all depends on what size batches you plan on doing. My BK is 10 gallons and I do 5 gallon batches with no boilover issues. When my keggles are put into use, I will be able to do 10 gallon batches.

 

[Scruffy1207]

I'm putting together equipment for a HERMS brewery, but I don't have a boil kettle yet.
So far I have an 18.5 gal (70L) mash tun and a 7.6 gal (29L) canning kettle that I plan to use for an HLT. How much wort do you think I will produce in a single run?

15g batches is what it looks like judging by the mash tun size. I'd shoot for a 20g kettle. 10g batches shoot for 13-15. 5g shoot for 8-10.

 

[loetz]

Yea, I doubt I'm going to utilize that whole 18.5 gal mash tun all the time, but I'm wondering what my wort production would be in a single run if I tried to max it out.

I don't know how to factor in the space taken by grains in the mash tun, and the sparge water used to rinse the grains.

 

[loetz]

15g batches is what it looks like judging by the mash tun size. I'd shoot for a 20g kettle. 10g batches shoot for 13-15. 5g shoot for 8-10.

Thanks!

 

[Scruffy1207]

Yea, I doubt I'm going to utilize that whole 18.5 gal mash tun all the time, but I'm wondering what my wort production would be in a single run if I tried to max it out.

I don't know how to factor in the space taken by grains in the mash tun, and the sparge water used to rinse the grains.

Grain volume + (water volume - 4% <for grain absorption>). Just measure the volume of 1lb of grain and 1g of water. Or look it up on the interwebs.

 

[mikelikesit2000]

I think you should decide on the batch size you want. Then base your equipment needs off of that. if you plan on 10 gallons packaged (bottled/kegged) then you need 6.5 gallon carboys (5.5 -6 gallons of wort minus trub loss) then a kettle that will hold 12 - 13 gallons of wort plus have enough head space to prevent boilovers.

 

[Scruffy1207]

Yeah my bad, 18g mash tun should be 10g batches.

Edit: I'm dumb also my maths is wrong, I'm a complete idiot.

 

[loetz]

So, here's a thought...

Let's say I do a 10g batch of wort. Could I do two separate 5 gal boils in my 7.6 gal canner? Could I let the other batch sit in a plastic bucket for an hour or two while it waits it's turn to be boiled?

This would be nice because I could change the hops and do two different beers at one time.

I've tested the canner with water and it seems to hold a boil pretty well without boiling over. It's 230v 2000watt with a pretty even heat source under it. Really it's meant for cooking glühwein.

 

[loetz]

So, here's a thought...

Let's say I do a 10g batch of wort. Could I do two separate 5 gal boils in my 7.6 gal canner? Could I let the other batch sit in a plastic bucket for an hour or two while it waits it's turn to be boiled?

This would be nice because I could change the hops and do two different beers at one time.

I've tested the canner with water and it seems to hold a boil pretty well without boiling over. It's 230v 2000watt with a pretty even heat source under it. Really it's meant for cooking glühwein.

So would that work?