Induction Burner

[nanofreak]

So exactly how much water do you think a 3700 Watt induction burner could boil? Do you think it has a chance at 6.5 gallons?

 

[northernlad]

Yes.....
I brought 4 gallons to a boil with the lid on a 120v, 1800 watt unit.

 

[renevdb]

There is a great spreadsheet at:

http://gnipsel.com/beer/software/calculators/electric-heat.xls

Should be okay, see allot of people using 2 * 1500w elements for 5 gallons.

 

[Hermit]

So exactly how much water do you think a 3700 Watt induction burner could boil? Do you think it has a chance at 6.5 gallons?

I get about 4.5 gallons going on a 2600W burner. You should get better transfer from the induction unit so I'd guess 6.5 should be doable.

 

[pjj2ba]

Yeah, that should do the trick. I have two 1800 watt units and can only get a simmer on a full boil. Works great for MLT and HLT heating though.

 

[gwjames47]

Yeah, that should do the trick. I have two 1800 watt units and can only get a simmer on a full boil. Works great for MLT and HLT heating though.

I just got a Max Burton 1800 watt and it easily boils 2.5 gallons at half power. I had my doubts it would even boil that much. It takes about 35 min. to get a good rolling boil. I start it out on high and once it starts to boil I cut it back to half power and it maintains nicely. My main concern is I might burn my wort. I just did a 2.5 gallon boil, grains and extract and I had about 4 oz. of dark brown debris in the bottom of the pot. Hopefully this is just the remains of the 2 oz. of hops and what got through the grain bag. It didn't smell or tasted burned. The unit I have only heats up about a 7 in. dia. circle and that area gets quite hot.

 

[pjj2ba]

Let me make it clear that I don't use the two units on one pot. It's one for the MLT and one for the HLT. I can easily boil 3 gal of tomato sauce with these units, but can't do a 6 gal boil with them. Plus that's an awful lot of weight to put on the units. The would work great for a partial boil.

 

[Yorg]

So exactly how much water do you think a 3700 Watt induction burner could boil? Do you think it has a chance at 6.5 gallons?

Where do you get a 3700W induction burner?

 

[b66bfr]

I am using the Max Burton 1800 as well. I found one for about $80, so it was a very cheap way to move my brewing to the basement without having to drill kettles etc.
With induction it does depend on they type of pot how well its going to work.
I did a full boil on my first test(+6.5G). I would say it was somewhere between a simmer and a rolling boil. I was able to boil down from 6.5 to 5.5 gallons in a 60 minute boil. I think I will keep using this but adjust my recipes down from 6.5 to more like 5.5 gallons. I did get a bit of carmelization in a ring around where the pot sat on the hob. I am going to try again on a slightly lower power setting.
I do most of my brewing at night and have no desire to be standing around in the yard in the middle of the winter with a propane burner(besides all of the time it would take to haul equipment out there and back.

Amazon has a 3600W induction hob for around $265 that would require a 20amp 220. This would be twice the power, but the 1800W seemed already too concentrated in the ring of the burner. I understand a new generation of these are going to come out that do a better job detecting the size of the pot, so maybe a 3600W that heated evenly over 12" would work better.

Oh, and its pretty amazing for HLT/MLT. It has a digital temperature control and timer so you can be precise with the temperature. Its also light so I can move it on my stand pretty easily and I don't need 3 of them.
The instructions said not to put more than 4 gallons on it. I am working around this by building a stand for it so that I have wood that is supporting the edges of my pot carrying the weight of it, while the hob fits flush underneath the pot.

Let me make it clear that I don't use the two units on one pot. It's one for the MLT and one for the HLT. I can easily boil 3 gal of tomato sauce with these units, but can't do a 6 gal boil with them. Plus that's an awful lot of weight to put on the units. The would work great for a partial boil.

 

[daugenet]

I own an induction cooktop (for the kitchen) and I can tell you that I can boil 7 gallons with the 2400 watt burner. I get it up to temp with the boost setting that hits 3600 watts.

 

[EFaden]

I thought about using an induction burner myself. The only problem for me was just finding a burner that I could get cheap enough. If you need more power you could always try to find a retired MRI... technically it doesn't use any electricity as long as you keep it cold.

 

[osullibrew]

I wonder if you guys could post a link to the retailer that sells these 3600w induction hobs? I've been searching online for quite a while and can't find anything even close to a 3600 watt unit.

 

[whoaru99]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=3500+watt+induction+plate

 

[northernlad]

Keep in mind you will get exactly what you pay for. The hotplates can only handle so much weight. They aren't designed to be used with a pot larger in diameter than the burner. When they fail there really isn't anyone to repair them. Last I heard Vollrath is the only company in the US that manufactures its own internals. And, you'd think it wouldn't need to be repeated... if a magnet doesnt stick to the bottom of your pot, it won't work. Nothing above 18/0, the baser the metal the better.

 

[whoaru99]

Keep in mind you will get exactly what you pay for. The hotplates can only handle so much weight. They aren't designed to be used with a pot larger in diameter than the burner.

Maybe you missed the other thread about induction plates where the fellow has >100 lbs of weights stacked into a pot on the Avantco?

 

[northernlad]

Maybe you inferred "only so much weight" was code for less than 100 lbs. I didn't say how much was too much, only that there is a limit and that quality matters. Stacking a bunch of weigh in a pot one time is not the same as putting too much weight on the unit over and over. I am certain selling commercial induction burners for over 6 years qualifies me to make make suggestions.
I shall be sure to add you to the "Let him learn the hard way" list.

 

[whoaru99]

Maybe you inferred "only so much weight" was code for less than 100 lbs. I didn't say how much was too much, only that there is a limit and that quality matters. Stacking a bunch of weigh in a pot one time is not the same as putting too much weight on the unit over and over. I am certain selling commercial induction burners for over 6 years qualifies me to make make suggestions.
I shall be sure to add you to the "Let him learn the hard way" list.

"Only so much weight" was obviously meant to imply one of the (relatively) inexpensive plates wasn't going to work out. This is especially clear now that you acknowledge being salesman of such.

And, yes thank you, I will take my chances for $180 rather than at least several times that. Particularly considering typical home brew use duty cycle vs. a commercial/industrial use duty cycle.

 

[jeffmeh]

Do you have anything of substance to add to this discussion? Any experience, knowledge, information, or suggestions that might help the OP and others who come here looking for guidance? If not, your absence will make it much easier for serious people to navigate this thread.

You implied through "the hotplates can only handle so much weight," that the inexpensive induction cooker discussed here was not fit for purpose in terms of bearing the weight of brewing with a larger pot.

whoaru99 pointed out that another forum member had tested the hotplate and found that it could handle more weight than it would be subjected to when brewing. That seems to be quite substantive to me.

 

[northernlad]

Oh, FFS.
There multiple types of induction burners. Dropins, ranges, wok, fajita, hotplates and stock pot. Even the thing Pizza Hut puts in the bag to keep your pizza hot is an induction pellet.
I can't help that you inferred my statement to be against the budget units. I was being clear about which type of burner I was talking about. There is a limit to the amount of weight that an induction hotplate can tolerate which is why they make a stock pot version. It has nothing to do with price point and it doesn't matter how much weight some dude put on his burner one time. It, like all the other things I mentioned, is valid information and something to consider when making such a purchase. When you purchase based on price you won't have somebody on the other end of your mouse cord to ask the appropriate questions to make sure you get what you need. Buy the cheapest thing you can find if that what is what you need, but educate yourself beyond price point first.

Forgive me, from time to time I forget one must spell everything out in this forum so I will rewrite the offending post:
Keep in mind you get what you pay for. Cheap **** is cheap ****.

The hotplates, as opposed to stock pot induction ranges, have a limit to how much weight they can hold. Make sure you know the limit of the particular unit you are thinking about to make sure your boil volume isn't too heavy.

They aren't designed to be used with a pot larger in diameter than the burner. This is certainly clear enough, right?

When they fail there really isn't anyone to repair them. Almost all warranties are replacement. Be prepared to be without your burner until the manufacturer supplies you with a new one. Since these are commercial units you should know they are not warranteed by the store you bought them from (or online where you will get no support) so you are at the mercy of the factory.

Last I heard Vollrath is the only company in the US that manufactures its own internals. This means its not cheap **** so I assume at least a couple of you here won't see it's value.

I don't disagree that a homebrewer's usage does not warrant spending the kind of money high volume restaurant should, but the things to consider and the questions that need to be answered are not any different.

That^^^ is substantive.

 

[passedpawn]

Good info in here.

Please refrain from LMGTFY and FFS. If you find you are starting a post with these, you're being rude and counterproductive - it's just as easy to post politely, and it keeps the forum civil.

 

[pjj2ba]

I use a pot as a mash tun that is slightly larger than my induction hot plate. It's been working just fine for over 5 years now (I boil with propane). When I do a ten gallon batch, I have a custom wood frame that I put around the induction unit to take some of the weight off of the hot plate. There is probably only 1/4 inch on the three sides of the pot on the wood frame. Works great!

 

[northernlad]

I use a pot as a mash tun that is slightly larger than my induction hot plate. It's been working just fine for over 5 years now (I boil with propane). When I do a ten gallon batch, I have a custom wood frame that I put around the induction unit to take some of the weight off of the hot plate. There is probably only 1/4 inch on the three sides of the pot on the wood frame. Works great!

Using blocks to help with the weight is a great idea since the pot does not have to actually make contact like it would with a traditional glass top.
1/4" over the burner is not too much. It just isn't recommended to use a 14" pot on a burner with a max of 10".