What's the most cost effective way to move my brewing inside?

[Griffin495]

I'd say use your stove and a HotRod Heatstick

Even cheaper, BIAB, cut your batches to 2.5G and just use your stove and a bag. That's mostly what I do. It gives me a case of beer per batch which allows me to brew more and have variety on hand. Although, when the weather is nice outside, I go outside and use propane and enjoy the weather and let my dogs run around.

 

[user 254557]

I was very happy when I finally moved inside, in Minnesota its F#*^ing cold and the winter is when i brew, mostly during football games, but I built a controller with a MYPIN TA7 and 5500W serpentine element, If you try do this yourself you will put up some money right away but it will be worth it, figure out what you need to make the move even if its a move to smaller batches then you can start to build up to bigger batches from there getting pieces one at a time, where are you located...........................cheers

 

[brewbama]

I am curious to know which induction cooktop you use, and how long does it take to bring your wort to a boil (assuming 5 gallon batches)

It’s an MDC Commercial Induction Cooktop.

I have two layers of reflectix insulation wrapped around my BK/HLT.

I heat strike 9 gal water to 140-ish*F in the time it take to prep the MLT, crush grain, measure minerals, setup the RIMS and pump. (I haven’t timed it).

Then, after the mash is complete, I bring 7-ish gal 170*F sweat wort to boil partially covered in probably 10 - 15 minutes. (I guess)

I haven’t timed it because I only get to brew 12-13 times a year and when I do brew I enjoy the process so time is not so important to me. The only thing I time is the mash steps and boil additions.

 

[eulipion2]

I went eBIAB a few years ago. I built the controller myself, 5500w element, my first ever electrical project. I haven't so much as blown a fuse in all the time I've been using it. That is to say, building your own can be fairly easy, just study wiring diagrams in the electric brewing subforum, ask lots of questions, and try to get someone with at least a little knowledge of electrical wiring to have a look at it at some point.

I started with a HotRod heat stick, but had a tri-clamp port added so I could use a false bottom and a HotPod.

Good luck!

 

[vance]

Moved into the new place - it's got a gorgeous, brand new gas range with a larger middle burner, so I will be able to heat 3 gallon batch sizes easily, and possibly even 5.

I've fleshed out my plan a little bit - I'm going to use the stove, and potentially add a 110V-powered element to speed up boil times a little bit. My sticking point is the exact process.

If I had my way, I'd go for a 2 vessel HERMS system, but the prices add up fast when doing that - most HERMS coils I see are ~100 bucks, plus I'd need another kettle, in addition to all the valves and pumps and tubing I'd need to buy. I'd love to keep this project under $300, but we'll see how it goes.

My other option is sticking with single vessel BIAB. I'd have to figure out my efficiency woes, but more importantly I'd need to figure out how to do it without getting wort all over my kitchen.

The second biggest problem I have is chilling. I currently use a Hydra chiller, which works fantastic, but I don't think my sink could power it. It's possible there's a powerful enough pump to run it effectively, but I'm sure it isn't cheap. I'd probably have to buy another chiller - likely the sink-specific one, from JaDed - but that's another expensive cost.

 

[z-bob]

I do 4 gallon brews on my kitchen gas stove; pretty sure I could do 5 gallons with this setup but 4 is a good size. I have an 8 gallon kettle, and a 1650W "Hot Rod" immersion heater from brewhardware.com. I bought the heating element from Amazon and assembled the hotrod myself. I do BIAB process, with a bag from Wilser (sp?) because the 5 gallon paint strainers from the hardware store are stretched a little too tight in this kettle and don't last long. (before I got the 8 gallon kettle, I used paint strainer bags and a 22 quart canner and that worked pretty well)

 

[bertden]

I have what you might call a hybrid system. Since I wasn't quite ready to deal with what's involved with adding 220V where I brew (furnace room in basement) I use both a 5000W element connected to 120V in a 10G kettle and a 1800W induction plate I already had. Both on different circuits of course.

I've done about a dozen 6G batches so far and it's working great. The boil I get with both the element and the plate is so vigorous that I have to run the plate at 50%. Quite happy with the setup so far.

 

[BrewBoyd]

I'm not sure if moving into a new place was the easiest way but you you did what I was going to suggest. You got a better stove. I do a modified version of BIAB on my stove. I have a 10-gallon kettle that I position over three burners when I need to raise the temp. The large burner alone will maintain a good boil.

Regarding your efficiency problem, try what I do. In my modified BIAB method I heat only the amount of mash water that I would use if I were using a mash tun. I mash using the bag. In a separate not-quite-so-big kettle I heat sparge water in the amount needed to achieve the boil volume I want. I remove the bag from the boil kettle, let it drain for a minute or two, begin heating the wort in the boil kettle, "launder" the bag in the sparge water (imagine washerwoman movements), drain the bag, squeeze it like crazy, combine all the wort and boil. (Yes, in my brewing path I acquired two kettles. The smaller one is only 7 gallons and they nest nicely for storage.)

Regarding, cooling, chill out man. I gave it up. Google no-chill brewing. I put my boil kettle in the garage or on the deck overnight and pitch the next day. People will wag their fingers, but you were rebel enough to try BIAB so I think you could also handle no-chill.

Good luck and enjoy your new indoor sport. It's warm in the winter, has AC in the summer, the family is nearby, and you can listen to you music or the game.