Can this insulate kettle on gas range?

[D-Hutt]

http://www.mcmaster.com/#high-temperature-insulation/=hq1ngy

Looking at the ultra high temperature rolls. I can't get 7g of wort to a full boil on my 14,000 BTU stove top - it gets close though. I'm wondering if insulating the kettle would get me there. Can this stuff withstand almost being in the flame?

 

[bucfanmike]

not sure on the insulation, have you considered a 110v heatstick as a helper?

 

[D-Hutt]

I have one actually. It works, but I don't really get a rolling boil with it. It boils in the location of the heat stick, but it makes me wonder if all the water is heating evenly.

 

[Huff360]

The Ultra High Temp Roll of Flexible Ceramic will withstand the heat without any trouble. You would want to wrap the outside of the fiberglass with a cover of some sort though, otherwise you will end up tearing the insulation up over time.

 

[D-Hutt]

What kind of cover? I just don't want to burn my apartment down is all, lol.

 

[Huff360]

Sheet metal of some sort would be ideal, but probably a lot of work. There is a thread somewhere on here where someone did this exact thing. I want to say it was BobbyM.

 

[D-Hutt]

Cool - I'll look for it. Thanks!

 

[Bobby_M]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/direct-fire-mlt-insulation-project-154652/

 

[D-Hutt]

Nice, thanks Bobby.

 

[Puffin]

So did this work? I can't a rolling boil on 4 gallons, I can get an okay boil if I put the lid on and cover about 80% of the top. I'm thinking of insulating but wondering if will make that big of a difference.

 

[D-Hutt]

Haven't had time to try it yet. This time I just wrapped a blanket around the kettle and tried to just use my heatstick. Mash was fine but I still needed the flame for the boil, so I had to remove the blanket. Will need to think more about this.

 

[rico567]

I was faced with this same problem when I started homebrewing. Extract batches in a 7.5 gal (30 qt.) SS boil pot on an anæmic cooktop, biggest burner only about 7.5K BTU.

J.C. Whitney sells a roll (way more than you need, I've got way more than half left) of automotive firewall insulation. They also sell a heat resistant spray glue and foil tape to tape it up outside. This cut my time to bring on a full 5 gal. boil by 20 min, from 70 to about 50 min. I am still using this insulated pot, even though I switched to AG 3.5 years ago, and have never done another extract batch on that cooktop. The taped & insulated side of the pot has held up, even though the pot is now used on a 55K BTU Bayou Classic SP-10 burner.