Brew kettle insulation

[Island_Dan]

I've been losing a considerable amount of heat every brew and finally got around to making removable reflectix jacket. It's two layers of reflective epoxied together and tabs with Velcro to make it easy to fit around the pot and accommodate the handles and valve etc.

I brew 2.5 gallon batches with an anvil 5.5 G pot.

Let me know what you think and if anyone has any other ideas to help me hold my temperature.

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[jekeane]

Will the kettle fit in your oven? If it will not fit on the bottom rack and there is an element on the bottom of the oven. Have you tried making a shelf above the element using a flat cookie sheet and something like little metal cups for legs? I used to do this with my old oven. If you can figure it out you can keep you mash at temp by just pre warming your oven on low and keeping the pot in there. Most ovens war at 170-170 so you just need it on for 10 minutes before you pop the kettle in then turn the oven off.

 

[makisupapolice14]

Looks good but insulate the lid too. If possible have the reflectix hang over the edge of the lid a bit and Velcro it down to the kettle insulation to reduce heat lost to the lid opening, where most heat is lost. Last batch I did this and also added a sleeping bag over the kettle (I brew with propane outside) and lost a whopping 1.5f over 1 hour

 

[Island_Dan]

Thanks. I will cut a square piece for the lid tomorrow and put Velcro on the corners to hold the lid down. This should make a lot of difference over me never insulating it before.

 

[OkanaganMike]

Ya insulate the lid and throw a blanket or at least a heavy bath towel over the lot.

 

[Island_Dan]

I made insulation for the lid and wrapped the whole thing with a towel as suggested when I brewed yesterday. I had a 3 degree drop over the 60 minute mash. I'm more than happy with that when compared to what I lost without any insulation at all. I will work on tightening the insulation up a bit more and making a piece to go around the bottom as I am sure I lost a lot of heat there.