gotbags-10
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How much wort can I boil safely in a 3 gallon pot without spilling over?
Boil size in a 3g pot?
- Thread starter gotbags-10
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Not too much- 1.5g maybe 2g if you really keep a close watch on it.
I'd say at the very most, 2 gallons. You really want to watch it though because once you get that hot break, the wort starts to rise fast. The same can happen when you add hops. I like to stand there with a spray bottle of water. Spraying the foam helps keep it down and it is harmless to the wort.
With experience and caution you could likely boil 2.5+ gallons. With inexperience, you could have a boil over from hell the likes of which you have never seen! OK, you have been warned.
Every extra minute spent carefully approaching boil equates to about an hour saved cleaning up a boilover.
tips
- reduce heat approaching boil
- stir hot break / foam back into wort as you approach boil. The foam cap acts like a pot lid and can lead to an explosive boilover. With experience you realize what is happening, as a noob, one can focus on the kettle waiting for it to start boiling, then suddenly it explodes all over your stove
- I would reduce or turn off the heat for hop additions until you have some experience. Dumping in a bunch of pellet hops can trigger a boilover.
- some like using a spray bottle, or dropping an ice cube in the pot will calm a boilover, best IME not to go there vs. battle it.
Every extra minute spent carefully approaching boil equates to about an hour saved cleaning up a boilover.
tips
- reduce heat approaching boil
- stir hot break / foam back into wort as you approach boil. The foam cap acts like a pot lid and can lead to an explosive boilover. With experience you realize what is happening, as a noob, one can focus on the kettle waiting for it to start boiling, then suddenly it explodes all over your stove
- I would reduce or turn off the heat for hop additions until you have some experience. Dumping in a bunch of pellet hops can trigger a boilover.
- some like using a spray bottle, or dropping an ice cube in the pot will calm a boilover, best IME not to go there vs. battle it.
andy6026
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With experience and caution you could likely boil 2.5+ gallons. With inexperience, you could have a boil over from hell the likes of which you have never seen! OK, you have been warned.
Every extra minute spent carefully approaching boil equates to about an hour saved cleaning up a boilover.
tips
- reduce heat approaching boil
- stir hot break / foam back into wort as you approach boil. The foam cap acts like a pot lid and can lead to an explosive boilover. With experience you realize what is happening, as a noob, one can focus on the kettle waiting for it to start boiling, then suddenly it explodes all over your stove
- I would reduce or turn off the heat for hop additions until you have some experience. Dumping in a bunch of pellet hops can trigger a boilover.
- some like using a spray bottle, or dropping an ice cube in the pot will calm a boilover, best IME not to go there vs. battle it.
Just to add to wilserbrewer's good advice:
While it is most common for the wort to foam up as it approached boil and while adding hops, this is by no means the only time that it can/will happen. You can get a boil over at any time throughout the boil, so the more volume you use, the more you're going to need to watch it like a hawk throughout the entire boil.
I do 5-6 gallon batches in a 15 gallon kettle. I've left it unattended many times to go make a sandwich, or whatever, and come back to find a sticky mess seeping down the side of the kettle.
Save yourself the agro and go buy a bigger pot - you know you want to
McGarnigle
Well-Known Member
Buy some Fermcap and you can boil more than otherwise.
The heat source plays a major role. If the heat is on the lower end, boilovers can be a non-issue.
gotbags-10
Well-Known Member
Well to avoid issues I bought a 5g pot. [emoji2] I normally use my 15g keg for my BK but doing some smaller batches since I'm off work with a broken arm
I routinely do 3.6 - 3.7 gallon in a 4 gallon kettle. I'm using an electric stove to bring everything to a boil. By the time everything is boiling the volume is around 3.5 gallons. Honestly it's pretty scary when the boil gets going but once everything is dialed in it's predictable enough that I can walk away and come back for hop additions.
Do propane burners cause more rapid / vigorous boils?
Do propane burners cause more rapid / vigorous boils?
DaNewf
Well-Known Member
Using a 19 litre pot I've made 14 - 15 litre all grain batches with no post boil dilution. The pre-boil volume was around (maybe over) 18 litres. This was done on an electric stove that struggled to get the wort to a boil so that helped but unwavering vigilance and a handy spray bottle were still mandatory.
Please consider this an example of what can be done not what should be done. I've since made myself a 30 litre plastic electric boil kettle so I can do full 5-6 US gallon batches. Many would still consider this boiler too small.
Please consider this an example of what can be done not what should be done. I've since made myself a 30 litre plastic electric boil kettle so I can do full 5-6 US gallon batches. Many would still consider this boiler too small.
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