Brewing on an electric stove top?

[corycorycory09]

Is it possible / recommended to brew 5 gallon batches on an electric stove top in a 40qt pot?

I imagine it would take quite some time to boil.

I've seen a few people recommend turkey fryers, but most I've seen are around 30qts.

Would this be a decent setup for a 5 gallon wort kettle?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/King-Kooker-Propane-Turkey-Fryer/14956840

 

[unionrdr]

An electric stove might not handle all that volume. I have aftermarket elements on my electric stove, & it takes about 20 minutes to bring 3 1/2 to 4 gallons of wort to a boil. 29 quarts equaling 7 1/4 gallons might barely be big enough for a 5 gallon boil, but 5 1/2 to 6 gallons to account for boil-off would be pushing it.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

I've done both. While an electric stove will boil 5 gallons of wort, you'll be amazed how much faster a turkey fryer will get you to a full, rolling boil. It's a noticeable time savings. As long as your large pot will fit on the fryer and can handle the heat you'll be fine.

 

[stpug]

It is highly dependent on your stove. The best way to find out if it's possible is to fill a pot with 6 gallons of hot water and find out if it can bring it to a boil. If so, how long does it take?

I do 5.25 gallon batches on my solid-surface electric stove very successfully in an 11 gallon turkey fryer. It takes about 25-30 minutes to bring my hot wort (~145F) to a boil. My brother-in-law's gas stove took almost 2 hours to bring a test pot of hot water to a near boil, so he ended up opting for a propane burner.

Size your pot to you preboil volume plus some headspace. A 5 gallon batch usually starts off as 6-7 gallons preboil volume and when the hotbreak happens it can raise up some foam several inches (2-5 depending on beer). A 40 quart pot is a very good size to do 5 gallon batches in and leaves plenty of cushion.

Here's one that doesn't come with a burner but is 40 quarts:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I'm not necessarily recommending it, but just showing there are many options out there.

 

[sky4meplease]

Love my lectric stove.
My 60 minute preboil volume is 6.5 gallons in a 7 gallon kettle.
I start my boil when the lauter is 80% or so done and carry over the last 20% as my wort comes to temp. I would say it takes 20-30 minutes to get to boiling.
Additionally, I preheat the oven and use it for a mash tun mashing right in my BK. It holds to within a degree over an hour mash.
Keep an eye on the hot break and remove from the burner momentarily for hop additions.
My wife wants to get a new stove and I'm afraid it's gonna ruin my mojo.

 

[ram5ey]

Yeah I use the electric stovetop. I i think I started to wear out the element though and augmented it with a heat stick. Now I use the heat stick at full and turn the stove to about 6. Thats been the sweet spot.

 

[unionrdr]

My electric elements on the stove went out or got weak. so I replaced them with the ones in the link on my profile page. Heats up way faster.

 

[mdharris99]

I tried a full volume 5 gal batch on my stove once. After I tasted the beer I ran right out and bought a propane burner. My electric stove struggled with maintaining a rolling boil and the beer was a DMS bomb.

 

[Tinpanharry]

I brew partial mash BIAB on and electric stovetop. Its a great time savings and I can brew out of the weather.

I use a 30qt turkey pot from Walmart (takes about 20min to boil) and boil 5 gal or more down to 4 or more gallons. I chill with an ice bath as I don't have a immersion chiller. This also takes about 20 mins.

I top off with almost freezing RO water to pitching temp. Works pretty well, and usually I am done in about 3 hours.

Welcome and cheers!

 

[Psylocide]

It's possible to brew on an electric stove top, but I would suggest standing on the floor... it's much safer.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

It all depends on your stove. Mine will boil 7.5 gal in my 9 gal pot in about 20 min (from mash temp). My pot is a tall boy that is only 13 inches diameter, which helps. I've read posts from others that couldn't get their pots to boil at all. My BK is stainless but aluminum will boil faster, too.

 

[Calichusetts]

I have an induction stove top that works fine. Remember, you aren't necessarily boiling 6 gallons to start. Start the boil with your first runnings (if you are sparging) I find that I am practically at a boil, sometimes even boiling, when I add my second runnings. Takes another 20 to get back up. You can pick up a cheap heating element to assist in getting you to a boil quicker, and or maintaining a vigorous boil. Good luck!

 

[SeanC138]

I can't get a rolling boil on my electric stove. I can get the temperature to where it's needed to make beer, but just doesn't feel the same without a rolling boil.

 

[Imhoppy]

Interestingly, none of the previous responses discuss the electric element rating in watts, which is most helpful in determining if there is sufficient heat input available. My largest cooktop heating elements are 3200 watts (left rear) and 3000 watts (right front). When using the 3000 watt element, I have done a 6.5 gallon boil with my Bayou Classic 8-gallon brew kettle. Strike water (2.5 gallons) heat-up time for my partial mash brew from 68F to 165F was 23 minutes, or 1.69F/min/gallon. The final fill (with 170F water for both sparge and topping-off) resulted in a pre-volume boil of 6.5 gallons. Heat-up time to boil (from about 165F) took 40 minutes, or 0.18F/min/gallon. Note I did surround the kettle with a bath towel folded in half and held in place with a bungee cord for some insulation. My boil-off rate was measured at 1 gallon/hour, thus a good indication on the boil strength. So with the 3000 watt element, I find doing a full volume 6.5 gallon boil can be successfully accomplished, but it takes awhile to do so. No big deal IMO. The extra time in my brew kitchen was put to good use by drinking a delicious home brew poured from my kegerator so conveniently located within.

 

[SeanC138]

So does the temp matter only or should it be a rolling boil? I've always wondered what the different is.