How much wort can I boil on a stovetop?

[Ninkasi]

I have been brewing extract beers for a few years. In doing so I boil about 2 gallons of wort on my stovetop and top off my wort to 5 gallons in the Primary.

I was thinking about moving into partial mash brewing but will need to boil a larger volume of wort. I do not have the capabilities to brew outside (on a burner) so I will have to continue to use my stovetop.

Question: what is the maximum volume of wort I can boil with on my stovetop to have a successful, efficient brew session? 4 gallons...5...15? (The key here is a volume that won't take all day to come to a boil) For those people who do their boils on a stovetop in the kitchen, what is the highest volume you have boiled? Was it successful? How long did it take? Thanks all.

 

[Cheesefood]

I have been brewing extract beers for a few years. In doing so I boil about 2 gallons of wort on my stovetop and top off my wort to 5 gallons in the Primary.

I was thinking about moving into partial mash brewing but will need to boil a larger volume of wort. I do not have the capabilities to brew outside (on a burner) so I will have to continue to use my stovetop.

Question: what is the maximum volume of wort I can boil with on my stovetop to have a successful, efficient brew session? 4 gallons...5...15? (The key here is a volume that won't take all day to come to a boil) For those people who do their boils on a stovetop in the kitchen, what is the highest volume you have boiled? Was it successful? How long did it take? Thanks all.

Depends on your range. Got a pro-series Viking range with 1,000,000 BTU's? Probably a lot. Got a small little electric? Probably a little.

How long does it take to boil 1 gallon of water?

 

[Spyk'd]

Up until recently, I used to do 6.5 gallon boils down to ~5 gallons on the stove top. I would need the extra volume because it would steam off during the extra time it took to come up to a boil. It would take about an hour to come up to boil and even then it wasn't a real rolling boil and hop utilization is better at a true rolling boil.

My new turkey fryer takes about 10 mins to boil 6.5 gallons and I'm left with about 5.5 gallons after an hour true boil!



So, basically you can do it on the stove if you have time on your hands, but I'd recommend an outdoor burner to add some of the fun factor back in to it.

 

[uwmgdman]

I have no idea how many BTUs my stove top is, it is certainly nothing special. When I get my own house I will either build a house with a gas stove or if I buy, the house I like has gas. The stove at that point should be irrelevant, as I hope to be going all-grain and boiling outside. Anyway Back to the topic....

I use the bigger of the burners, and can boil 3.5 gallons. It does take some time to get from cold water to boiling water, when covered maybe 30 mins. However, when doing partial mashes, since the wort is already at ~160-175 degrees after the sparge, it doesn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes to get boiling.

 

[david_42]

You can do partial mashes, up to 4-5 pounds, without going over 2.5 gallons. I've done a dozen batches where I mash in 2.5 gallons, then remove the grains, add the extract & boil. Just takes a really big grain bag, so you can stir the grains well before removing the bag.

All of austinhomebrew's mini-mashes are done this way.

 

[Ninkasi]

Cheesefood: to answer you question, I would guess it takes ~15+ minutes to bring a gallon of water to boil on my electric stove...yah, I know, not very good. Here in lies my concern about making a higher volume boil.

uwmgdman, I am guessing you are using a gas stove...?

david_42, I think your right. I should be able to do a 4-5 lb. grain PM. I plan on building a PM mash/lauter tun and I'm trying to figure out what size cooler to convert (i.e. if I can't boil more than, I don't know, 3 gallons on my stove then I'm not going to get a large 5-10 gallon cooler to convert).

Spyk'd: WOW, I'm somewhat surprised to hear that you can do such a large boil on your stove. How long does it take to come to a boil?!

 

[Spyk'd]

Spyk'd: WOW, I'm somewhat surprised to hear that you can do such a large boil on your stove. How long does it take to come to a boil?!

...It would take about an hour to come up to boil and even then it wasn't a real rolling boil and hop utilization is better at a true rolling boil...

:cross:

My new ceramic cook top has a "bridged element" meaning that two burners can connect to form one big one, but I haven't been able to try it yet.......I need to hook up my 900CFM range hood first so it's all nice and stinkyless for the wife.