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.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I prefer brewing outside...when the weather is nice. In Iowa, that means about 4 months a year. The rest of the time it's sub freezing (sometimes sub zero) or heat indices in nearing 100 degrees. Both are brutal for brewing, but I march onward.

Someday I'd like a climate controlled brewing area with enough space to store my equipment. I want reasonable temps and to not have to haul all my stuff to and from the basement to brew.

That probably means electric for me, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[shoengine]

As I live in the PNW I don't have any weather issues that can keep me from brewing outside (it is 45 and sunny today), but management of propane is a lot more annoying than electricity. I'd like to be all electric so I could brew in the garage in a fixed location and not have to worry about gas ventillation, as well.

With that said, I love brewing outside. Especially with friends and beer.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

I use propane, with an Edelmetall burner that uses a needle valve. The needle valve gives such fine control of the flame that in the brews I have done, you really only need to watch for boilovers in the first five or so minutes until you stabilize at a roiling boil. Once you settle down you're pretty good to go.

I'm in the Carolina foothills, so even in winter time I just pick a pretty day. Even so, I like brewing on my deck. Seems more fun than in the garage.

I guess I never really considered electric because I have a great place to brew outside and no good place inside.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I'm not throwing rocks, but why do you want to make 20-25 gallons of the same beer? If you're selling it, I get it. But..

I have homebrew beers I love and try to keep on tap, but it's also fun to make others, and then have to wait for my favorites to ferment so I can drink them. I like having a variety on tap is all.

I'm not right or wrong, I'm just not getting the 20-25 gallon brews, but to each his own.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

I'm not throwing rocks, but why do you want to make 20-25 gallons of the same beer? If you're selling it, I get it. But..

I agree. 3 or 4 five gallon kegs on tap in the garage, of vastly different brews, is a wonderful thing. Friends and neighbors can come over and sample a flight or find something that fits their taste.

 

[frankvw]

I prefer propane for many reasons. One is cost; in my neck of the woods propane works out a lot cheaper than electricity (but that's a local thing) and our electricity is unreliable. Once you've had a power outage in the middle of a brew you start thinking propane purdy darn' quickly.

Another is flexibility. An electrically heated vessel has plugs and power cords and what not dangling from them which get in the way when you want to swap or clean them. Not so with propane.

Electric elements also are slightly more cumbersome to clean than the smooth bottom of a brewing kettle.

I'm also slightly paranoid when it comes to combining electricity and water. Propane feels less like a shock hazard. But that's just me.

A drawback is temperature control. An electric element can be regulated with an electronic thermostat. While this is possible with propane, it will require expensive valves and other stuff best left to a certified LPG engineer.

 

[PersonalBrewer]

Off-topic

why do you want to make 20-25 gallons of

the same beer?......but to each his own.

Ummm, understandable to me. Ten gallons is two five gallon kegs. Rule of thumb being that you need a twenty gallon kettle to brew ten gallons of beer when using BIAB.

I've got a fifteen gallon brew kettle and several times have wondered if I would be better off with a twenty.

I routinely brew 7 gallons, and have begun adding extra grains to the bag, using less water for the mash and then adding water to begin the boil in order to get more wort. Works for me. I just bought another fermenter to be able to increase to ten gallons in two kegs.

The only negatives I see to ten gallons batches at a time are the bag being pretty heavy, and my understanding is that if you have a twenty gallon kettle it's harder to brew smaller batches.

I have three kegs on tap, always something for family and friends to chose from.

I have more time for drinking beer than I have for brewing beer.

 

[Dcpcooks]

After years of brewing on propane in a semi heated garage in the north we moved. I was really sad to give up my garage set up. I really loved those few nice summer days with the garage door up the windows and the back door open. Neighbors could stop by and have a beer and it was a social thing on the block.

I was pretty firm with the shwmbo before we even listed the old place that I needed a dedicated brew space. I wasn’t sure what that would end up being but swmbo wanted a smaller house and she wasn’t happy in the old place anymore. So we moved.

I ended up getting a 1200sq ft unfinished basement in the new house and I began the process of upgrading to electric. I was using a three vessel herms system on propane with a blichmann gas controller. I ended up just adding the boil coils to my existing pots and swapping out the gas controller with electric controllers.

The new set up rocks. As other have said it’s really nice to be inside during crappy weather. I’m sitting at my new bar reading HBT in my sweat pants drinking coffee while strike water is heating. The fermentor is in a cip cycle and I’m about to go mill my grain.

Electric is easy, quiet and efficient. Temp control is precise. In the old days I’d be running to the store to get propane, now I flip the gfci breaker and set my strike temp on the controller and make a pot of coffee and turn on the big screen or crank some tunes.

I don’t see a huge difference in time between my 5500watt coil and my blichmann burners, my electric set up is a bit faster. The brew space isn’t hot like it was with propane since all of the energy transfer is done directly in the kettle and not under and around like it was with propane.

I love a dedicated brew space. Fermentation, mill, grain storage, hot side, barrel storage and sinks are all in one area. The bar is just on the other side of the brewery and the big screen and stereo are right there. I can watch the game from the brewery or play darts while I have a pint. Heaven!

So I’m a huge fan of electric brewing. Far more of a fan than I thought I would be if that helps you decide which way to go.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

When I built my 3rd brew rig, I went all electric but couldn't take the full leap of faith, so I put burners on it also thinking there would someday be a need. After 10 or 12 batches on the new rig, I have yet to even light the burners. Once you go electric, you will never look back.

 

[myelo]

I do 5 ballon BIAB indoors on my range cooktop, which is propane. It has two 17,000 BTU burners.

I like being indoors, the propane is relatively cheap and all I need is the kettle.