Induction Burner

[Nil]

Hey all, I need advice about an induction burner: what is the power that you would recommend? There out there a 1300, 1500 and 1800 watts.

I wanna use it to control the mash temperature via a recirculation coil.

Thanks, Nil

 

[audger]

the time it takes to heat X-amount of liquid (and thus, the 'recommended amount' of power) depends on the wattage of the heater, and the size of the brew. If you were brewing 1 ounce of beer at a time, a 50 watt induction coil would be more than you would ever need...

But, you didnt define the amount of liquid you are trying to heat, so its not possible to define how much power you would need to heat that unknown amount of liquid 'in a reasonable amount of time'....




kidding aside, remember that a "1000 watt" induction cooker usually means "...it pulls 1000watts of electricity from the wall";
NOT "...it supplies 1000w of equivalent heat to the water in the pot".

comparatively, a 1kW water heating element DOES provide nearly the full 1kW to the pot due to direct contact between the water and the heat source, which provides nearly 100% efficient transfer of energy....

induction cook tops are usually 20-50% efficient (rarely higher, sometimes even lower), which greatly depends on how well the coil can electrically couple to the pot, so take that into consideration. a "1000w" induction cook top may only be equivalent in performance to a 200-500w water heater element, **while still consuming the same amount of electrical power** as the water heater element (hence induction "efficiency" is lower).

 

[AnOldUR]

induction cook tops are usually 20-50% efficient (rarely higher, sometimes even lower) . . .
so take that into consideration. a "1000w" induction cook top may only be equivalent in performance to a 200-500w water heater element

:smack:
Strange that I can get a good rolling boil on 12 gallon of wort with 3500 watt induction when you say tops it's putting out is 1750 watts.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the efficiency of energy transfer for an induction cooker is 84%, versus 74% for a smooth-top non-induction electrical unit, for an approximate 10% saving in energy for the same amount of heat transfer.

 

[Nil]

I plan to use 3.5 gallons of water and 50' of copper coil for wort heat exchange.

 

[sumbrewindude]

I plan to use 3.5 gallons of water and 50' of copper coil for wort heat exchange.

My 1800W induction unit will boil 3.5gal of water easily. Even with the wattage/heat control set to it's lowest value the temp will crawl up, usually about 1F per 2min or so. I wouldn't trust it's "temperature hold" mode, it drifts quite a bit from it's programmed temp.

Good enough for "close" but not what I'd consider for a precision mashing unit. My cooler's more accurate over time.

YMMV.

 

[pjj2ba]

I have a 1500 watt unit that I use to heat my mash tun ( I do 5 gal batches, but have done the occasional 10). I do direct heating and have 5-6 layer of reflectix (aluminized bubble wrap) around the tun. It will only lose ~1 F per hour. I do step mashes though and my longest step is 30 min. so heat loss is not an issue for me. When ramping between steps, on full power, I get about 1.5 F per min increase. I will mix by hand before I start a ramp, once in the middle, and then once as I reach the new temp. I have never had an issue with sorching

 

[Ramitt]

I have a 1500 watt unit that I use to heat my mash tun ( I do 5 gal batches, but have done the occasional 10). I do direct heating and have 5-6 layer of reflectix (aluminized bubble wrap) around the tun. It will only lose ~1 F per hour. I do step mashes though and my longest step is 30 min. so heat loss is not an issue for me. When ramping between steps, on full power, I get about 1.5 F per min increase. I will mix by hand before I start a ramp, once in the middle, and then once as I reach the new temp. I have never had an issue with sorching

Sounds a lot like what I plan to do if the new pot I ordered for my MLT is really induction ready. What burner do you have? Are you using a false bottom or bazooka tube?