Thumbs up or down on this idea?

[BackBayBrewing]

I am trying to get into AG brewing but my current living situation (apartment in Boston) makes turkey fryer out of the question. I really want to do full boil so I am trying to come up with ways to do it. I also don't have access to a 220 outlet so I can't build a 4500 watt heatstick or electric kettle. Also, my whole apartment is on one circuit so I can't use two 2000 watt heatsticks. Also, I have a 13 gallon european keg but I don't have a large kettle capable of full boil. That's the background.

Here is my idea. I was thinking about using the 13 gallon keg as a kettle and putting on my gas stove and then supplementing it with one 2000 watt heatstick. I know that this would work fine if I had a regular 8 gallon kettle, but I am not sure if using the keg on the gas range would be efficient enough to get a full 7 gallons to a boil even with the help of the heatstick. Thanks for your input.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Try it w/ water...not knowing what type of stove you have...someone would only be guessing.

My guess is that it will boil nicely?? But of course...YMMV.

2000 W might boil it if you were to insulate the kettle. But it would likely be slow w/ a mild boil.

 

[Homercidal]

13 gallons is awfully heavy. I know nothing about heat sticks, but the sheer weight of that much wort would be a concern.

 

[Clayton]

why cant you do your boil down on the sidewalk?

 

[Homercidal]

Also, my stove will not boil 7 gallons, but another, larger burner might.

 

[BackBayBrewing]

13 gallons is awfully heavy. I know nothing about heat sticks, but the sheer weight of that much wort would be a concern.

I'm not boiling 13 gallons. I am just thinking about using a 13 gallon keg as my kettle because that is what I have. I would be trying to boiling 7 or 8 gallons in that kettle. And I would be using my standard kitchen gas range with a 2000 watt heatstick to supplement.

 

[springer]

the whole apartment is on one circuit? If anything else turns on like the fridge you will be standing in the dark. It may be pushing the limits to use it but if you unplug everything try it whats to lose.

 

[The Pol]

Well, we need to talk BTUs here friend.

I think 2000W will suppliment your stove well, if the kettle will fit etc.

How many BTU is that stove burner?

I use 5500W to reach a boil (quickly)
I then use 3700W to maintain an nice boil

5500W is 18,771 BTUs
3700W is 12,628 BTUs

Your 2000W element will be 6,826 BTUs

Meaning that you would like to have about 10-12,000 BTUs from your stove to reach the boil.(quickly)

You would NEED IMHO 6,000 BTUs from the stove to maintain that boil. In my estimation, this will work, the number don't lie.