Bokonon
Well-Known Member
So I'm gearing up to go all grain, but I've only been doing extract + steeping lately. I just got my immersion chiller all together and did a dry run to check my boiling times and chilling times. I've got a pretty generic turkey fryer setup with a 30qt aluminum pot. The burner looks like its about one of the 55k btu burners I've seen other posts with.
My big question is do I have a big enough kettle to go all grain with. I did a sample run from boiling for 30min to chilled (80degF) tonight starting with 6gal of water and ending with 5.25gal. To come out with about 5gal of wort to put into the primary I extrapolated that I need to start with about 6.5gal which puts it pretty close to the top and in serious jeopardy of boilover.
Is it fessible to boil 6.5gal in a 7.5gal pot without a boilover happening? I've been working my way up and my last batch started with 4gal and I was able to keep it from boiling over by stiring and spraying it with cold water.
I did my sample run in a worst case scenario with the lid completely off, I'm sure if I tried with the lid partially on I could minimize the evaporation.
Eventually I'll end up with a larger kettle but considering what I've spent on all my gear so far its going to be a few months before I can justify to my SWMBO the extra purchase.
James
My big question is do I have a big enough kettle to go all grain with. I did a sample run from boiling for 30min to chilled (80degF) tonight starting with 6gal of water and ending with 5.25gal. To come out with about 5gal of wort to put into the primary I extrapolated that I need to start with about 6.5gal which puts it pretty close to the top and in serious jeopardy of boilover.
Is it fessible to boil 6.5gal in a 7.5gal pot without a boilover happening? I've been working my way up and my last batch started with 4gal and I was able to keep it from boiling over by stiring and spraying it with cold water.
I did my sample run in a worst case scenario with the lid completely off, I'm sure if I tried with the lid partially on I could minimize the evaporation.
Eventually I'll end up with a larger kettle but considering what I've spent on all my gear so far its going to be a few months before I can justify to my SWMBO the extra purchase.
James