How Fix LOTS of Condensation on Range Hood?

[SBENCIV]

I also struggled with condensation at one point. I had installed a bathroom fan in my brewcave mistakenly thinking this would be more than adequate. Of course, it wasn't. I had water dripping from all the pipes, ceiling, you name it. Then I came across a picture of someone who used semi-rigid ducting, attached to a vent, that was then positioned directly over the kettle. With a little tinkering, I was able to make the same modification and bam! Problem solved! I actually can't believe how well it works. I can brew in my brewcave (located in my basement) and it doesn't even move the needle on the level of humidity in my basement. It works incredibly well! Pic attached. I've used this setup for almost 4 years now and I haven't looked back.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

This is an amazing thread. I live in Northern Florida, close to Central Florida, and it gets pretty nasty in the summer. I have never had any kind of condensation problem. I don't even run the range hood. I brew in a Braumeister on my kitchen table.

What am I doing right? No idea.

I used to brew in Miami (spit). I don't recall having condensation there, either.

 

[day_trippr]

Extraordinary. I'd think with all the humidity extant having a steaming kettle would bath everything in "sweat"...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I wonder if high ceilings and an open kitchen design make the difference.

 

[day_trippr]

Probably some effect there wrt dilution of the humidity below the condensation point, vs boiling in a more confined space...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I also have AC on most of the time.

 

[day_trippr]

Big help I'm sure, especially if you have the tonnage to keep up with your kettle

Cheers!

 

[k-daddy]

I understand the concern with condensation dripping onto the control panel but what's the potential harm of a small amount of condensation falling back into the kettle?

 

[tracer bullet]

I understand the concern with condensation dripping onto the control panel but what's the potential harm of a small amount of condensation falling back into the kettle?

Bringing in unwanted flavors. The material of the ductwork, metal or plastic for example. Dust and dirt and anything else in there.

I can't promise you'll notice it or not in the final product, given how diluted the condensation would be. But I somewhat bet that if you were to collect the condensation and drink it, you'd taste things you don't like.

If the duct acts as a steam condenser, at a minimum I'd want to figure out how to collect it and run it to a drain or a bucket.

 

[k-daddy]

Bringing in unwanted flavors. The material of the ductwork, metal or plastic for example. Dust and dirt and anything else in there.

I can't promise you'll notice it or not in the final product, given how diluted the condensation would be. But I somewhat bet that if you were to collect the condensation and drink it, you'd taste things you don't like.

If the duct acts as a steam condenser, at a minimum I'd want to figure out how to collect it and run it to a drain or a bucket.

Thanks. My makeshift garbage can lid hood/fan/ductwork are clean and only used for beer brewing. Condensation only occurs on the edge where the hood meets the duct so I can't imagine I'm exposing my wort to any off flavors from a few ml's of water falling into 7 gallons of wort. It might be a different story if my kettle was sitting under a greasy kitchen exhaust fan.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

Thanks -- the other thing I'm going to try because my curiosity is killing me, is take my same pot and boil a couple of gallons of water for an hour on my kitchen stove in the house and see if I get condensation in there. My hypothesis is that I won't, but I'll find out later today. If I don't then I'll be left wondering what the difference is.

I finally got around to brewing a batch in the kitchen in the house, which has a much nicer, rear-venting range hood, and perhaps not surprisingly the condensation issue was still present.

Regarding a steam condensing lid, it's an interesting option but ultimately it's a non-starter for me at this point. I just can't get past all the added complexity of having the steam handling coupled to the kettle(s) and it'd substantially reduce my flexibility in equipment use, so for better or worse I'm set on having the condensation handled by a condensate hood at this point.

My plan at this point is to replace my 30" range hood with a condensate hood, which is proving to be a bit more challenging than I had hoped since most of the commercial condensate hoods available are too large for my space. And, to paint myself further into a one-path solution, this isn't something I want to DIY.

I did get in touch with Fast Kitchen Hoods, who I came across on The Electric Brewery, and they can make a custom-sized hood for my space and even put the exhaust port in the right spot so it'll line up with my existing roof vent. (It also doesn't hurt that their customer support seems excellent based on my interactions with them so far.)

I also checked out HoodMart but they haven't responded to my request for a quote, and from what I can tell may not even make a hood small enough for my space.

The upshot of all this is, before pulling the trigger on having Fast Kitchen Hoods build me a hood I thought I'd ask if there are other sources for small condensate hood that I maybe haven't come across, just so I can do some comparisons if possible.

Thanks for the great discussion on this topic!

 

[IslandLizard]

I finally got around to brewing a batch in the kitchen in the house, which has a much nicer, rear-venting range hood, and perhaps not surprisingly the condensation issue was still present.

I had a similar experience with our microwave which has a built-in recirculation fan, mounted above the stove. Of course it doesn't even vent to the outside, so I just kept wiping the condensation off as it formed, before the drips would drop. However, I ended up with plenty of brown streaks dripping down walls and large drops forming on the ceiling...

The boil was pathetic too, I had to keep the lid on part ways with a thick bath towel on top, and insulate the side of the kettle to keep a mere simmer on a triple electrical element. However, it did evaporate a good gallon an hour, right on track.

I quickly got sick of wiping the ceiling and walls all the time, as well as the slow heating element.
Soon after I bought an Avantco 3500 Watt induction burner and installed a 240V, 20A outlet above the countertop located under a double-hung window.

When boiling the wort, I open the window above the kettle and place a box fan in the hole, and never looked back. The stove is still useful for boiling down 3rd or extra runnings, making sugar syrups and such, while boiling the main batch on the IC3500.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

Thanks to everyone for all the great contributions to this thread! I got a lot of ideas and learned a ton from you all.

I finally got around to taking a shot at addressing it by gutting my existing range hood and installing an inline fan.

The completely open space inside the hood and the slanted sides have led to about a 98% (totally scientific number) improvement. There's still a small amount of condensation around the opening that goes up into the ducting but I noticed only a couple of small drips during my brew session yesterday, so as long as I dab that area off a couple of times while brewing I should be good.

Not perfect, but I'll take the vast improvement.

I put together a video if anyone's interested in all the gory details.

 

[kevin58]

Thanks, I'll look into this. My issue is I use different kettles based on batch size, and honestly in some cases "just cuz," so I may have to give up some of that flexibility. Appreciate the input.

All you need is the same size port on each lid and you can swap out your steam slayer between them.

 

[SBENCIV]

Thanks to everyone for all the great contributions to this thread! I got a lot of ideas and learned a ton from you all.

I finally got around to taking a shot at addressing it by gutting my existing range hood and installing an inline fan.

View attachment 845834

The completely open space inside the hood and the slanted sides have led to about a 98% (totally scientific number) improvement. There's still a small amount of condensation around the opening that goes up into the ducting but I noticed only a couple of small drips during my brew session yesterday, so as long as I dab that area off a couple of times while brewing I should be good.

Not perfect, but I'll take the vast improvement.

I put together a video if anyone's interested in all the gory details.

Great job! The biggest thing I learned was to have a fan powerful enough to yank that steam into the duct BEFORE it has a chance to condense. And that's exactly what you did with that inline fan.