Bought new kettles and have questions...

[Yesfan]

Hello gang,


Recently I bought a couple of 15 gallon kettles with the idea of doing bigger batches for myself and/or the common batches my cousin and me both like we can split. The kettles I have are 15 gallon Concord Cookware. For now, I'm a batch sparger, so thought I would mention that in case that affected anyone's recommendations.


1) I really don't want to waste gas to boil water to find my boil off rate. Does anyone know the formula to find this myself? The kettle dimensions are 16.5"H x16.5"dia (inside dimensions of course). I figured if my post boil is off on that first batch with these kettles, I'll just make a note of what I lost for the next one.

2) I'm thinking about adding thermometers to these kettles too since I need to add ball valves. Is there a rule of thumb for how far apart the holes for the thermos and valves need to be spaced from each other?

3) Valve/thermo placement. I've thought about putting mine under one of the handles (like Blichmanns), instead of the traditional "between the handles" of other kettles. The idea is tipping the kettle when draining the wort. Any other advantages and/or any disadvantages of doing this?

4) Could I use the false bottom from my 10 gallon kettle? I think it's 11" in diameter and it's domed. It's this one here for more specifics (link) It looks tiny in this pot, so thought I'd ask.

5) Any false bottom recommendations since the one I have isn't available for anything bigger than 10 gallon kettles/coolers?

6) Last (I promise), should I insulate one of the kettles or direct fire it? What's the best approach to hold temps.


Thanks in advance.

 

[cbenn22]

1.) It's impossible to say for sure. My electric keggle boils off ~1.2 gallons per hour. If you run your burner 100% you'll boil off more, if you run it at a lower setting, less. I would think 1.25-1.5 gallons per hour would be a good starting point. Also, your boil off rate won't change much if you're doing a 5 vs 10 gallon batch. For example, you'd need 6.25 gallons to end with 5 gallons, and 11.25 gallons for 10 gallons. It's not a linear relationship because boil off rate is dependent on surface area and energy added to the liquid.

2.) No. The biggest think you'll want is consistency. If you mashed at 150 on your thermometers and realize you need a fuller bodied beer, then raise the temperature based on that thermometer. The nice thing about a permanently mounted thermometer is that it will allow you to remain consistent batch to batch.

3.) I can't think of any advantages/disadvantages. My handles are on the sides purely because I thought it looked better.

4.) You may need to use some creative plumbing to mount it to your kettle. I think a new false bottom that covers the entire bottom of your kettles would be beneficial though.

5.) Jaybird false bottoms rock from everything that I've read. If I had it to do over, I would have went with their false bottoms for both my mash/lauter tun and my boil kettle. I only have a false bottom in my mlt at the moment.

6.) I'm not super familiar with gas, but is there any reason (insulation fire?) you can't do both? If it's insulated, only a small burner would be needed to raise temps if necessary.

 

[Natdavis777]

2) Not that I am aware of

5) +1 on Jaybird. I have a 10" FB in my keggle and it works like a charm. Highly recommend.

6) If you are referring to direct firing/insulating the MLT to maintain temps, Id suggest making a Reflectix wrap. Your neighborhood Lowes/HD/etc will have it. In warm temps (60F+) I only lose 1-2 degree F during a 60 min mash (with a lid on the MLT and a Reflectix cover)

 

[BrandonS]

1) If you just want a generic starting point BeerSmith uses:
PI()*(PotDiameter*2.54/2)^2*0.00428/3.78541

2) Besides wanting to have liquid cover a thermowell on the smallest batch size you plan to brew in the kettle, if you are thinking tri clamps, keep in mind the space you would want to not have to fight putting them on. Also make sure you can clear the BV handle with the thermometer face plus your hand.

3) If you want a brewstand from one of the online retailers handles on the front are so much better. Most of the stands are narrow (due to materials length and shipping) and when you get to 15g/20g kettles you can run out of room on the burner when they are on the side. This is especially the case if you want to hang the lid by the handle for storage. By the time you start getting to the bigger batches it's all pump and not really tipping so much besides cleaning.

5) As already recommended: http://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/False_Bottoms.html