Induction Brewing w/ Spike Kettle

[Figgy15]

Hello fellow brewers. I've been looking into an induction burner that will work well with my 15 Gallon Spike Brewing Kettle. It is 15.8¨ wide by 19.4¨ tall. I was hoping someone could recommend a good burner that will work for this kettle. I'm looking to use it for the boil step, not mashing. I live in Albuquerque so because of the altitude, boil normals happens around 200-210F.

 

[bferullo]

Avantco IC 3500 (i have the 1800 watt version). Pot doesn't have to sit completely on burner (i.e can overhang some and still work fine). I recommend wrapping kettle in reflectix as well.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you want to boil 10-12 gallon batches in that pot, you'll need to insulate the sides of the kettle and keep the lid on halfway, or you won't get a good boil with the IC3500. Or you can put a 1500W heat stick in the kettle to get the extra needed oomph.

Is your Spike kettle induction ready? They all have triple-ply bottoms, right? That really helps dispersing the heat that's generated in a 6" disc-shaped area, so it won't scorch the wort.

Both my More Beer Heavy Duty kettles (8 and 15 gallon) hang way over the unit (14" and 17" wide, resp.) but it still works like a charm. Going strong almost 3 years already. I mostly do 5-6 gallon batches in the 8 gallon kettle. It's just a tad small for that. Occasionally I brew 12 gallons in the big one.

I've been using it for step mashing in the kettle too.

 

[IslandLizard]

The IC3500 is on sale right now with free shipping.

 

[Figgy15]

I really appreciate your input on this. I'll look in that burner and post my results if/when i get it. Thank you all.

 

[davou]

The IC3500 is on sale right now with free shipping.

Where?

 

[IslandLizard]

Where?

Sorry for the late response, I was out of town at a homebrew/beer/camping event for 4 days.
50+ beers anytime, everyday. That did not include "private" stashes many brought along.

Google search:
Look past the 1st overpriced result from Amazon. <ugh!>

But the 2nd result reveals:
Webstaurant.com
That's where most of us bought the unit from.

$170 + $11 shipping (for my location).
Not "on sale" anymore, but their everyday price is pretty darn good.

 

[davou]

yeah thats where I was looking! I was hoping to grab it on amazon though so that I could get a third party warranty extension.... Yo ucan get 5 years of extra repairs/replacements from some people.... but being in canada, I can only do that if the item is bought on a site offering it


Ill be getting one of these around the holidays for sure!

 

[bferullo]

offtopic for IslandLizard...if you ever need one, the restaurant store on kane street in baltimore usually stocks them.

 

[beechnut]

Figgy 15,

I'm thinking over the exact same problem. I've been looking over the following 5000 watt induction cooktop. Have you come up with a solution yet?

5000 Watt Countertop Commercial Induction Cooktop Burner, Electric Magnetic Stove https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016UBZT3U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[will_5002]

I had a 3000 watt induction cooker with 15 g Spike Kettle and I could barely get a boil, even with the kettle insulated with reflectix. In the center of my pot the wort would get up to ~209 and around the outside it was much cooler.

Needless to say I had to upgrade to a 5500watt element in the kettle

 

[will_5002]

It was an Adcraft from Amazon. 208v/3000w. I don't recommend it to anyone!

 

[beechnut]

I've heard about people having trouble getting a large volume (15 gallon) to boil on 3000 watt induction cooktops. Will-5002, in your experience do you think a 5000 watt model with an 11 inch coil would make up the difference?
I'm still in the planning stages of my e-brewery and a functional induction top could be handy.

 

[pgk]

I have a Spike 15 gal kettle and have had no problems bringing 12 gallons to a boil with the Avantco IC 3500 unit.. I didn't bother timing it but it wasn't excessive compared to my propane burner, sure was nice to brew in our heated garage without having to worry about opening doors and or windows. I'm sure if you did insulate the sides of your kettle it would be that much quicker to heat and more efficient. I own a major appliance store and we have sold induction ranges and cooktops for years, we have yet to have a customer come back and say they wish they would have purchased something else. When my wife cooks something messing on our induction range she will put down newspaper over the cooking surface, then set a pan over the newspaper, when shes done she just tosses the newspaper into the recycle bin.

Pete

 

[will_5002]

I've heard about people having trouble getting a large volume (15 gallon) to boil on 3000 watt induction cooktops. Will-5002, in your experience do you think a 5000 watt model with an 11 inch coil would make up the difference?
I'm still in the planning stages of my e-brewery and a functional induction top could be handy.

I think the closer the coil is to the diameter of your pot the better the heat distribution will be. That said if youre getting 5000 watts of heat into the kettle you shouldnt have any problems getting a good rolling boil.

I'll also warn you that induction cooktops can break down and not be easy to fix. With the model I had the cooling fan broke and was a real pain in the @$$ to get fixed.

 

[beechnut]

Thanks to all for your input.

Im sure this will be helpful to Figgy15 as well as me. I am leaning towards ordering the 5000 watt system I posted a link to. pgk, that will be a big expense if it breaks down in a short time! I hope not!

After reviewing the literature the coils may be smaller that 300mm. I cant imagine them being smaller than about 7 inches though, so i think somewhere between 7-10 inches, plus they are listed as "double coil elements".

With the triple plate bottom of a Spike kettle I am hoping for good heat dispersion without scorching issues. Its all new to me though. Thanks again.

 

[IslandLizard]

offtopic for IslandLizard...if you ever need one, the restaurant store on kane street in baltimore usually stocks them.

Sorry I didn't see your message until now. FWIW, using the @-sign before a username puts a flag in that user's account notifications as "mentioned" in a post, like this: @bferullo

Thank you, that's really good to know! I may want a 2nd unit some day. Do you know if the price is in the same ball park as webstaurant.com? Amazon is way over the top with them.

The fan that's in my unit will need to be replaced some time soon. I've cleaned and lubricated it several times, but the bearing is bad. A little slap on the side from time to time gets it going again at full speed. Hard to find a 240V version that also fits.

 

[Kassad]

I have a Spike 15 gal kettle and have had no problems bringing 12 gallons to a boil with the Avantco IC 3500 unit.. I didn't bother timing it but it wasn't excessive compared to my propane burner, sure was nice to brew in our heated garage without having to worry about opening doors and or windows. I'm sure if you did insulate the sides of your kettle it would be that much quicker to heat and more efficient. I own a major appliance store and we have sold induction ranges and cooktops for years, we have yet to have a customer come back and say they wish they would have purchased something else. When my wife cooks something messing on our induction range she will put down newspaper over the cooking surface, then set a pan over the newspaper, when shes done she just tosses the newspaper into the recycle bin.

Pete

Looking to get a 3500Watt induction cooker like the Avantco or this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016XY88A...&ascsubtag=7268c22e082cac49d1bd6d5aac17b287_S

The Mai Cook got good reviews from brewers, but as important, the amazon description says it is 50Hz-60Hz capable. Do you know if the Avantco would work plugged into a 220V 50Hz outlet?