So I did an AG on saturday, and wound up with just under 7 gallons in the pot (6.9 gallons). Since I had so much wort, it took about 20 minutes to come to a boil with my propane burner. I then had a very standard 60 minute boil, removed from heat and put my wort chiller in. I then dumped into fermenting bucket, and only wound up with 4 gallons. There was maybe .25 gallons left in the kettle of sludge..... Is it normal to boil off almost 3 gallons of wort in a 60 minute boil with 20 minutes of getting up to a boil? That just seems like way too much. Has anyone had something like that happen before?
Full Boil and amount that boils off
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Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
You need to use the valve to control how fast you boil off with a propane burner...
I set mine so that the flame is not too intense, and can boil off about 1-1/2 gallons in an hour that way.
Before your next batch, do a test boil and see what you need to set the valve at in order to boil off the amount you want in an hour. Personally, I use the flame to judge how fast I'll boil off the amount.
BTW, typically you boil off a good amount faster/more per hour using a propane burner compared with a stove.
I set mine so that the flame is not too intense, and can boil off about 1-1/2 gallons in an hour that way.
Before your next batch, do a test boil and see what you need to set the valve at in order to boil off the amount you want in an hour. Personally, I use the flame to judge how fast I'll boil off the amount.
BTW, typically you boil off a good amount faster/more per hour using a propane burner compared with a stove.
FensterBos
Well-Known Member
How aggressive was the boil? I usually yield about 6.5 to 7 gallons pre-boil and end up with about 5 to 5.5 gallons after I cool the wort.
+1 Golddiggie
+1 Golddiggie
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I sometimes have it turned up higher to get the wort to a boil, but then tone it back to just maintain the boil... When we used my burner for a 10 gallon batch, we had it rocking for most of the time... But, we were fighting cooler air temps, and such. Still, did a solid job...
For reference, I have the Bayou KAB4 burner. I went with that one, over the others, mostly due to the burner design. Plus it's rated at 210k BTU. :rockin: I wanted one that wouldn't have any issue with 10 gallon batches later (it doesn't have any issue at all) so that I wouldn't need/want a new burner later. Plus, the housing design rocks. I'm able to put my hand right under it while it's going. More heat gets blasted out of the sides, from where it hits the pot, than down.
For reference, I have the Bayou KAB4 burner. I went with that one, over the others, mostly due to the burner design. Plus it's rated at 210k BTU. :rockin: I wanted one that wouldn't have any issue with 10 gallon batches later (it doesn't have any issue at all) so that I wouldn't need/want a new burner later. Plus, the housing design rocks. I'm able to put my hand right under it while it's going. More heat gets blasted out of the sides, from where it hits the pot, than down.
bruin_ale
Well-Known Member
amazing that you could boil off that much without boiling over...
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Not really... I could do that in my 32 quart pot just by adding some fermcap to the wort... I've had 7 gallons in that pot so far, getting it down to 5-1/4 gallons without any boil-over simply by using fermcap... Great stuff.
bruin_ale
Well-Known Member
Yeah Fermcap kicks Ass, but did he mention using fermcap? I don't think so. Now go try and do it without FermCap as I'm guessing the OP did. Good luck!
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Yeah Fermcap kicks Ass, but did he mention using fermcap? I don't think so. Now go try and do it without FermCap as I'm guessing the OP did. Good luck!
He also didn't mention the kettle/pot size... For all we know, he has a 15 gallon pot/kettle to use... Even a 10 gallon/40 quart pot/kettle wouldn't have any issue boiling ~7 gallons of wort...
BTW, I've boiled 7-1/2 gallons in my kettle without issue, that's when I would highly recommend fermcap. But, even without that, being a bit smarter, and attentive, you can easily avoid boil-over in a kettle/pot...
bruin_ale
Well-Known Member
good point on the size of the pot.. I have a 15 gallon pot, so when I do 5 gallon batches it's pretty hard to boil over.
That said, still would have to be a mighty boil to evap double what I'm getting with my boil. Or I guess it could be a very short/wide pot.
That said, still would have to be a mighty boil to evap double what I'm getting with my boil. Or I guess it could be a very short/wide pot.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
The pot I converted into a kettle is a stock pot... They also have a pot, same quart size, that's a sauce pot that's more squat... With that, I could see having even more boil-off amounts...
BTW, loving my aluminum kettle...
BTW, loving my aluminum kettle...
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