Survey: Lets hear why you prefer Propane over Electric Brewing

[mrbeachroach]

Hello my Home Brew friends. Recently I have asked on another thread why I should use electric brewing instead of the typical propane set up. I have had many responses from that community of Brewers.

However, I'm still a bit conflicted and would like to hear the other side of this debate.

I am soon either going to buy a 20 to 25 gallon brew pot

Or, I will buy the Brewers edge mash and boil.


One of the reasons I am conflicted is that if I buy the mash and boil I am limiting myself to that size brew.

If the mash and boil experiences problems then I will have a unusable piece of equipment.

Many of the people on the mash and boil forum, complain about a 5° temperature swing.

But the irony with that is how much can you actually control within 5° when you're using propane?

On the flipside if I upgrade to a big brew pot, I will not be limited on the size or style of beer if I want to go high gravity,

I would have the opportunity to brew outside which actually sounds appealing to me.

My only concern with brewing all grain outside, is the TIME involved in start to primary fermenter.

If you're able to answer this question but only with your opinions weighing in but also, how long it takes you to all grain BIAB, and why you would stick with propane, I would love to know. Thank you!

 

[PsychoBiter]

Here is my take....We use propane and really like the ability to quickly heat up strike water and later to get the wort to a boil quickly is awesome. Our brew days are 4-5 hours typically.
We upgraded to a Blichmann burner and it has saved us an hour plus on our brew day as our old burner was sloooow. It really is a awesome burner. Only Blichmann equipment I own.
BUT, trying to maintain a mash temp with just a propane burner is futile in my experience. You need to recirculate and that in its self causes some possible problems with stuck mashes and over heating the mash and killing the mash enzymes. I have done them both.

We have successfully held mash temps (2-3 degree loss over 1 hr mash in 50 degree weather) with the larger mash volumes that hold heat in and a reflectix blanket wrap and a lid. Adding a RIMS would really help control temps, but maybe not needed if you can insulate well. I have found that nailing our strike temp is crucial for better efficiency. It is very easy to overshoot/undershoot with propane, not very precise.
We are also still trying to dial in our boil off amount. Looking to add a needle valve to burner so we are at least consistent with out propane output.

I think my dream system is one I can brew with outside. I would use propane to heat strike water to 3-4 degrees of target, kick in a 110V RIMS system to nail the temp.....mash for about 15-20 min then slowly kick in the RIMS to maintain mash temp through the mash. Once mash is done, pull basket and crank up the propane to get to boil quickly.

That mash and boil system looks OK if you like 5 gallons of smaller beers, but the flexibility to get 5 gallons of a big beer is gone. Maybe 2-3 gallons of higher ABV beers?

 

[mrbeachroach]

A lot of good insight here.

 

[bigplunkett]

Fire good.

 

[bigdawg86]

I think my dream system is one I can brew with outside. I would use propane to heat strike water to 3-4 degrees of target, kick in a 110V RIMS system to nail the temp.....mash for about 15-20 min then slowly kick in the RIMS to maintain mash temp through the mash. Once mash is done, pull basket and crank up the propane to get to boil quickly.

That is kinda the direction I am heading... I am transitioning from extract and BIAB. I currently have my kettle and burner and recently purchased a 110V RIMS from brewhardware. My next brew will be 2 vessel. I was thinking about when I can afford a 3 vessel setup I will have direct fire HLT, RIMS on mash duty, then direct fire BK. I brew in my garage and converted to natural gas which is my fuel of choice. For me the added cost of going 240v and all the required components just isn't worth it to me.

 

[C-Rider]

I mash in a cooler and temp is pretty steady over an hour. Loss of maybe 3 degrees. I use propane because my stove top can't boil faster. I know that's not the elec you talking about. LOL

 

[jekeane]

The major benefit of propane is it is mobile assuming you are just using a single burner.

If you have a fixed brewing space and don't plan on traveling electric makes more sense from a resource (unless you live somewhere electric is expensive) and control standpoint.

Most electric setups have some level of automation to control temps while propane doesn't unless you add it in which is doable.

The mash and boil will limit you to certain size and gravity batches. There are also some modifications needed to make it perform optimally from what I have read. That being said for $250 when its on sale its a pretty interesting deal. I would assume it would alway prove useful even if you moved on to bigger batches. I have a 3 vessel Eherms setup 6.5 g or larger batches on. When the mash and boil went on sale I thought it would be great for quicker 3 gallon batches.

I think your real question should be the value for you to have PID temperature control or manual temperature control. If you want control its doable with either heat source but its easier to get by going electric imo.

 

[radwizard]

I keep on using propane because I fear if I switched to electric I would start brewing indoors.... My wife's in there

 

[teesherv]

I agree with @jekeane about the portability of using propane. I only switched to electric (I know, BOO!, not what you were asking for) when I stopped moving, had a dedicated indoor-ish space, and could convince my brew friends to bring their propane based set up to my house when we all wanted to brew together.

If I were made of money, I'd have my main, stay-at-home electric rig and a smaller propane, brew-on-the-go set up. Hmm.... Now I'm thinking all I need is a pot and burner for small volume and gravity beers on the go..... To the Craigslist!

 

[kevin58]

I don't prefer propane but it's what I have so that's what I use. When I decide where I want my permanent brew house I plan on switching.

 

[wilserbrewer]

No preference for propane at all, but I would like to point out that electric brewing need not include all of the bells and whistles most often presented in the forum here.

I would prefer a stupid simple 2000w element on a 20 amp gfi 8-10 gal kettle manually controlling temps as everyone does on a propane system, over brewing with propane.

Cost is very low, just an element mounted in a pot or a heat stick and a cord, and get fancy with a basic switch to turn on and off. With a low wattage set up, there is really no need to turn it down....inexpensive and easy. A little patience required.

 

[Swamproad]

No preference for propane at all, but I would like to point out that electric brewing need not include all of the bells and whistles most often presented in the forum here.

I would prefer a stupid simple 2000w element on a 20 amp gfi 8-10 gal kettle manually controlling temps as everyone does on a propane system, over brewing with propane.

Cost is very low, just an element mounted in a pot or a heat stick and a cord, and get fancy with a basic switch to turn on and off. With a low wattage set up, there is really no need to turn it down....inexpensive and easy. A little patience required.[/QUOT

 

[Swamproad]

I am using a cheap Amico 40A SSR controlled with a 470k pot. Total cost from Amazon was less than $20. This is hooked up to a spa panel.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I've never brewed with propane but I can't see reason propane could be better unless you don't have the power to do so

Loud
Electric is dirt cheap
Never run out of electric
More temp control
Can brew indoors...I would hate brewing outside in the winter
Brewing indoor in your Jammies while its 20 and snowing is a beautiful thing
Water is right there in the sink while the hose is frozen solid
You don't need all the bells and whistles that might scare away someone from going electric..its really quite minimal and easy.

 

[kh54s10]

The pros of propane are the lower equipment cost, and portability.

I want to go electric so that I can brew INSIDE. When I was in Rhode Island it was to avoid the cold in the winter. Now in Florida it will be to avoid the heat in the summer.

It would be really nice to have all my brewing done in one room.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

The pros of propane are the lower equipment cost, and portability.

MY little Dewalt palm sander case control box fits right inside the pot. Seems more portable than a propane rig...still need power though

As far as cost a simple DIY EZboil control box is pretty cheap. I would say you could get a full electric setup for around $150. Even if you don't want to build a controller or don't have 30 amp available one or two of those immersion heaters ( forget what they call them, Hot Rods or something like that) that simply plug into any outlet would be mighty easy and super portable

 

[Owly055]

Propane is cheap........for me, as I buy it 1000 gallons at a whack. It takes LOT of amps to even come close to the boil rate you can achieve with propane. I actually use a hybrid of propane and electric to reduce the time to boil....... I float a high wattage coil element in my wort, and crank the burner up, and get 10 deg per minute. I use induction if I'm having trouble maintaining my mash temp, but usually just insulating does the job. If I had natural gas, I'd use that.

H.W.

 

[LostHopper]

Pardon the interruption for stupid question of the day: In general which is faster to get 8 gallons to a boil? (I've only used propane)

 

[kh54s10]

Propane is cheap........for me, as I buy it 1000 gallons at a whack. It takes LOT of amps to even come close to the boil rate you can achieve with propane. I actually use a hybrid of propane and electric to reduce the time to boil....... I float a high wattage coil element in my wort, and crank the burner up, and get 10 deg per minute. I use induction if I'm having trouble maintaining my mash temp, but usually just insulating does the job. If I had natural gas, I'd use that.

H.W.

It may be cheaper if you get 1000 gallons at a time, but for most it costs a couple dollars a session for propane. With electric it would be a few cents.

 

[kh54s10]

Pardon the interruption for stupid question of the day: In general which is faster to get 8 gallons to a boil? (I've only used propane)

It will vary depending on equipment. A high wattage element will be faster than a lower wattage one. A cheap turkey fryer burner will be a lot slower than a Blichmann burner. So if you are comparing the cheap burner to a high wattage element it might be close. But as I understand it propane is usually faster.

 

[BigJoeBrew]

In a way I use both. I save propane cost by heating my mash water up to temp on my electric stove in my kitchen, which is a lot more comfortable in the winter or summer. So my propane is only used for getting to a boil and keeping a boil.

 

[jalc6927]

Propane heats faster and is more portable then electric, if neither of those are what you’re after than go electric

 

[PADave]

Propane is simple, a tank and a burner is all that's needed. A lot more to think about with electric.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Propane is simple, a tank and a burner is all that's needed. A lot more to think about with electric.

A simple control panel is all that's needed. A lot more to think about [or fiddle with constantly] with propane.

Gotta love pushing a button to set the temperature you want, then go mow the lawn, take a nap, or drink a beer. Also, electricity is way cheaper than propane (in my area).

 

[PADave]

A simple control panel is all that's needed. A lot more to think about [or fiddle with constantly] with propane.

Gotta love pushing a button to set the temperature you want, then go mow the lawn, take a nap, or drink a beer. Also, electricity is way cheaper than propane (in my area).

Simple control panel, then you need some sort of element. That element gets mounted into the pot? Got to have the wiring to your panel, there's a 220 circuit. A lot more initial setup with electric.

 

[hopkincr]

I don't like to brew indoors (regardless of weather), so propane is easy to use outside or in garage.

 

[soccerdad]

I mostly brew indoors with natural gas and do 3 to 5 gallon batches. I can brew outdoors with propane on my larger kettle for high gravity or batches larger than 5 G. Someday I will have an electric set up, but that will probably not be at this house

 

[ClaudiusB]

A simple control panel is all that's needed. A lot more to think about [or fiddle with constantly] with propane.

I am a propane brewer and no constant fiddling required.
Not having enough full spare tanks what sucks for many propane brewers..

Gotta love pushing a button to set the temperature you want, then go mow the lawn, take a nap, or drink a beer.

We propane brewers can do it too, even watch the progress from Home Depot with a push of a button

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

I use a combination of Propane and a homemade electric heat stick.
With the combo I can heat 7 gals of wort to boiling in about 30 mins.
With propane alone, it take significantly longer. And with electric heat stick alone, it’s impossible.

I wish I had an electric system because that would be awesome. But for now I’ll have to use what I can afford.

My goal is to be all electric.

 

[eric19312]

Propane is cheap........for me, as I buy it 1000 gallons at a whack. It takes LOT of amps to even come close to the boil rate you can achieve with propane. I actually use a hybrid of propane and electric to reduce the time to boil....... I float a high wattage coil element in my wort, and crank the burner up, and get 10 deg per minute. I use induction if I'm having trouble maintaining my mash temp, but usually just insulating does the job. If I had natural gas, I'd use that.

H.W.

I use NG. It’s slower than propane but if you plan brew day it’s not a deal breaker. I’m grinding grain and measuring salts while strike water heats. Then long fly sparge into kettle with burner on. I’m at rolling boil within 5 min of end of sparge if I do it right. That’s a 20 gallon boil and I’m prob getting something like 50k btu out of 14” banjo on household NG. Super quiet and never needs to be refilled.