Induction Setup Issues

[Lmiller1708]

Hey Guys Looking for some advice...

As you can see from my setup I have two Avantco IC1800's and a large 15 gallon pot. I plan on doing 5 Gallon BIAB batches and was advised to go big or go home (just incase I wanted to do a 10 gallon batch)!

With this setup I was able to boil 7 gallons with the lid ON after ~80 minutes starting from 55 deg F. The power was set to 13 on each burner or ~1400 watts ~2800 total (measured ~12 amps @ 118 vac). I figured out I was at about 56% efficiency. I guess reading through this thread that seems to be OK?. However with the lid OFF I can't hold a boil... I can with the lid just cracked but not sure I want to do that in fear of bad beer. I have also tried using Reflectix insulation with no luck.

I know my setup has a few issues which are better explained with pictures.

1. The pot is just on the edge of the inner burner. This was my fault when buying it as I didn't take in account the gap between the two burners.

2. The pot in not fully touching the plate because the aluminum is too high in some places. Kinda hard to see the gap, but you can get the point. I think I could help this by shaving down the aluminum around the burners.

Because of these issues I can't get above the 13 setting without the bottom edge of the pot glowing red. Over all I like the setup, but if it wasn't for the darn 30% restocking fee from thewebresturant store I would have sent them back and got an IC3500.

Now you know where I'm at... I'm looking for some advice.

Should I just let good enough alone and brew with the lid slightly cracked (~1 inch)?
Should I shave down the aluminum and possibly void any warranty I had in hopes to get better conductivity between the pot and burners.
Bite the bullet and return the burners for an IC3500 model? Would take about a 80 dollar hit plus S&H. I'm assuming this model has the same problems with the aluminum being too high...


Thanks for any help!

 

[brettwasbtd]

Well you could look at getting a wider pot? I know someone on hbt uses an 8 gallon sauce pan which is extra wide. Other option is to sell these two Burnes in the for sale section and buy the 3500.

 

[ebstauffer]

I'm assuming you made a mistake when you referred to your aluminum pot. Correct?

 

[Lmiller1708]

Well you could look at getting a wider pot? I know someone on hbt uses an 8 gallon sauce pan which is extra wide. Other option is to sell these two Burnes in the for sale section and buy the 3500.

I would like to stick with my pot for now. That is a good idea about trying to sell them here… I was thinking Craig’s list but was afraid there wasn’t much of a market.

I'm assuming you made a mistake when you referred to your aluminum pot. Correct?

I was talking about the aluminum frame of the burners. The pot is stainless.

 

[brettwasbtd]

Also what about dripping the batch size down a bit? If you are having a gentle boil you may not boil off as much?

 

[MerlinWerks]

The pot doesn't need to touch the surface to work correctly. You can even have an air gap (1/8" - 1/4") and it will still work. I seriously doubt you will gain enough efficiency to warrant the work involved with getting the bottoms flatter.

Have you tried just a single burner and seeing how it goes? I'm sure I've read a post or two about similar setups, the impression I got was it's not a super vigorous boil it's certainly enough to get the job done. For 5G batches anyway.

 

[jpsmithny]

Why couldn't you just lay a flat iron plate on the burner and the pot on top of that?

 

[Lmiller1708]

Also what about dripping the batch size down a bit? If you are having a gentle boil you may not boil off as much?

I think I would still have to keep the lid on which is what I'm trying to avoid.

The pot doesn't need to touch the surface to work correctly. You can even have an air gap (1/8" - 1/4") and it will still work. I seriously doubt you will gain enough efficiency to warrant the work involved with getting the bottoms flatter.

Have you tried just a single burner and seeing how it goes? I'm sure I've read a post or two about similar setups, the impression I got was it's not a super vigorous boil it's certainly enough to get the job done. For 5G batches anyway.

Agreed on the spacing, but the pot is just touching the burner causing it to glow red (or blue in the picture taken from my phone).

I figure it could get to a boil with only one burner but would still be stuck to using a lid.

Why couldn't you just lay a flat iron plate on the burner and the pot on top of that?

I will be trying this as there are many induction diffuser plates on the market! The price seems a bit high for a simple piece of stainless steel so I might try and find an alternative. Thanks for the idea I will let you know how it turns out!

 

[Lmiller1708]

Tried two steel plates with no success. Going to be getting the IC3500, like I should have in the first place! Thanks for the help!

P.S. I will be posting my two IC1800's in the for sale section soon...

 

[brettwasbtd]

Tried two steel plates with no success. Going to be getting the IC3500, like I should have in the first place! Thanks for the help!

P.S. I will be posting my two IC1800's in the for sale section soon...

Sorry to hear it did not work out for you. Might want to post in the IC 3500 thread so other forum users looking to go with one burner over the other know what they are getting with each.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Another option would be to keep one of the IC1800's as an HLT if you ever see yourself using a multiple vessle setup. I'm sure that one IC1800 would be more than enough to keep your mash water/sparge water up to temp while the IC3500 is your main boiler.

 

[IslandLizard]

I just posted my IC3500's maiden voyage in the 3500 thread. I use a 14" wide, 8 gallon MoreBeer Heavy Duty Kettle with a tri-ply bottom, similar to yours, but smaller. Only the inner 5" circle seems to do all the heating. I am not sure why the outer ring doesn't come on, although the 14" pot overhangs the cooker except on the corners. I doubt I get all of the 3500 watts with just the inner ring. I have no kilowatt meter or amp meter going that high (15A).