Why use a sight glass on brew kettle?

[sudsmcgee]

Why do people keep commenting on the need to clean the sightglass? Just run clean water down it and you're done. You're going to boil the wort for an hour, so nothing will survive in the sightglass anyway.

Personally, I think Bobby M's sightglass was one of the best brewing purchases I've ever made. It had never failed me. I do occasionally get the sightglass to boil, but I just keep a spray bottle nearby and hit the bottom with cool water and it stops it from boiling.

 

[Flomaster]

Why does people keep commenting on the need to clean the sightglass? Just run clean water down it and you're done. You're going to boil the wort for an hour, so nothing will survive in the sightglass anyway.

Personally, I think Bobby M's sightglass was one of the best brewing purchases I've ever made. It had never failed me. I do occasionally get the sightglass to boil, but I just keep a spray bottle nearby and hit the bottom with cool water and it stops it from boiling.

in the event your sight glass is spewing hot wort and hops it needs to be cleaned.

just ask me how I know

-=Jason=-

 

[heckels]

Are you using your brew kettle for your HLT?

I have a dial thermometer on mine but it's a separate vessel to the kettle. I also no-chill - makes sense to have one if you are chilling I guess. I forgot that bit.

I have a 5 gallon cooler for my HLT. I heat up my sparge water to 180ish while mashing and throw in the HLT. Then I start heating my mashout water.

 

[MaxOut]

I have a Blichman sight glass brush I use when I clean the kettle and takes less than 5 seconds to clean. No big deal. I marked every half gallon on the sight glass and I can hit volumes with little effort. Im pretty sure once you have a sight glass it would be hard not to have one.

 

[sudsmcgee]

in the event your sight glass is spewing hot wort and hops it needs to be cleaned.

just ask me how I know

-=Jason=-

That happens to me often, but I just hose it out when done and it's clear again. It doesn't have to be sanitized.

 

[eltorrente]

O.k., after being frustrated and thinking this thing sucks because it just boils all the time, I came up with an incredibly elaborate heat shield.

I used a rare and expensive material known as "Tin Foil".

Material Costs: 1 cent
Time of Construction: 40seconds

It worked brilliantly. It never boiled and stayed stable - no matter how much I turned up the heat.

 

[Flomaster]

O.k., after being frustrated and thinking this thing sucks because it just boils all the time, I came up with an incredibly elaborate heat shield.

I used a rare and expensive material known as "Tin Foil".

Material Costs: 1 cent
Time of Construction: 40seconds

It worked brilliantly. It never boiled and stayed stable - no matter how much I turned up the heat.

per Bobby_M's instrucional video about building a heat shield for his sight tubes I just bought the .45 cent piece of flashing and stuck it under my keggle and guess what = no more boiling in sight tube.

-=Jason=-

 

[manticle]

Why do people keep commenting on the need to clean the sightglass? Just run clean water down it and you're done. You're going to boil the wort for an hour, so nothing will survive in the sightglass anyway.

Personally, I think Bobby M's sightglass was one of the best brewing purchases I've ever made. It had never failed me. I do occasionally get the sightglass to boil, but I just keep a spray bottle nearby and hit the bottom with cool water and it stops it from boiling.

Everybody's experience is different. If it works for you then great - personally, I'd freak out a bit if I didn't clean/sanitise it because I highly doubt the wort in the sight glass is going to stay at pasteurising temps for very long.

I've thrown lovingly made AG wort/beer away after infection sinking its bastard claws into it so I'll do anything to avoid doing that again (yes I cried).

Anyway what works for you, works for you. I have a stainless dip tube from the inside of the keggle which I use for the purpose. Doesn't look as sexy obviously.

 

[sudsmcgee]

I'll try and keep in mind that the wort might not be at pasteurizing temps as I'm fighting to keep my sightglass from boiling over. LOL

 

[manticle]

Like I said - your equipment, your experience.

I'd suggest that if it's not cleaned properly then whatever temp it gets to during the boil won't matter but I don't use one and you do with no problems.

If your experience suggests that they just need a good water clean then your experience is what I would use or recommend anyone else use over my opinion/perspective.

I'm probably being paranoid but that paranoia is based on my experience (of infections, not sight glass on kettle specifically) and that experience has led me to avoid fitting my kettle with a sight tube. I'm certainly not Captain Right and I have been known to change my opinion from time to time as it's not made of concrete.

I wish the term 'LOL' could be left to fester somewhere horrible.

 

[EdWort]

I love the sightglass on my Blingmann. I don't bother to calculate sparge water anymore.

Blichmann gives you a small piece of stainless to wedge under your kettle to protect the sight glass and valve from the heat. It got to be a PIA, so I asked my neighbor who welds if he could help modify my Banjo Cooker. Here's the results.

 

[sudsmcgee]

Like I said - your equipment, your experience.

I'd suggest that if it's not cleaned properly then whatever temp it gets to during the boil won't matter but I don't use one and you do with no problems.

If your experience suggests that they just need a good water clean then your experience is what I would use or recommend anyone else use over my opinion/perspective.

I'm probably being paranoid but that paranoia is based on my experience (of infections, not sight glass on kettle specifically) and that experience has led me to avoid fitting my kettle with a sight tube. I'm certainly not Captain Right and I have been known to change my opinion from time to time as it's not made of concrete.

I wish the term 'LOL' could be left to fester somewhere horrible.

While I appreciate and respect your experience and concerns, if you have never used a sightglass or measured the wort temperature inside the sightglass, you don't really have any basis for suggesting that the sightglass is a possible cause of infection. I can promise you that the wort inside the sight glass will reach at least 160 degrees fahrenheit during a boil, at which temperature pathogens are killed within 20 minutes. I've never heard of a boil less than 20 minutes.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but it just seems that you're fear-mongering on this one. I'm far from overly careful during my boil and I've never had a single infected batch.

Like you said though, do what you're comfortable with. I just think we should all be comfortable with using a sightglass.

 

[manticle]

I'm not trying to be argumentative either. I am, in fact agreeing with the point that I have no sight glass on my kettle and you do - therefore I accept my concerns may be overstated or baseless. Many people express certain worries about no-chill - it's the ones who hold on to those concerns regardless of countless experiences to the contrary that are irritating.

Fearmongering is a little strong a term. I break apart my ball valve tap at the end of each boil and soak it in sodium percarbonate to clean it. I had presumed it would be wise to do the same with a sight glass and it seems to be an opinion shared by other brewers I know (probably with the same level of non experience of them I have).

If your experience and the experience of others tells a different story, then my presumption either becomes weaker or it falls away. It doesn't become a conviction. I'm capable of changing an opinion when warranted but discussing that opinion is how it happens.

To summarise - you're probably right and I'm probably wrong. Unlike you, I have had infected batches so my caution might be paranoia as stated earlier. If you've never had one, you wouldn't understand the little funeral service I've held for each lost batch.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I love the sightglass on my Blingmann. I don't bother to calculate sparge water anymore.

Blichmann gives you a small piece of stainless to wedge under your kettle to protect the sight glass and valve from the heat. It got to be a PIA, so I asked my neighbor who welds if he could help modify my Banjo Cooker. Here's the results.

Wow. Now THAT is a HEAT SHIELD.

 

[Starderup]

With our 55 gallon boil kettle, it is impossible to get a reading with a hand held thermometer. The steam just fogs up everything. The sight glass and built in thermometer are essential.

 

[eltorrente]

Wow. Now THAT is a HEAT SHIELD.

Uhhh... wow... I think I'll stick to my little piece of tinfoil..

 

[Bobby_M]

No "argument" here but if sightglasses inherently caused infections my email account would be unmanageably filled with hate mail and I'd be in the corner in the fetal position.

 

[Flomaster]

No "argument" here but if sightglasses inherently caused infections my email account would be unmanageably filled with hate mail and I'd be in the corner in the fetal position.

I'll be placing another order for a weldless sight glass for my hlt.

-=Jason=-

Sent from my HTC Incredible using Home Brew Talk

 

[Spartan1979]

Here's the heat shield on my SQ14. I do need to make the center diameter a bit bigger.