Will a propane grill boil wort?

[JoePro]

My roomie has a very, very nice grill and our 8 gallon brew pot actually fits right in it (almost flush).

Ostensibly we wouldn't close the top, but the grill temperatures can get up there. Would this be feasible for boiling wort?

 

[Pappers_]

It would take my propane grill a long time to bring 7.5 gallons to a boil.

 

[JoePro]

There isn't even 1/2 an inch of grillspace on either side of the brew pot. I believe the brewpot is 15" in diameter and the area of the grill top is 15.5" square.

So there wouldn't be very much heat loss (I think).

 

[jbrookeiv]

There isn't even 1/2 an inch of grillspace on either side of the brew pot. I believe the brewpot is 15" in diameter and the area of the grill top is 15.5" square.

So there wouldn't be very much heat loss (I think).

One easy way to find out, give it a try!

 

[JoePro]

One easy way to find out, give it a try!

*Slowly removes his glasses*

My God......

What an idea!



How does sugar affect boil temperature?

 

[jbrookeiv]

*Slowly removes his glasses*

My God......

What an idea!



How does sugar affect boil temperature?

I would think it would effect it too much, if it can boil 7.5 gallons of water, it should boil 7.5 gallons of wort just fine.

 

[DrBrewDC]

How does sugar affect boil temperature?

The higher the SG, the higher the boiling temperature.

 

[DrBrewDC]

Albeit, negligible.

 

[wildwest450]

The bigger question is if the grille is capable of holding 65lbs of wort and kettle?


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[JoePro]

The bigger question is if the grille is capable of holding 65lbs of wort and kettle?


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Good point. Looks like I'm gonna get a burner-- any recommendations?

 

[wildwest450]

Good point. Looks like I'm gonna get a burner-- any recommendations?

If you wanna be a big dog......
will do giant boils and very quiet.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...Dtgf836HIDw&ved=0CGkQ8gIwAQ&biw=1280&bih=909#



_

 

[nollerbrewing]

We tried to use a grill on our first batch with absolutely no success. I think a small stove would have done better. We were only working with 3 gal also. Get a turkey fryer or use the stove! That's my advice. But then again you wont know till you try.

 

[jezmez68]

Make sure the kettle bottom is compatible with the shape of the burner stand. I can't remember why, but my dad bought a burner that sucked for my kettle - we had to put 2 square pieces of pipe on there so it could set (sit?) evenly.

Any of the Bayou County should do. I'd avoid the ones that have a shut off timer. ANNOYING!

 

[jaginger]

The higher the SG, the higher the boiling temperature.

While this is indeed true, a higher SG also LOWERS the specific heat by a measurable amount. So it takes a slightly higher temperature to reach boiling, but you need to apply less heat to get there so it's easier to boil wort than water.

 

[twd000]

I brew on the side burner on my propane grill. It is just a little too weak to bring 7 gallons of wort to a boil (tops out around 190 F), so I supplement with an electric drop-in heater: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BDB4UG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[DrBrewDC]

While this is indeed true, a higher SG also LOWERS the specific heat by a measurable amount. So it takes a slightly higher temperature to reach boiling, but you need to apply less heat to get there so it's easier to boil wort than water.

ahhhh..... tu shay!

 

[JoePro]

ahhhh..... tu shay!

Science!

 

[DrBrewDC]

Science!

Yes, indeed... Science.

I was using "touche" pronounced tu shay in this instance to mean "You got me".

 

[JonM]

Try boiling 7.5 gals of hot tap water to see if it works. No need to waste wort if it doesn't work, right?

 

[TheBroonery]

I tried this when I was in 5th grade for the science fair. If it does work, it will take a very, very long time.

 

[DrBrewDC]

I tried this when I was in 5th grade for the science fair. If it does work, it will take a very, very long time.

You brewed beer on a grill for your 5th grade science project??? :rockin:

 

[TheBroonery]

You brewed beer on a grill for your 5th grade science project??? :rockin:

haha I wish.. I had built a solar water heater, basically 25' or 50' of 3/8 copper bent into an s, row, by row (you know what I mean?), over a 4'x2' piece of plywood covered in aluminum foil. I think it only rose the temperature by 20 or 30 degrees in an hour, but as part of the experiment I also compared it with the heating capabilities of my parents electric stove and gas grill, heating whatever the volume of water the solar heater held, mabye a pint or so. The grill got it much warmer in much less time than the solar heater, and the stove was obviously the only thing that could get the water hot enough to boil.

 

[MarkT]

I do this with a 20L pot; I typically try to stuff two 4.5 gal pre-boil batches and boil them down to 3.5-4 gal. I didn't catch your grill make or BTU's; My Weber only puts out 12.5 Kbtu's and it does take a long time to reach a boil, but I can interleave mowing the grass while it's coming up to a boil so I don't feel too bad about it.

As suggested above I did fill the pot with water first to test it - highly recommended so that you don't waste ingredients, and it also sets your expectation for timing. 7.5 Gal is big - you may need to try both a full sized batch and a smaller batch to see what works.