Weak Stove Question

[CoreyG]

I posted a thread a while back asking opinions of my weak stove issue and I researched what I could and and seek advice on the situation

Stove: Basickly the stove can get a 3.5 gallons of water (14L) to strong simmer, weak boil with the lid partially on. By weak boil I mean its not quite rolling and the wort foams decently but when I take off the lids, it all drops back down and goes to a simmer. I've tried every combination of burners and this is the best it can do.

Heatstick : I looked into heatsticks but I don't have a GFCI outlet and I brew at the gfs house and I am not able to change the outlet, and from what I read, without one there is a risk of death which I want to avoid.

Fryer: I'm canadian and winters coming, so for the winter I really dont want to use a fryer outside. In the spring/summer I think I'm going to start brewing outdoors and use this option but for the winter I would like to avoid it.

............ so basickly I was contemplating boiling less wort ( I am doing extract w/specialty and PMs)..... maybe like 2.5 -3 gallons at just topping it off after the boil in the fermenter but I don't know what kind of affect this will have on the beer.

Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[SquirrelMaster]

i'm in the same boat as you. i have a glass top electric stove. i can only get it rolling with the lid partially on. i keep it straddled on two burners hoping the more heat will help.

i also used that aluminum insulation that there are a bunch of threads about. that seemed to help also.

I only did 3 gallons. no way i could get any more going. i'd even consider doing 2.5 on the next one just to see if i can keep it rolling better without using the lid at all

 

[theschick]

I picked up a electric turkey fryer off craigslist somewhat like this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JQ3KQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I use it's heating element in my 5 gallon pot, in addition to the stove. It has a built-in safety switch.

 

[AnOldUR]

Heatstick : I looked into heatsticks but I don't have a GFCI outlet and I brew at the gfs house and I am not able to change the outlet, and from what I read, without one there is a risk of death which I want to avoid.

Try one of these.

 

[frazier]

There is little if any downside to doing a partial boil. If your stove can only handle 2.5 gallons, then boil that much. Do your partial mash or steeping grains, add half the extract, and boil. Add the rest of the extract at flameout. Top up with water in the fermenter. No worries!

 

[jfr1111]

A turkey fryer would be nice. I'm Canadian too and I brewed with snow on the ground last week (it got to -5 Celsius with the wind chill at some point). Chilly, but it's why you drink homebrew while brewing.

Or just brew saller batches and experiment more (2-2.5 gallons). If a rcipe turns out fantastic, you won't have two cases of it to share with friends and family, but if it turns out less than stelar, you don't have two cases of "meh" beer to try to get rid of either.

You can always top off too.

 

[sportscrazed2]

I feel for you Montreal is far too cold in the winter to brew outside. could you possibly do 2 pots with 2.5 gallons and make 2 separate batches and combine them in the end?

 

[CoreyG]

I picked up that aluminium foil insulation wrap and see if it helps get to a good boil. Worst case I'll just switch to 2.5gallon batchs, im not very good so its probably for the best.It'll let me experiment more! ( i currently have 3-4 cases of very mediocre/bad beers if anyone wants !!)

Im using 5 gallon carboys, and prbably switching to better bottle since im been hearing too many horror stories with broken glass, but if i use a 5 gallon carboy going to cause problems for a 2.5 gallon batch because of too much headspace?

 

[jfr1111]

Mediocre beer ? How so ?

 

[CoreyG]

lol. Its not very good. I think it all fermented at too high a temperature, i didn't really have a method to keep the temperature constant. It just doesn't taste very good, but im watching for that changes over the next few weeks/months and maybe itll get better.

 

[jfr1111]

Just use a swamp cooler. It's easy, cheap and produces good results if you use a floating themometer in the water to gauge temperatures. I have used one for all my brews so far and I haven't encountered nasty esters or fusel alcohols (The room also is always around 16-18 ambient, never higher). You just have to make sure the water doesn't get moldy. I'm away for the whole week and the water I used for my stout was starting to go south when I arrived yesterday.

I made a new batch and added bleach to the (new) cooler's water. Problem solved. I also add a t-shirt to the primary to block light and cool it down further.

 

[Justibone]

If you put bleach in the water, make sure you don't spill it on carpet. I know, sounds obvious, but....

 

[jfr1111]

^^^+1 I use a big old ugly tarp I use for painting and the cooler rests on that.

 

[electronjunkie]

Heatstick : I looked into heatsticks but I don't have a GFCI outlet and I brew at the gfs house and I am not able to change the outlet, and from what I read, without one there is a risk of death which I want to avoid.

+1 on the heatstick and using a GFCI extendion cord. I use two heat sticks in addition to my stove. This took off nearly 1.5 hours from my brewday. You can also heat up water in any container that can take the heat like a food grade bucket.

 

[torque2k]

I posted a thread a while back asking opinions of my weak stove issue and I researched what I could and and seek advice on the situation

Stove: Basickly the stove can get a 3.5 gallons of water (14L) to strong simmer, weak boil with the lid partially on. By weak boil I mean its not quite rolling and the wort foams decently but when I take off the lids, it all drops back down and goes to a simmer. I've tried every combination of burners and this is the best it can do.

............ so basickly I was contemplating boiling less wort ( I am doing extract w/specialty and PMs)..... maybe like 2.5 -3 gallons at just topping it off after the boil in the fermenter but I don't know what kind of affect this will have on the beer.

Any advice?!

I remember listening to the Basic Brewing Radio podcast some months back, where they did a bunch of testing in conjunction with BYO Magazine to see what the real effects are of full boil vs. partial boil vs. late addition boils. I thing it's this one: http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-04-10exp3.mp3

IIRC, there was almost no real difference when it came to taste. Hops gets utilized differently, but that can be adjusted for your partials. I hear you on the northerly outdoor brewing, being in Michigan isn't quite the same as Montreal but it's still damn cold in January!

My stove's the same, "lid on" is the only way I can bring 3+ gallons up. One thing I've been doing lately is partial BATCHES. My last batch, a nut brown ale, started as a six-gallon recipe which I halved, allowing me to use a glass carboy for primary fermentation instead of a bucket. With partial batches, you're able to do the whole thing on the stove, and you can have a couple of carboys going at the same time. With this method, I get to experiment more, and it's more interesting.