Biggest pot on electric stove?

[beauvafr]

What is the biggest pot you can use on stove?

Is a 9 gallons ok or too big ?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

What is the biggest pot you can use on stove?

Is a 9 gallons ok or too big ?

Can you bridge two burners? Is it a glass-top or traditional coil? Are you willing to supplement with a heat stick to start the boil?

One burner only, no heat stick and traditional coil...you are probably looking at a max boil of about 6 gallons....the pot size is not really your main problem unless it will not fit under the vent hood.

 

[kombat]

I have a glass-top stove and it won't even boil 2 gallons. Don't waste your time - get a propane burner and save yourself the frustration.

 

[beauvafr]

@Onkel_Udo All traditional stuff here. lol.
@kombat I don't like the idea of using propane inside the house since I don't have a garage.

 

[IslandLizard]

It all depends on your stove.

I've used my 8 gallon 14" wide pot for "full" 6 gallon extract boils on a "Kenmore" and could keep a rolling boil when bridged over the 2 largest elements, but had to keep the lid half-on most of the time. No DMS problems.

On my new Samsung with a triple 11" element I can keep a full 7 gallon all-grain rolling boil, also with the lid on half way but now part-time. For a 5 gallon volume I can keep the lid off.

I've bubble-wrapped (Reflectix) the kettle and get a bit more heat efficiency. It really helps against heat loss. Just make sure not to burn the plastic to your stove or SWMBO will be very unhappy.

The problem is the elements have their own temp sensors and shut off before they max out their capacity. I guess that prevents problems later on.

Make sure there is no grit, sand or other material between the stove top and your pot bottom, or you may crack the glass. It needs to be really smooth and clean. A perfectly flat, triple layer bottom is best for conduction and prevents scorching.

You would need a 240V, 3500W "induction plate" to boil a kettle of that volume. The 120V, 1800W versions are not sufficient. It maybe a better and cheaper solution to mount a heating element in your pot. Lots of threads about that here on HBT.

 

[beauvafr]

Thanks Island for your post. Can you explain 'bridged' ?

 

[Beernik]

My 10 gallon pot spanned two coil burners. Worked great.

I must also offer up the disclaimer that I got my turkey fryer and moved brewing outside. After a year of brewing outside, my stove burst into flames one night. Was it related to 5 years of stovetop brewing? I don't know. Could just be that my stove was ancient.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks Island for your post. Can you explain 'bridged' ?

Wide bottomed pots can cover 2 burners when you slide the pot over a bit. They cover about 3/4 of each burner that way. It may give you a few more hundred BTUs. Works with some stoves, not all.

Try it, see what works. Do you do full, all grain (AG) boils, partial mash, or extract?

Only for full AG you need to boil the whole volume. With partial mash and extract you can get away with boiling a smaller amount (2-4 gallon), and then top up your fermentor with boiled and chilled water. Some people split the boil over 2 pots if they don't have one pot large enough, or if the stove can't boil a large one.

 

[IslandLizard]

...my stove burst into flames one night....

Funny you mention that. The weight of an 8 gallon pot with 7 gallons of wort resting on a glass top stove is scary. Don't even try to tip or slide that pot. Even on coils you're pushing some limits. Also the high heat output over time may tax the system more than it is designed for.

I'm thinking about drilling a hole and mount an electric element in the kettle. I have a propane set-up, but outside brewing here is impossible in the summer. The mosquitoes are just too ferocious.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Funny you mention that. The weight of an 8 gallon pot with 7 gallons of wort resting on a glass top stove is scary. Don't even try to tip or slide that pot. Even on coils you're pushing some limits. Also the high heat output over time may tax the system more than it is designed for.

I'm thinking about drilling a hole and mount an electric element in the kettle. I have a propane set-up, but outside brewing here is impossible in the summer. The mosquitoes are just too ferocious.

I am a Luddite and leery of glass top stoves all the way around but certainly for full boil brewing.

Assuming you own a drill and have a true 20 amp circuit available, the cost of conversion is about $50 assuming you are not adding a bulkhead valve. You basically need the 2000W element, nut, washer and o-ring. For tools an element wrench is very helpful and an 1 1/4" hole saw are all you need. To cap the back of the element, a 1 1/2" ID PVC cap and silicon. For a cord...a cheap appliance extension cord with one end cut off.

 

[SPR-GRN]

I run an 8 gallon pot and a 5 gallon pot on my glass top, it doesn't have the power to boil it all in one vessel so I split it across two pots, I also can't span one pot across two burners as they are spaced too far apart. I miss my gas stove..

hmmm maybe i'll use my roasting pan next time and span two burners.... jk, that's crazy.

 

[stpug]

My GE glass top stove can boil full 90 minute batches (~7.25 gallons) without a lid in an 11 gallon turkey fryer kettle on the single large burner. It will bring all runnings from ~155F to boiling within 30 minutes (no lid), and once hot break is over I have to reduce the heat on my stove from 10 to about 8.5 so the boil isn't overly vigorous.

I guess it's really equipment/stove dependent.

 

[RhodySeth]

I have a glasstop stop and have only done 1.25 gallon boils on it. I'm not sure how much more I could boil. It's gets pretty hot but I don't want to test it and besides 2.5 gallon batches are working just fine for me right now.

 

[ryan_george]

I had a glass top and was able to boil 12 gallons of wort. The pot was able to span two elements and it worked quite well!

 

[Indian_villager]

Drill an element into the side of the pot. It is what I did and it rocks!

 

[Beernik]

I sum is some canning Saturday using my turkey fryer with a grate in the bottom pot as the canning vessel. It looks like I got about 4 gallons boiling on one burner with no problems.

 

[SPR-GRN]

My GE glass top stove can boil full 90 minute batches (~7.25 gallons) without a lid in an 11 gallon turkey fryer kettle on the single large burner. It will bring all runnings from ~155F to boiling within 30 minutes (no lid), and once hot break is over I have to reduce the heat on my stove from 10 to about 8.5 so the boil isn't overly vigorous.

I guess it's really equipment/stove dependent.

What the heck model GE stove do you have?

 

[Hello]

I have a glass-top stove and it won't even boil 2 gallons. Don't waste your time - get a propane burner and save yourself the frustration.

I am in agreement, but following posts suggest it really is model dependent. My Kenmore came with the house. It was new and that tells me the seller bought whatever looked halfway decent and didn't bother with anything higher end. 2.5 gallons in a 20gal pot took 45-60 minutes at least and after adding LME, I never saw a big boil. I switched to propane outside. In spite of living in NC and the bugs still being an issue, I just surround myself with citronella and use a fan to give me a little air movement. It's not horrible.

This spanning across two elements sounds like a good idea but my pot isn't big enough.

My GE glass top stove can boil full 90 minute batches (~7.25 gallons) without a lid in an 11 gallon turkey fryer kettle on the single large burner. It will bring all runnings from ~155F to boiling within 30 minutes (no lid), and once hot break is over I have to reduce the heat on my stove from 10 to about 8.5 so the boil isn't overly vigorous.

I guess it's really equipment/stove dependent.

I totally want to know the model of your stove top.

 

[Einberger1]

We have a Frigidaire Professional series slide in electric glass top range. I use a 10 gallon Blichmann pot and can easily bring over 7.5 gallons to an extremely vigorous boil in under a half hour. It will keep the boil going at Med High heat without issue. Very happy with that range/stove!

 

[stpug]

What the heck model GE stove do you have?

I totally want to know the model of your stove top.

Nothing very fancy. It's a GE JBP68DMWW bought back in 2007

http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=JBP68DMWW