BIAB RIMS without drilling kettle?

[wilserbrewer]

I wonder if on a low setting it'd be enough to maintain temps without overheating the bottom too much.

I don't know, perhaps with the hot plate under the kettle and not even touching it, so it just generates hot air under and around the kettle. Not looking for perfection, just looking to combat the heat loss a bit. Maybe with a 2' square of granite scrap to act as a heat sink so the kettle is sitting on a warm slab at 150 - 160 degrees. Just a warm bench, not much more. It would be trial and error to find out how many watts are needed to help maintain equilibrium. My brew stand is wood slats, so even a heat lamp under the kettle would likely help idk. The kettle would still be insulated, this would just be a little passive heating to assist.

I will say that larger batches makes for steady mash temps. If brewing inside, 10 - 15 gallon mashes are fairly thermally stable IME.

 

[iijakii]

I don't know, perhaps with the hot plate under the kettle and not even touching it, so it just generates hot air under and around the kettle. Not looking for perfection, just looking to combat the heat loss a bit. Maybe with a 2' square of granite scrap to act as a heat sink so the kettle is sitting on a warm slab at 150 - 160 degrees. Just a warm bench, not much more. It would be trial and error to find out how many watts are needed to help maintain equilibrium. My brew stand is wood slats, so even a heat lamp under the kettle would likely help idk. The kettle would still be insulated, this would just be a little passive heating to assist.

I will say that larger batches makes for steady mash temps. If brewing inside, 10 - 15 gallon mashes are fairly thermally stable IME.

Yeah I think that might work well. I tried a lamp with a reptile heating bulb pointed at my pot, wasnt enough to really help though. I've thought about making a reflectix jacket and lining the inside with heat tape but don't really care enough to bother.

 

[petrolSpice]

I agree completely, I have actually thought about putting a small electric element hot plate under my electric kettle to act as a warming plate to maintain temps during the mash. Something simple like this to put a couple hundred watts on the kettle. Perhaps under a tile riser box that the kettle sits on...sort of like a warm brewing bench. Just enough heat to keep the mash temp a bit more stable. Ok go ahead and laugh ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Elite-Cuisi...962777?hash=item4b08c96219:g:pJcAAOSw8w1X5BM2

One of my first BIAB brews I tried this. I used this Waring hot plate with a 12"x12"x1/4" aluminum plate between it and the kettle. Getting the setting right was tough. And you have to continually stir to keep everything in equilibrium. But I agree, with some trial and error you could find the right setting.

Another issue I had was the stability of the kettle with ~100 lbs of water and grain on top of the relatively tiny hot plate surface which is only 7.5" across. Like you said, you could fab up something that supports the weight of the kettle and then place the hot plate under that.