Preventing boil-overs

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dierythmus

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My last brew had a pretty bad boil over. I'm brew extracts on a gas stove. What are the best ways to prevent them?

I'm going to try the spray bottle next time. Should I use simply water, or star san/water mix?
 
+1 to the above, you can also use Fermcap-S or even baby drops or anything with simethicone or another product called Patcote 376 which is free of silicone. All are anti foam agents-there is a list of suitable substitutes somewhere on the site, can't remember the link though so try a search-I believe Revvy posted the list awhile back:)
 
How much head space are you giving yourself between liquid volume and the rim of the kettle? I just constantly stir vigorously until the foam begins to recede.
 
^^That's what I've been doing. Then with partial mash,I start stiring just as the hot break begins to form. I can keep it down then. But a spray bottle of cold water at the ready is always a good idea.
 
Most stoves can boil water at a lower setting than the hottest super duper nuclear melt down setting on the dial.

If your dial goes to say 8, put it on 7 or 6.5 no reason to blast it wide open, well you can but expect boil overs.

I've never come close to a boil over on the stove or propane. I do full 5 gal boils in a 7 gal pot and dont have issues. Heat control and paying attention go a long way.
 
Mine go up to "9",so I turn it down to "8" when it starts to boil.That high setting is already slowing down the socket on one of my new burners.
 
I came close with a big porter yesterday. My rear puckered a little. I reduced heat and was blowing like mad. Luckily no boil over.
 
Spray bottle with water works very well. Some people say an electric fan works great too. I've started using a pot watcher which also seems to help a lot. It's a stainless steel disk that turns all the little bubbles into a few large bubbles which rather than lift the foam up actually penetrate through it. You can still get a boil over though. Haven't tried fermcap but planning to get some soon.
 
My limited experience at this game has only seen one near, but astoundingly quick, and threatened boil over.

Despite stirring at 7400 rpm and almost causing a fantail to erupt like a trimmed up power boat, the only thing that saved me was a spritz or twenty from a spray bottle of plain water.

A lesson I learned very quickly......turn the heat down a notch when you first reach the rolling boil point.
 
After my first boilover I started using Fermcap and haven't had one since.

My last brew was 8.5 gallons in a 9 gallon kettle so I think the stuff works. :)
 
I am brand new to full boils and such, so I thought it might be a good idea to boil with the paint strainer bag on the pot for hops. As it turns out, it also kept foam down......
 
I watch the pot like a hawk til it starts foaming , I let the foam come up an inch or so and then lift the pot off the heat till the foam drops.
 
Have the heat setting at less than full. A spray bottle handy. Stir with a lifting motion to break the surface tension created by the hot break.
 
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