Induction Heating with your Mash Tun

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

I am exploring some option for a mash tun and induction heating has caught my attention. But I often see it mentioned with regards to BIAB or just heating water/wort using a separate mash tun.

I am interested in having a Stainless mash tun and using the Avantco 3500w induction heater to direct heat the pot. Has anybody done this? No bag, just a good old mash tun.

Is there less chance of grain scorching with induction heating than say a gas burner? Or is it a no go etc...

Just wondering is anybody has personal experience with this and looking forward to the discussion. Thanks.

 

[swimIan]

If you used a false bottom to keep the grain slightly elevated, it would make scorching less likely.

 

[Bassman2003]

That is what I was thinking. I noticed the Bayou pots come with both a false bottom and a tube screen. But the outlet is pretty high on the pot for a mash tun. I have never used induction heat so I do not know how far you can push the scorching in the cast of a step mash scenario.

 

[laredo7mm]

You will also need to make sure the stainless pot is magnetic or else the induction heater won't work.

 

[captwheel]

I use a 15 gal stainless kettle, & a new wave induction cooker. I have a 12" dome false bottom. I heat the water to strike temp with gas & use the induction to hold the temp, so it is only set to 150 -170 deg. Also i wrap the mash kettle with silver bubble wrap insulation to help hold the heat. I have had no problems with this, & it keeps the temp pretty close.

 

[IslandLizard]

You will also need to make sure the stainless pot is magnetic or else the induction heater won't work.

This is important.^

Now "magnetic" is a loose term. With some pots a magnet will not stick, but they still work great with an induction plate. My 2 More Beer Heavy Duty Triple Ply bottomed kettles belong to that group. Been using induction for 3 years with them, never looked back.

There's a thread on what equipment works with induction and how it performs on the IC3500.

Put a few good layers of insulation around the kettle and on the lid while holding mash temps.

Recently I've started doing step mashes on the induction plate, but you need to stir the mash constantly and thoroughly while heating, or the bottom part will get too hot, potentially denaturing the enzymes. I use a wooden paddle.

At the end of the mash I do a 10' mashout then ladle the mash into cooler mash tun for lautering.

A false bottom alone won't work either for the same reasons, unless you have a way to recirculate the wort from the bottom back to the top of the mash.

 

[Bassman2003]

I use a 15 gal stainless kettle, & a new wave induction cooker. I have a 12" dome false bottom. I heat the water to strike temp with gas & use the induction to hold the temp, so it is only set to 150 -170 deg. Also i wrap the mash kettle with silver bubble wrap insulation to help hold the heat. I have had no problems with this, & it keeps the temp pretty close.

Thanks. So you do not use the induction to raise the temps. Is that just because it takes too long compared to gas? I don't know the wattage of your heater.

 

[Bassman2003]

This is important.^

Now "magnetic" is a loose term. With some pots a magnet will not stick, but they still work great with an induction plate. My 2 More Beer Heavy Duty Triple Ply bottomed kettles belong to that group. Been using induction for 3 years with them, never looked back.

There's a thread on what equipment works with induction and how it performs on the IC3500.

Put a few good layers of insulation around the kettle and on the lid while holding mash temps.

Recently I've started doing step mashes on the induction plate, but you need to stir the mash constantly and thoroughly while heating, or the bottom part will get too hot, potentially denaturing the enzymes. I use a wooden paddle.

At the end of the mash I do a 10' mashout then ladle the mash into cooler mash tun for lautering.

A false bottom alone won't work either for the same reasons, unless you have a way to recirculate the wort from the bottom back to the top of the mash.

Thanks for your reply. I have a stir motor that I can convert to use in the this new setup which I guessed would be needed.

From your reply, I guess you are mashing in a vessel that does not have an output port? Is that why you are ladling the contents to a cooler?

Would you say induction heating was less likely to scorch compared to gas?

Sorry for all of the questions. I have no way to test this stuff but know I want to make a new setup.

 

[captwheel]

Thanks. So you do not use the induction to raise the temps. Is that just because it takes too long compared to gas? I don't know the wattage of your heater.

I use the induction to hold the temp. I have a 1800 watt NuWave which is not big enough for me, I do 10 gal batches, like 13 gal in the brew kettle. The model that I have has 5 deg increment change from 100 to 500 deg.

Here is a forum on induction brewing.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=301722&page=16

Cheers, Phil

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks Phil. I could see how 10 gallon batches would be a lot for 1800 watts.

I followed the link but the forum was HBT. Is there a separate induction forum? There is a link to a BYO article. Thanks

 

[Surfmase]

Here is a typical setup for the German homebrewer. Induction heater for the combined MT/BK. It stirs the mash while heating. Then drains everything into the lauter. The sparge heater is sitting under the MT/BK. After lautering, the wort is pumped back up to boil.

http://hobbybrauer.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2465&view=unread#unread

Gruss,

 

[Bassman2003]

Thank you very much for posting this. I have been watching some YouTube videos after searching "hobbybrauen" to see how the German's do their homebrew. Quite interesting how they move the entire mash to a separate lauter tun . Also that they mash in the same vessel as the boil kettle.

We keep the mash & lauter together and boil in a separate vessel (outside of BIAB). Keeping the mash tun separate allows you to do whatever you want with the mash schedule while making it easier to heat & stir. All of the setups I watched stirred the mash for the entire time.

This has given me a lot to think about! Certainly a very induction friendly approach.

 

[TorMag]

I have just got into the induction brewing and have two batches now under the belt. I have the Advantco 3500 and a Bayou 15 gal pot. I do full volume BIAB. I use the induction burner for the full process and have zero complaints about the times for getting to mash and boil. As stated with the Bayou kettle, the port is a little high, but I added a dip tube from BarginFittings.com. I do recirculate during mash and I have already found the sweet spot setting on the burner to keep it at the proper mash temps, so I am getting zero scorching. I do 5 gallon batches, but I have no doubt the burner can handle 10 gal batches. I did fill my kettle with 12 gallons of water after the electrician got my outlet wired up and tested the whole thing.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks Tormag. I will look into designing a new system around induction. I already have 220v power so it seems like a great way to go.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Induction can and will scorch just like any other direct heat source. You need a false bottom and recirculation, or constant stirring.

This is true of any mash, BIAB or standard methods.

 

[Bassman2003]

I have a stir motor to keep the grain moving around.