Time to Reach Boil

[Eubanks]

It took me 43 minutes for my wort to reach a boil last night. Is this a long time and does it really matter?

Here's my setup:

SS 8 gallon pot, Bayou Classic burner, had about 6 gal of wort. I do all- grain so wort was in 130 deg. range when sparging was done. It was quite windy last night, I boil on my back patio.

I feel like 43 min is a long time to reach a boil but I have never had a boil-over and don't plan to. But does the beer benefit any from a smaller pre-boil lag time?

 

[Conan]

What burner do you have, and on what fuel? My BG14 on nat. gas takes maybe 20 minutes for 6.75 gallons. 43 isn't bad for the more standard turkey fryer burners, especially in the wind. On a windy day I can easily double my heat times.
I heat with the lid on and remove when the wort starts to foam. Kyle

 

[stpug]

43 minutes is a long time on propane with only 6 gallons of wort. My buddy has a small flame on his bayou classic burner while continuous sparging and once he hits preboil volume he turns up the heat to be at a boil within a couple minutes! Granted, the continuous sparging takes over an hour but still he's immediately there afterwards.

I batch sparge (3 runnings total) and timed myself the other day. From start of draining initial runnings to hitting a boil with 6.5 Gallons of wort on my glass cooktop it took 35 minutes.

 

[doug293cz]

Many of the low cost Bayou Classic burners lack a wind screen. Adding one of those will help a lot on a windy day. If you really want to up the burner efficiency, put a close fitting chimney around the BK in addition to the wind screen. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f253/looking-flame-resistant-insulation-materials-490895/#post6371801

Brew on

 

[Eubanks]

Thanks for all the info. I use a turkey fryer type burner with no windscreen so I do agree the wind was a big factor.

 

[smccarter]

Wow. That sounds like a long time to bring 6 gallons of wort to a boil. I brew on the stove top and it takes me about 20-25 minutes to reach a boil. You may want to either consider changing your setup, or you might want to consider adding a second hobby ... like churning butter. You have the time - after all.

... just want to clarify... that was an attempt a sarcastic humor.

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers, and really hope that I didn't.

 

[govner1]

It took me 43 minutes for my wort to reach a boil last night. Is this a long time and does it really matter?



Here's my setup:



SS 8 gallon pot, Bayou Classic burner, had about 6 gal of wort. I do all- grain so wort was in 130 deg. range when sparging was done. It was quite windy last night, I boil on my back patio.



I feel like 43 min is a long time to reach a boil but I have never had a boil-over and don't plan to. But does the beer benefit any from a smaller pre-boil lag time?

Are you applying some low heat to your first runnings while you sparge ?
Also, once you start to drain your run after sparging do you turn up the heat?
These will help. I usually get 8-9 gal to a boil in 15-20 minutes.
Also, some shields against the wind will help.

 

[Eubanks]

Smccarter, yes butter churning, needle point, and watching paint dry are all prospective side hobbies for my idle time...

I like the idea of adding heat while the wort is collecting in the BK. I do my mashing and sparging in coolers in my kitchen and boil outside, but will probably move the whole operation outside once things warm up.