Bayou Classic 1064 vs Spike Brewing 10Gal for Induction Brewing

[geoffm33]

I've been using a BC 1064 for BIAB induction brewing on my Avantco IC3500 for 3 years and it works great, no real issues at all. I've got a scorch ring on the bottom but otherwise great.

I have a weldless fitting for a ball valve/pickup as well as a sight glass.

I'm thinking ahead to Xmas, and potential brewery upgrades.

How big of a difference would a Spike Brewing kettle with tri-clad bottom make over what I currently have? Will the tri-clad bottom make a noticeable difference?

Will it heat faster, maintain temps better? The Spike Brewing kettle has thicker walls, would I still need to wrap in reflectix to maintain mash temps?

Or would I just be getting the bling?

Thanks!

 

[mredge73]

Tri-clad is great for gas burners; really spreads out the heat across the bottom.
It may not make much of a difference in your setup; so to answer your question it will be mostly for the bling.

Note, if the middle layer is aluminum it may actually be worst in your setup. Aluminum does not work well with induction.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Our kettle is designed for induction. The tri-clad bottom has a magnetic bottom, aluminum core and 304 stainless main body. The aluminum helps evenly distribute the heat that is generated in the bottom magnetic stainless. The Bayou is not designed to work with induction but will heat up as they are not made from 304SS.

 

[mredge73]

Our kettle is designed for induction. The tri-clad bottom has a magnetic bottom, aluminum core and 304 stainless main body. The aluminum helps evenly distribute the heat that is generated in the bottom magnetic stainless. The Bayou is not designed to work with induction but will heat up as they are not made from 304SS.

Are saying that your kettle should work better with induction than a cheap kettle with cold rolled SS or simply that you kettle will function fine on an induction coil?

Do the thicker walls help hold temp longer or have the opposite effect akin to a heat sink?

 

[geoffm33]

Our kettle is designed for induction. The tri-clad bottom has a magnetic bottom, aluminum core and 304 stainless main body. The aluminum helps evenly distribute the heat that is generated in the bottom magnetic stainless. The Bayou is not designed to work with induction but will heat up as they are not made from 304SS.

Thanks for the reply.

From everything I have read about Spike Brewing kettles they appear top notch and would love to own one. Plus, love that they have welded fittings and the welding is done in Milwaukee, WI.

BUT...if it will wind up being less efficient than my current setup listed in the OP, then I will stick with what I have.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Are saying that your kettle should work better with induction than a cheap kettle with cold rolled SS or simply that you kettle will function fine on an induction coil?

Do the thicker walls help hold temp longer or have the opposite effect akin to a heat sink?

Our kettles are specifically designed to work with induction. The thicker material will also help slow down temp losses. The Bayou's are made from a lower grade magnetic stainless that 'works' on induction as it's magnetic; however they were not designed with that intended use. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for the reply.

From everything I have read about Spike Brewing kettles they appear top notch and would love to own one. Plus, love that they have welded fittings and the welding is done in Milwaukee, WI.

BUT...if it will wind up being less efficient than my current setup listed in the OP, then I will stick with what I have.

The scorch ring that you see on the Bayou is an indication of inefficiencies. It could also be giving off flavors if it is scorching the wort. Our tri-clad bottom will evenly distribute the heat along the entire bottom; more surface area = quicker heating times. Our tank is also 40% thicker than the Bayou (1.2mm vs .8mm) which will better insulate the tank as well.

 

[geoffm33]

Just wanted to put this out there in case anyone come across it that has the Avantco IC3500 and a Spike Kettle, or if Spike has a way to test this?

With a single layer of reflectix on my Bayou Classic:

8 gallons at 58*
94* at 16 minutes
160* at 46 minutes
212* at 72 minutes

Edit: Fixed typo

 

[augiedoggy]

The one downside I can think of with triclad kettles and induction is they do hold the heat longer so when your about to get a boil over you cant just momentarily turn off the heat and instantly stop it like you can in most electric element or induction setups without the thick bottoms... you have that delayed buffer in response that many standard electric stoves also share and why cooks will actually switch burners when having to have precise instant temp changes when cooking with one.