questions pertaining to stovetop kettles

[turbo86]

Good morning homebrewtalk,

I recently acquired a 4 gallon pot in the hopes of being able to do some extract brews during the cold winter months here in Montreal.
The pot is made of aluminium and I gave it a go last night. I had all the trouble in the world getting it to boil and even when it did, it was quite weak. this was only with 2-3 gallons of liquid in it.

Is the fact that it is aluminium changing the way the heat gets transfered to the water? I noticed that the pot itself gets quite hot but I could never get the rolling boil I was used to with propane.

stovetop is ceramic/glass.

any input is appreciated, perhaps a heat stick would help? can those be used during the boil?

 

[Homercidal]

Check to see what kinds of materials are best for glass stoves. As I understand they work better with some types of metal than others.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Those ceramic/glass cooktops are terrible for brewing-- they are very underpowered for this!

That said, I had some success with 2.5 gallon batches, but I had to do a split boil on mine. I had a calphalon 12 stock pot that is not aluminum (some sort of black coated steel?!?) and I found that heated the best versus any SS or aluminum pot I tried.

I would start with a split boil, and once it reduced enough, then I could combine the volumes if I desired.

Oh, and keeping a lid on to get to boil, and then partially covered was needed too.

Your mileage might vary, but I have never heard anyone having "great" experiences with these type of cooktops. Some, like myself, find ways make them work... but they are a definitely less than ideal.

Good luck.

 

[turbo86]

thanks for the info!
looks like i will have to severely limit my beer intake during the winter or get ahead of myself in the coming years with having brews ready to keg ahead of time!

unless the heatstick is an option. though I don't seem to have any gfi outlets in my kitchen

 

[Calichusetts]

I can boil 6 gallons on my glass cooktop easily. Did 3-5 gallon batches until the wife kicked me our due to condensation. We bought a new vent and it was aweful.

 

[IslandLizard]

Although they tend to suck, it largely depends on your stovetop, as well as boiling pot. The pot material having a very flat bottom that makes good contact with the glass is important to transfer the heat efficiently. Aluminum by itself tends to warp, as does single ply SS. Some stoves cycle the output too early, preventing a good boil.

When I first started, the house had a brand new Kenmore glass surface stove and I could boil 6 gallons in a 14" wide, 8 gallon MoreBeer Heavy Duty Stainless Kettle which has a very flat triple-ply bottom. I had to breach the pot across 2 burners, the large one in front and the one behind it, and keep the lid on part ways to sustain a good boil. I boiled off about a gallon an hour, and at least it worked. I was doing partial mashes then.

When we moved we bought a Samsung smooth top which has a huge 13" triple element burner in front. That should do it right? Well, yes and no. I could keep the pot on the one large triple burner, but still had to keep it halfway covered with the lid to sustain a decent boil, and still nothing to write home about. I could clearly hear the element cycling off and on, and that's where the culprit lies, the heat output is being limited, no way around it. I had also wrapped bubble wrap around the pot.

Although it worked, but barely, I was also VERY concerned about the weight of the full kettle (7 gallons, all grain boils) on that stove top! I made sure it was sparkly clean and no sand or grit between the pot and stove top. No moving it once set!

I had to look for a better solution and found it when I bought one of those 3500W Avantco Induction burners from Webstaurantstore.com for $170. Ran a 240V 20A circuit to the kitchen and haven't looked back. I can even do 13 gallon boils, if I keep the lid on part ways. I hang a box fan in front of an open window, to blow off the steam and prevent condensation.

Splitting the boil over 2 or more smaller pots may help to accomplish 5 gallon batches. Or do smaller 2-2.5 gallon ones. And more of them to get variety.

 

[turbo86]

so i ran a test yesterday with 1 gallon of water in both my 20qt aluminium pot which has a flat bottom and is ever so slightly larger than the burner and my 11 gallon stainless brew kettle which is needless to say much, much bigger.

the stainless kettle completely destroyed the aluminium for hot tap water to boil even though the alumium pot was filled up and turned on prior to the stainless.

oh well, at least it was only 20$. i also found that my burners are 2000w elements.
stainless pot also covers two burners at once so double win for it.