Just cracked my stovetop...

[andrewp]

... while steeping 1/2 lb of Crystal 20 for an AIPA. I heard the crack and thought it was my pot warping under heat (its cheap aluminum 5G steamer pot). Continued brewing and added my extract. While moving the pot on and off of heat I saw the crack in the glass. ****. Its a big one too.

Has this happened to anyone?

Can I salvage the wort and continue the brew again on another day?

 

[The Pol]

What would cause this...?

 

[andrewp]

dunno... still stunned. an electric glass stovetop should be able to handle 3.5 gallons of boiling wort. this is my 5th batch on this stove with no cracks before and a smaller volume (usually its a 4 gal boil). waiting for the girlfriend to come home. hopefully the brewery survives after this incident.

 

[Ichthy]

I have a glass stovetop and am constantly worried about this. We can vegetables and (now) brew on it quite a bit, and the pot I use isn't completely flat bottomed. As such, I won't turn my burner on high becuase I'm afraid it will damage the stove.

Does your pot have a completely flat bottom?

Were you running the burner on high?

I've found that wrapping a large towl around my pot adds some insulation and allows me to keep a nice boil on 3-3.5 gallons with the lid off and the heat setting on 9 (out of 10).

Sorry for the misfortune.

EDIT: Just saw your last post. Do you think it cracked from weight, or overheating?

 

[remilard]

It wasn't the weight, it was probably either a non flat bottom as Ichthy mentioned or the bottom of the pot is much larger in diameter than the burner.

Either way, my wife broke one of these several years ago in an apartment and I was shocked at how cheap the part was, a little under $100.

 

[KellyK]

If you haven't added the hops, cover and cool down the wort and put it in your refrigerator. You can reheat it tomorrow or the next day and continue your boil. If you've already added the hops, you're going to need to look at modifications to the recipe.

As to the glass top stove, no idea how that happened, but good luck with your S/O - hopefully she's not too pissed. I suspect, if you recently purchased the stove this would possibly be covered under the warantee. I wouldn't use it while cracked, probably not the safest thing in the world.

I'd suggest moving the brewing efforts to a non-kitchen location. Get a nice bayou burner from your local HBS, Home Depot or Lowes and take the brewing to the garage or back porch.

 

[andrewp]

my aluminum pot has been warped from previous brews and the heat was on high...

shouldn't a stove top be able to handle that?

glad to hear its cheap. hopefully my apartment community won't give me too much **** about it.

 

[andrewp]

hops were not added. I cooled it down and is in a brew bucket now with the lid and airlock. Cooled it to around 100 and poured into the bucket.

Do aluminum pots warp easily. This was only $15 at Target. Should I invest in a stainless steal pot?

on the plus side this is an excuse to upgrade to a turkey frier!

 

[tonkota]

I haven't cracked ours, but I can tell you that my wife broke ours a couple days after we put it in. Repaired under warranty and the list cost for the top was as much as buying a new stove. Sucks man.

I'm for sure putting an element in my brew pot now.

FWIW, Wal*Mart has a 22quart stainless steel pot for $40 and it has a very heavy bottom.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5902722

 

[mrtrav]

This is the main reason I started out with stainless and a turkey fryer....as well as brewing at a friends house instead of mine. If stainless/turkey fryer is an option, I would highly recommend going that route over aluminum/stovetop.

 

[remilard]

my aluminum pot has been warped from previous brews and the heat was on high...

shouldn't a stove top be able to handle that?

glad to hear its cheap. hopefully my apartment community won't give me too much **** about it.

I would take the excuse to get a propane burner. A glass top stove can not handle heat collecting under the pot, which either a non-flat bottom or a larger area outside of the burner can cause.

We were renting we we broke it, they just came the next day to replace it and charged the part price on our next bill. I assume this happens not that rarely (my wife was getting something out of the cupboard above and dropped it, this must happen all the time).

I never brewed on an electric stove but it seems that people break them a lot canning. I personally would recommend moving outside, I just don't think these stoves are great for brewing.

 

[andrewp]

girlfriend took it well. not upset. now we'll see what the leasing company does. not going to tell them we were brewing. just cooking pasta.

outdoor burner and stainless steel is definitely in my future...

 

[springer]

I assume this happens not that rarely (my wife was getting something out of the cupboard above and dropped it, this must happen all the time).

Pretty much the same with my glass top stove . The stove should be able to handle the heat regardless of the pots size once it heats to certain temp the heating element turns off and then on again . It should never overheat the glass to the point of breaking it. My guess is something fell on it prior and the damage wasn't visible and the heat cause it to stress crack.

My stove is a frigidaire I bought the top for under 100$ online at appliancepartspros.com . Easy to replace just lifts out with four clips holding the top on unplug and replace took less than 10 minutes

 

[springer]

girlfriend took it well. not upset. now we'll see what the leasing company does. not going to tell them we were brewing. just cooking pasta.

outdoor burner and stainless steel is definitely in my future...

As long as what you were doing is legal it shouldn't matter but I agree people don't understand the whole homebrewing concept. If this is a multifamily unit I would strongly recommend that you check with the management if open flame is allowed. Many places have laws against using open flamed within a certain # of feet when its a multifamily dwelling

 

[Hermit]

It wasn't the weight, it was probably either a non flat bottom as Ichthy mentioned or the bottom of the pot is much larger in diameter than the burner.

Either way, my wife broke one of these several years ago in an apartment and I was shocked at how cheap the part was, a little under $100.

Good man. You just wrecked a big buck item and are worried about the beer. :rockin:

I worked for a large maker and these things were big bucks through us. We had a multi year warranty but the labor was still killer. What they don't want you to know is they have to supply the part even if you put it on or have someone else do it. PM me if you like, if it was the company I worked for maybe I can give some advice. Generally was a 5 year parts only on this.

 

[andrewp]

I do remember dropping something on it a while back. Either way its gonna be turkey frier brewing for me now. I live in Florida so brewing outside should be easy.

Now for preserving the preboiled wort... it should be fine for a few days right?

 

[andrewp]

The leasing company has been pretty good about fixing stuff for us in the past. Our sink has been on the fritz and they've replaced parts so far with no charge (at least we haven't seen it yet). We live in a big apartment complex so they probably get a lot worse than this.

 

[Hermit]

The leasing company has been pretty good about fixing stuff for us in the past. Our sink has been on the fritz and they've replaced parts so far with no charge (at least we haven't seen it yet). We live in a big apartment complex so they probably get a lot worse than this.

Well, if it was caused by heat and doesn't show an impact mark, you are probably OK.

 

[andrewp]

how would i pick out an impact mark? there are a few places that the cracks radiate from. don't really know how to describe it but it does NOT look like a cracked windshield from an impact. if that helps.


what bayou burner do you guys recommend?

 

[k2brew]

Sorry about your luck.

Just bought a house and it has a glass top stove so I had been worried for a few batches. Made the jump to all grain and got a turkey fryer... man that thing boiled 6.5 gal of wort in 15 minutes as opposed to the 1.5 hours 4 gal used to take.

As for the fryer, I bought mine (with a 30 qt alum. pot) for $65 online at ace hardware outlet with free shipping. It has 55,000 BTUs and has worked very well so far. Easy to put together. Was delivered quickly, but since it is now after thanksgiving you can probably find a good deal at retail stores.

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/%282pol3245cut45c55nkr2qu55%29/productDetails.aspx?SKU=8109381&CommerceAuth=C6E5E12E943495CBF5781878628D35CE206D3F974E81F01D62A4BACC5E9F14BE95223ADB19E564DA3DB27D613D8BAD826BF25A9A7A22163B24CE7F8CC30FE9D07FC9DD11302261266C4E404AA4B85E531B02BCA159CE486B4BC2757FDEF6B221

 

[MR2Aaron]

What exactly is the selling point of the glass top stoves? My girlfriend's condo has an apparently pretty pricy one, and it frankly seems really anemic compared to the contractor grade gas range in my house, or the old school ranges with a coiled heating element.

 

[k2brew]

I have to admit that 'when clean' they look pretty sharp. At least our all-black one does. I would prefer something with more power, but whatever I'll use it until it breaks or we re-do the kitchen.

 

[springer]

What exactly is the selling point of the glass top stoves? My girlfriend's condo has an apparently pretty pricy one, and it frankly seems really anemic compared to the contractor grade gas range in my house, or the old school ranges with a coiled heating element.

like comparing a 150k BTU burner to a candle isn't it?Anything electric is anemic when compared to even a regular gas stove unless its an induction type range. The selling point is they look nice and are much easier to clean the elements dont burn out nearly as often. They are several grades of glass top stove just like regular . I see no difference in heating times between our old coil range and the glass.

if they had gas in my neighborhood I would have a commercial gas stove too.

 

[Heckle]

FWIW, Wal*Mart has a 22quart stainless steel pot for $40 and it has a very heavy bottom.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5902722

Thats the one we use. But we also have a gas stove.

 

[IXVolt]

Pics? I'd like to see this!!

 

[andrewp]

really not that exciting to post pics. probably couldn't even pick it up with a camera. the management switched it out today without saying anything about price but thats the way it works here, fix first, pay later.

i've been looking to get a turkey fryer for about month now. looks like i'll have to now. i'm not risking this again.

as for the wort... whats the general consensus? still good to brew tomorrow at a friends house?

 

[Donner]

I shattered the one at my mother's house during my first brewing attempt. I thought i heard my pot warping, but then suddenly the entire middle area between the four burners spider-webbed and fell into the area underneath. Scared the crap out of me.

This was the second time this happened to this stove, though. My mother did the same thing with a large pot of pasta sauce. It's a design flaw. The repair guy speculated that it's micro fractures in the glass.

Getting it fixed wasn't easy as we had to deal with Sears. Had to special order the top, pay for it, it gets shipped, but when the repair guy went to install it it was warped. Well, that means shipping it back and getting a new one sent out (in that order. Well, UPS lost the return top and Sears wouldn't send a new one til they got the broken replacement... Six weeks later my parents finally got their stove working again.

I've got some photos somewhere of the stovetop.

 

[conpewter]

yeah getting happier and happier about having a gas stove (even though I don't brew on it anymore) Glad it got fixed quick though! I hope you don't get charged (or not charged much) for it.

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

What exactly is the selling point of the glass top stoves? My girlfriend's condo has an apparently pretty pricy one, and it frankly seems really anemic compared to the contractor grade gas range in my house, or the old school ranges with a coiled heating element.

It's mainly the swmbo factor. I bought a "glass top" (it's actually ceramic......which explains some of the failures I've seen here) 4 years ago. It was the best money I had ever spent. Cleanup is a breeze, it gets hot faster than our old coil electric did and did I mention cleanup is a breeze?

Ceramic is tolerant of a lot of things, but I'm guessing that a 5+ gallon pot with an uneven bottom at full boil isn't one of them. That's why I plan on "borrowing" my dads burner when (if) Santa brings me a Brew starter kit.

 

[Hermit]

how would i pick out an impact mark? there are a few places that the cracks radiate from. don't really know how to describe it but it does NOT look like a cracked windshield from an impact. if that helps.


what bayou burner do you guys recommend?

As a repairman, I could always tell an impact mark. It wasn't my money though so I didn't care.

 

[Hermit]

like comparing a 150k BTU burner to a candle isn't it?Anything electric is anemic when compared to even a regular gas stove unless its an induction type range. The selling point is they look nice and are much easier to clean the elements dont burn out nearly as often. They are several grades of glass top stove just like regular . I see no difference in heating times between our old coil range and the glass.

if they had gas in my neighborhood I would have a commercial gas stove too.

They can be a pain in the axe to clean. Fall behind and they get messy fast. They can also pick up scuff marks from pans and get scratched if not careful. When they first came out the used to have an instructional video and a razor blade scrapper...

 

[jbanta]

andrewp - first sorry to hear about this..... but immediately i thought of the 'you are a brewer post' - because your flattop stove just cracked and you were worried of your wort sounded like a perfect one on that post...

all things considered... i am not really going to be pushing towards electric brewing as i too am cooking on a flattop - I have had mine at full heat with no problems but i really would hate to break the top. The SWMBO would kill me and the hobby of homebrewing... so i better find another way to brew..

 

[Hermit]

how would i pick out an impact mark? t

It would look like one..

 

[andrewp]

so to sum up this thread. it sounds like flattop electric brewers should be concerned about a few things:

1) uneven surface of your brew pot. get a good grade pot so it doesn't warp
2) if you can, don't have the stove on full heat. someone suggested wrapping a towel around the pot to retain heat. (i am cautious to try this and risk burning the towel. are their other ways to prevent heat loss?)
3) if I were to brew on this type of stove again i would not slide the pot across the stove top to get it on/off of heat (like when adding LME). i think this scratched the surface and lead to the eventual break.
4) try to pick out cracks in the surface before you brew. heat and pressure will make them worse and potentially give you a bigger crack.


5) switch to gas brewing... lol

 

[Ichthy]

so to sum up this thread. it sounds like flattop electric brewers should be concerned about a few things:


2) if you can, don't have the stove on full heat. someone suggested wrapping a towel around the pot to retain heat. (i am cautious to try this and risk burning the towel. are their other ways to prevent heat loss?)

I suggested the towel idea. I boiled 3 gals of top off water on a glass stovetop the other night for about 15 minutes to remove carbonate and to sanitize. I used some binder clips attached to the top of the kettle to keep the towel off the stove surface and didn't have any problems with the towel catching on fire. However, I'll be brewing this weekend and report back. Do a thread search for "improved stovetop boiling" for ways to insulate your pot. I'm upgrading to a turkey fryer once I (hopefully) recieve my xmas gifts so this will be a moot issue for me .

 

[springer]

They can be a pain in the axe to clean. Fall behind and they get messy fast. They can also pick up scuff marks from pans and get scratched if not careful. When they first came out the used to have an instructional video and a razor blade scrapper...

clean up is a breeze the older ones were crap. Never had any scuff marks on the smooth top we just use the past cleaner after use .Still have to use the razor when something gets burned on the surface not a big deal. SWMBO does some heavy duty cooking on it 5 gallons of soup or pasta sauce a week is not unusual in my home and the pot is my old brew pot a 24 qt SS .6 years and the only time it broke was from something falling on it. I believe it was cookie jar that was on the top of the cabinet SWMBO has a collection of old jars was more concerned about the jar than the stove when it happened.

 

[andrewp]

clearly there are a lot of people that use this type of stove with a lot of success but like anything its always better to take precautions. i brewed on this type of top for more than a year now and didn't have a problem until now.

 

[Effington]

I just bought one of these glass top stoves; we're remodeling the kitchen with new appliances and this is pretty much the standard now for electric stove tops. Gas would be great... but it's not available here.

I was wondering if you could use some sort of diffuser on the glass stovetop while boiling wort... something like this.

 

[Ichthy]

I just bought one of these glass top stoves; we're remodeling the kitchen with new appliances and this is pretty much the standard now for electric stove tops. Gas would be great... but it's not available here.

I was wondering if you could use some sort of diffuser on the glass stovetop while boiling wort... something like this.

that looks pretty cool! Just make sure it isn't larger than your burner. Someone mentioned those stovetops will crack if the pot diameter far exceeds the burner diameter. I assume because the rest of the stovetop isn't as tolerable to heat?? I may get one of these for canning veggies, but wonder how well the heat transfer is?? Let me know if you get one.

 

[Effington]

that looks pretty cool! Just make sure it isn't larger than your burner. Someone mentioned those stovetops will crack if the pot diameter far exceeds the burner diameter. I assume because the rest of the stovetop isn't as tolerable to heat?? I may get one of these for canning veggies, but wonder how well the heat transfer is?? Let me know if you get one.

After some research I found that people discourage using heat diffusers on these stove tops because it messes with the temperature sensors (?).

I guess without direct contact on the cooking surface, the burners tend to act a little crazy. I don't know if this applies to all stoves or just older ones or what. I'm trying to find someone who has actually used a diffuser/trivet on their glass top and I can't...