stove burner covers - what a mess

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

I do full boils on my gas stove- placing my pot over two burners that are each on full blast. I try to make sure everything is clean as possible before I start brewing, but inevitably I get very hard black crud all over my stovetop, the burner grates and the burner covers. I'm pretty sure it is from tiny amounts of wort that somehow end up on the stove. Because of the length of time and the amount of heat kicking around under the pot, the sugars and other gunk solidifies and never wants to come off again. I've had some success soaking the grates and covers in bleach and water, but it is still very hard to get EVERYTHING off. I've tried soaking in OxiClean as well, but I thought the bleach was a little better.

Does anyone have any tips for how to clean this hard crud off? It sucks!!! :cross:

 

[schadelh]

I would suggest not using bleach as it encourages rusting. oxiclean might be a better choice. that and pumice stone aught to get the crud off.

 

[rico567]

My first two years brewing extract taught me the hard lesson that the kitchen stove isn't the best place to be brewing. I'm a lot happier now, brewing AG out in the garage.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

I would suggest not using bleach as it encourages rusting. oxiclean might be a better choice. that and pumice stone aught to get the crud off.

Rusting hasn't been an issue- and I've been using bleach for months now. I rinse off really well, so maybe that's why I haven't seen any rusting. I'll have to try the pumice stone, though. Thanks!

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

My first two years brewing extract taught me the hard lesson that the kitchen stove isn't the best place to be brewing. I'm a lot happier now, brewing AG out in the garage.

Not an option for me right now- living on the second floor of an apartment in Chicago. I am doing all grain, though, which is challenging but rewarding with my current setup. Very much looking forward to the day that I can buy a propane burner and fire it up in a garage or outside!

 

[specialized]

buy some stove cleaner, with some elbow grease it will come off.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

What about PBW?

 

[kegtapper]

I had the same problem and oven cleaner worked great. I also now cover everything with foil. Much easier to clean up.

 

[rl1373]

x2 on what keg tapper said. During the winter, I just cover mine up with foil and problem solved. The wife was definetly not happy when her stove was covered with crusty black crap.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

Tapper and rl- do you cover the grate pieces with foil, too? Or just the stovetop? My grate and burner covers are the type that easily lift up... it seems like it would be kind of a pain to cover them in foil. But I like the idea of covering the stovetop!

 

[kegtapper]

I cover the stove top and under the grates. A little bit of prep saves an ass load of cleaning.

 

[petey_c]

BmillaTB, I've been lucky so far. No major boil overs. Periodically I clean the stove top (electric) with Easy-Off over cleaner (the fume free doesn't work nearly as well, btw). Spray it on, let it soak for awhile, then wipe it off with a wet sponge. For tougher stains I have to hit it a few more times. I also put everything in the tub, this way it minimizes the effects of over spray.

 

[devilishprune]

Bar keeper's friend.

This stuff is a life saver. Put it on a sponge/paper towel/whatever and that crap doesn't stand a chance.

 

[snevey]

I've used a Mr. Clean Magic eraser with some OxyClean on both a gas range and when I used to do partial boils on a glass top electric stove. Great success with that.

 

[tedski]

Bar keeper's friend.

This stuff is a life saver. Put it on a sponge/paper towel/whatever and that crap doesn't stand a chance.

Adding a few drops of water to a tablespoon or so of BKF to form a paste is another trick. Spread the paste over any gunk, wait 5 minutes and go at it with a scouring pad. Tough stains may require repeat treatment.

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

Strat recommended PBW. I had no idea what that was, so I looked it up, and it sounds promising!

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/pbw-by-five-star-1-lb.html

Anyone else have experience with this? Maybe it is similar to Bar Keepers Friend- that's another product I had never heard of before.

BTW- I've never had a boil over. I'm getting stubborn crud in small amounts... but the intense heat from the burners spreads it out and makes it damn near indestructible.

 

[rico567]

PBW = Powdered Brewery Wash. A product of Five Star Chemical, also produce Star San. You can think of PBW as an improved Oxi-Clean. It will clean organic material off of surfaces. Does a good job of lifting most labels off bottles.
People on this and other forums are constantly complaining about how expensive PBW is. Well, with our well water, it's not expensive. If you live in town and have a water supply that's fairly soft, Oxi-Clean or one of its avatars may work well for you. Our water is hard, and PBW works well as it contains chelators that enable it to function in hard water.
Note: PBW operate on organics and will not remove mineral deposits.

 

[Ineedaride2]

I've gotten some of the worst, most baked on crap off my stove with good old SOS pads.

I guess depending on your stove scratches could be an issue, but I've used them for years and never had any problem.

 

[shanecb]

As said before, covering with foil is a pretty good idea. I did the same thing to my stove top a couple of times until I started using foil.