Will a 1500 BTU gas stove be enough?

[mr_tripp]

I can get a 15,000 BTU gas stove top for $200. Will this be enough for 5 gallon all grain batches?

 

[Germelli1]

Unless you are riggin up some complicated system...I got a turkey frier from craigslist for $30 that boils my 5 gallon batches beautifully

 

[anicola]

Thats pretty small. Did you drop a zero? To boil 5 to 7.5 gal of H2O/wort effectively i would think 60,000BTU more like it.

 

[mr_tripp]

Unless you are riggin up some complicated system...I got a turkey frier from craigslist for $30 that boils my 5 gallon batches beautifully

I want to brew indoors.

 

[mr_tripp]

Thats pretty small. Did you drop a zero? To boil 5 to 7.5 gal of H2O/wort effectively i would think 60,000BTU more like it.

It's 15,000. I forgot a zero.

 

[Germelli1]

I want to brew indoors.

ooooooh, missed the stove top part of the OP. My apologies!

 

[BrewThruYou]

I do AG batches on a 14k BTU natural gas stove. Keeping the lid on from mash temp to 200° really helps. However, I'd rather have more power

 

[mr_tripp]

I do AG batches on a 14k BTU natural gas stove. Keeping the lid on from mash temp to 200° really helps. However, I'd rather have more power

How long does it take to get your boil from mash out?

Are you using SS or aluminum?

 

[BrewThruYou]

How long does it take to get your boil from mash out?

Are you using SS or aluminum?

I'll time it next time (brewing this weekend), but it's not terrible. Maybe 25-30 minutes? My tap water is pretty hot, so it's fast (5-10 minutes) to get from tap to strike temps. I double batch sparge, so I drain the first runnings into kettle (burner off), sparge once into kettle (burner on), and then sparge again into kettle. I usually start my boil with 6.5 to 7G.

It's a GE range - bottom right burner is "High Output" at 14k BTU. Two on the left are 9k I think and the top right is garbage output.

I'm using a Blichmann 10G Boilermaker. Upgraded from a 30qt stainless pot.

 

[JKoravos]

I have a 5500W element (= 18,750 BTU) in my kettle and I use it to make 12 gallon batches. So, yes, 15,000BTU is plenty for 5 gallon batches. If it is going too slow for you, insulate your kettle with something non-flammable. Mineral wool is a good choice.

 

[BrewThruYou]

I timed my boil yesterday with my 14k BTU NG stove and 10G Blichmann. I drain my first runnings into my BK with the burner off. Then I add my first batch of sparge water...as I'm doing that, I turn the burner on and leave it on. Mashed at 152°, sparge water was 168°. Here is the timeline:

6:09pm - Burner turned on & started draining first batch sparge from MLT to BK
6:27pm - 4.75 gallons @ 180° in BK
6:33pm - Drained second batch sparge into BK. 7 gallons @ 178° - Put Lid On
6:48pm - 200° - took lid off
6:55pm - Boiling

 

[Bobby_M]

I have a 5500W element (= 18,750 BTU) in my kettle and I use it to make 12 gallon batches. So, yes, 15,000BTU is plenty for 5 gallon batches. If it is going too slow for you, insulate your kettle with something non-flammable. Mineral wool is a good choice.

Not exactly apples to apples here. Submerged elements put 100% of the BTU into the liquid. Flames underneath are more like 40-50% efficient so the effective BTU is closer to 6k. I'm not saying it won't work, but it's going to take some time.