Induction Burner Recommendations?

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matts

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I am doing some research into induction burners. There's quite a range of options and prices out there. Would like to get around 3500W. I don't know what companies are reputable and whether there is a burner that homebrewers have had success with.

I recognize that I will probably have to make a stand to hold the weight of the kettle, but to me that is worth not having a couple heat sticks. Those things kind of sketch me out. I also would rather not have heating elements in my brew pot.

Here's one for $179:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ava...le&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping

Was also thinking about getting three of these and putting them in a triangle configuration (with some sort of stand to hold the weight, but also keeping the pot in contact with the burners).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045QEPYM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Any suggestions, criticisms of this line of thinking are welcomed.

Thanks,
Matt
 
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Well, from my understanding these things work by creating an alternating electric field that heats up the pot, the catch is they dont work very well on non ferrous metals. Common brewing kettles are made of 3 series stainless which is non ferrous. So unless you can stick a magnet to whatever you're brewing in its not gonna work well.
 
Ah, I see. Just tried to stick a magnet to my Polar Ware and it didn't stick at all. Lots of misinformation out there on induction-compatible pots.
 
The induction idea has caught my attention a few times. Aside from the obvious requirement of having to bond a magnetic layer to the bottom of the kettle. Which there are a few more pricey 5+ gallon kettles on the market for induction cooking if this is not possible.

Most of these units have a temperature control feature. I'm just guessing, but, couldn't this same feature be controlled or automated with an analog output such as an SLC500 or labJack and some fancy computer footwork?

How does an induction element control the temperature?
 
I am putting together an induction set up as well. How big of a brew kettle are you planning on using? Must be pretty big if you are thinking of using three burners. I won’t have mine set up for at least a month so I don’t know from experience but I would think one 3500w burner centered would be better than three 1800w burners missing the middle of the pot. As I am sure you already found out there is not much info on using induction burners with large stock pots. I went with a bon chef 3500w drop in range that I got through the hbt classifieds. As for a pot, I went with the bayou classic 44qt with basket and spigot for biab. Partially because it is biab ready but mostly because it was the only kettle I could find that is skinny/tall vs wide/short to fit on the burner better. I am not as worried about the weight as you are. During my research I didn’t find anything bad about the Avantco. The thing I didn’t like was that it was only 12 inches wide.
 
I am putting together an induction set up as well. How big of a brew kettle are you planning on using? Must be pretty big if you are thinking of using three burners. I won’t have mine set up for at least a month so I don’t know from experience but I would think one 3500w burner centered would be better than three 1800w burners missing the middle of the pot. As I am sure you already found out there is not much info on using induction burners with large stock pots. I went with a bon chef 3500w drop in range that I got through the hbt classifieds. As for a pot, I went with the bayou classic 44qt with basket and spigot for biab. Partially because it is biab ready but mostly because it was the only kettle I could find that is skinny/tall vs wide/short to fit on the burner better. I am not as worried about the weight as you are. During my research I didn’t find anything bad about the Avantco. The thing I didn’t like was that it was only 12 inches wide.

My pot isn't that big, just a Polar Ware 42 qt. It's also a skinny/tall pot. I just figured that one 1800w probably wasn't enough so I would go with three to get somewhat even coverage.

That Bayou Classic 44 qt appears to be 304 stainless steel according to an Amazon listing. Are you sure that will work with induction?
 
Cool! Please keep me updated how it goes! Might have to get one of those.
 
There have been several threads that are in depth. I did a fair amount of research w/ it.

The skinny: Definitely go with the highest wattage (3.5k W). You'll need 240v service for that as the highest 120v is 1.8k W and while that may (may) maintain a mash temp, it'll take all day long to heat up strike water from the tap, 5 gallons of it. This is as per tech's advise at both companies listed below (the best ones on the market). Another thing is that most of these have a chip that 'autodetects' pot size - don't work with larger than 14" bases- you have to check into that. Some guys are doing well with the really cheap ones you can get off ebay to brew with DME and I think that's a great idea, but if you are trying to mash with this thing, you need one that goes into temp mode (rather than 'power levels', of which some only have 10).

The best price to performance ratio at 1.8k W is Vollrath Mirage 59500. It has a great timer on it and 100 power level settings. It also can zero in on a temperature which is what you really need if you're going to mash with this. In temp mode, control is every degree. The only other one that gets you that is the high end Cooktek Apoggee. Pretty pricey. Unfortunately, the Vollrath doesn't come in a 3.5k W (in the Mirage line, and I don't think the other more commercial ones have temp mode).

I wanted to go with the Mirage 1.8k more for the purposes of doing sour mashes outside, holding at 100* for 48 hrs. Gave up. Maybe in the future. I'm spent...

Of course, if you want to go all out, you could marry a control box to one of these (~$3k ea):

{Models: MSP7000-200 / MSP8000-400
The CookTek® Back of House 3-Phase series establishes the benchmark for high volume boil and simmer applications. The free standing large induction stock pot range will boil five gallons (19 liters) of room temperature water in 15 minutes or less!}

Free_Standing_Large_Induction_Stock_Pot_Range.jpg
 
I've only been brewing for a month (just did my third batch last night) and have ONLY used induction to do this.

Yes, all the reports are true... to go from "room temperature" to boiling takes about an hour and a half (I wrap my brew kettle with a makeshift blanket and leave the lid on for a good portion of it to keep in heat), but it eventually boils and can keep it there with the heat at about 50%

I use one of these:

Iwatani 1800


As SankePankey indicates, the CookTek line is (in my mind) the Rolls Royce of cooktops (though much better in terms of reliability than a RR). I have one of their other units and probably will for the rest of my life. Apart from brewing, I also cook a lot of complicated meals and the control I have with the CookTek is amazing.

As for the temperature modes, I wouldn't rely on those too much. Both of my cooktops have a temperature setting, but since it's being monitored through the ceramic top, it has a pretty wide "swing".

Not sure if you could do a thermostat connection without some hacking. Mine (I have 3 different models) all get powered up in "standby" mode so anything that shuts off the power would need human intervention to resume.

That being said...

There are benefits over gas apart from efficiency, blah blah. For one thing, I can leave a towel near/on the "burner" without a hassle. The handles don't really heat up (apart from the pot itself heating it up), and I can do this in a closed garage which is handy since some neighbor kids with REALLY POOR "boundaries" won't come wandering over and, oh, CLOSE MY GARAGE DOOR ON ME. (Yes, they've done it. It's kinda like Lord of the Flies.)

Where was I... Oh yes... No tanks to refill, etc.

The 220v models are tempting idea since I have a spare 220v circuit where a gas clothes dryer would be. (I prefer to think of it as a "dedicated brewing circuit".) Maybe someday after I fix a hundred other things which are more pressing.

I'll probably go with gas at some point but, until then, my little Iwatani is doing the job... if a little slowly...

--Daniel
"Wait, I can make this stuff myself? Why didn't I do this sooner?" - Me
 
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I have been doing all my cooking on an inexpensive induction burner for a couple of years. Combined with a pressure cooker it allows you to serve food when you want. Most vegetables cook in three minutes for instance.

Now that I am returning to brewing and specifically AG brewing I want to go induction even though I have a natural gas side burner on my grill.

The problem with my research so far is that it is difficult to find an induction cooktop that will fit a ten gallon or larger induction capable pot, the three-phase Cooktek aside. :mad: I had high hopes for the Circulon Infinite Induction but just this morning the tech said they recommend no larger than an 11" pot. At the moment I have the Winco Professional Induction Cooker - 1800W in my Amazon shopping cart but have no idea if it is 15" pot capable.

To the guys that are using induction how big of pots can your induction cooktop handle. Thanks!

David
 
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Danielsan said:
Yes, all the reports are true... to go from "room temperature" to boiling takes about an hour and a half
how much water was that?

dwntwnbwn said:
How does an induction element control the temperature?
PWM circuitry
 
I have been using the Max Burton 1800-watt induction burner to do full boils for a couple of months now. On the upside, the unit is cheap (I found it for $68) and it works fine with a 32 qt. SS boil kettle with a 15 in. diameter. On the downside, it barely brings 6.5 gallons of wort to a boil.

From room temp, it will take approximately 1.5 hours to achieve a boil with the lid on. Insulating the pot (I used Reflectix) helps somewhat, but I didn't see a dramatic difference. Heating times are tolerable if you fire it up during lauter -- when I have about an inch of wort in the kettle I turn on the induction burner. Boil is achieved in about 45 minutes.

If you have a 240v circuit available and can spend the extra money, I recommend getting a 3-3.5kw induction burner, which is my plan for the near future. Other than the long wait times with the 1800w model, it is highly convenient to brew indoors during the winter.

As a side note, some of the posts on this thread (and other threads) have inquired about automating an induction burner with PID controllers. As others have stated, I agree that this probably won't work as I have yet to see an induction burner that doesn't default to standby mode when turned on.
 
Well, from my understanding these things work by creating an alternating electric field that heats up the pot, the catch is they dont work very well on non ferrous metals. Common brewing kettles are made of 3 series stainless which is non ferrous. So unless you can stick a magnet to whatever you're brewing in its not gonna work well.

It is true if a magnet doesn't stick to the pot/pan, or other cooking device such as a brew pot or HLT than these won't work. We remodeled our kitchen last year and love the idea of induction cook top for our new stove but didn't want to replace our entire set of pots and pans. They work great and are cool to the touch when you remove the pot but won't work with 90% of the pots around to include all my SS brewing equipment. So We opted for a traditional cook top stove, and I am now building my eHERMS. Good look.
 
Hi,

I have the same question. I am looking for an induction burner to to boil up to 10 Gallons in a Tall-boy type of Pot. i would be able to build the bracing to accommodate the weight if necessary.

Thanks
 
I live outside the U.S. where everything is 220V 50Hz. If I want to get the Avantco IC3500 can i assume it is one phase and not three? Also, I think these are 60Hz which could present a problem where everything is 50Hz over here.

Yes, it's one phase. 220-240V, ~15A.

You'd connect it to one phase and a neutral from your mains, as well as a ground.

It doesn't need a ground fault interrupter (GFCI), unless you make a habit of flooding it with water or wort.
 
I live outside the U.S. where everything is 220V 50Hz. If I want to get the Avantco IC3500 can i assume it is one phase and not three? Also, I think these are 60Hz which could present a problem where everything is 50Hz over here.

I am also outside of North America - I picked up a 3000W Buffalo Induction Hob. 220/230v 50Hz standard. Readily available on Amazon UK or Catering Equipment websites. Very well made, sturdy. Has no problem bringing 7-8 gal of wort to a rolling boil. I think they go under a different brand name in SE Asia / Australia (depending on where you are located).
 
My question is this: would you use an induction plate for heating strike and mash water? I am asking to see if you can get the mash and strike water to the temperature you need rather then heating it up ont he gas burner or electric stovetop.
 
My question is this: would you use an induction plate for heating strike and mash water? I am asking to see if you can get the mash and strike water to the temperature you need rather then heating it up ont he gas burner or electric stovetop.

Definitely. I exclusively use induction during my brew day. Just monitor temps with a thermometer (same as you would with gas burner or electric stovetop). More efficient than the electric stovetop, and I can heat water in about the same time as my friend who uses a gas burner (+/- 3-5 minutes).

All of this of course depends on your batch size. For clarity I brew 5-8 gallon batches and use a 3000w induction unit, but you could still use a 1800w unit for mash water / strike water, just might take a few more minutes...
 
I think what I was looking for was a better way to control temps like a sous vide.

With a sous vide you can control mash and strike temp to the almost exact temperature but with Induction I guess its the same as gas and stove top.

Thanks for the info. I was given a sous vide and an induction burner recently and wanted to see the differences in both vs stove top and gas.
 
I think what I was looking for was a better way to control temps like a sous vide.

With a sous vide you can control mash and strike temp to the almost exact temperature but with Induction I guess its the same as gas and stove top.

Thanks for the info. I was given a sous vide and an induction burner recently and wanted to see the differences in both vs stove top and gas.

Yup, the induction plate is like a stove top, except the heat is created in the bottom of the pot itself. So it's very efficient and fast.
I use that 3500W Avantco for everything, not just brewing.

If your sous vide is large enough to mash in, sure, that would work. Depending on it's heating power (Watts) you may be able to do step mashes, or even heat your strike water in it.

As with everything, heating is typically localized, so some sort of agitation/stirring/recirculation is needed to spread the heat around, or you're boiling the bottom of the mash while the top is only 140F.
 
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