Will a single 1800w induction burner be enough for 3g batches?

[zacster]

I just bought a Duxtop 9610 burner to give induction cooking a try, and of course the light bulb went off in my head immediately that it could be used for beer too. But can it? It seems a bit too small to accomodate the large 10g Blichmann kettle I use. I just tried it with a small amount of water and it came to a boil quickly but would it work for 3 gallons for BIAB? And is 3 gallons too heavy?

 

[Beerstein]

Yes, it will totally work. A lot of the chinese boil & mash clones are 1500-1600 watts for 5-6 gallon batches.

 

[Bad Bubba]

I just bought a Duxtop 9610 burner to give induction cooking a try, and of course the light bulb went off in my head immediately that it could be used for beer too. But can it? It seems a bit too small to accomodate the large 10g Blichmann kettle I use. I just tried it with a small amount of water and it came to a boil quickly but would it work for 3 gallons for BIAB? And is 3 gallons too heavy?

I use a similar induction cooktop for small batches. I purchased a 22 quart kettle and it works great. My 10 gallon kettle is too large for my cooktop which has about a 10 inch heating area. My kettle was about $50 at Walmart.

 

[Saunassa]

I have similar cook top and bought a 16qt stock pot. I use it for small batch extract brewing in the winter. Since I work remote I can have it on the kitchen table and get 'paid' to brew during my work day. Make sure to buy a decent pot with clad bottom for induction cooking. Heats faster and more even then cheap stainless stock pot. Approx $30 for thin cheap or $45 for something with clad bottom.

 

[Elric]

I have a 1800 w induction I bought for hot pot and the idea of using it when I want to boil small batches outdoors. If memory recalls I have successfully brewed up to a 4 gallon batch on a 5.5 gallon kettle with it, but I did need to partially cover to get a decent boil,

 

[Dancy]

Before buying my Mash & Boil, I used a Salton 1800w induction burner with an 8 G kettle, and had a reasonable boil up to 6.5 G of wort. I also put Reflectix around the kettle with a bungee cord.
Reflectix makes a BIG difference In the speed and vigor of the boil.

 

[zacster]

I'll have to give it a try with a small batch. My Blichmann 10g is what I have and it is induction ready so it should work pretty well. I think the best thing will be that I can do the mash and not force everyone out of the kitchen lest they set the fleece wrap on fire. I'm careful though and I pull the knobs.

But before I try that I'm going to make a full batch of my favorite Czech Pilsner recipe to replace the batch that I made that has diacetyl. You don't realize how bad it is until you try to drink a pint. It isn't just off, it is bad. I've already tried to fix it and while it seemed ok when tasting now that it is in the fridge it hasn't really gotten any better.

 

[Rish]

Before buying my Mash & Boil, I used a Salton 1800w induction burner with an 8 G kettle, and had a reasonable boil up to 6.5 G of wort. I also put Reflectix around the kettle with a bungee cord.
Reflectix makes a BIG difference In the speed and vigor of the boil.
View attachment 764680

Thanks for the Reflectix tip! I just got a Gigawort electric BK and will definitely give it try.

 

[Upstate12866]

If you are interested in small batches up to 3.5 gal or so I think the induction cooktop is a perfect fit. Today I took 2 gallons in the pot from 150 to boil in about 10 minutes, which works great for me. In theory I can do a 3 gallon (in the fermenter) partial boil recipe in like 2 hours or even less if I cut the mash and boil times down. Overall I am a big proponent of the idea to anyone who doesn't make really large batches, since it's so cheap ($50) and legitimately a multipurpose appliance.

 

[jrgtr42]

3 gallons should be fine with a 1800w burner. You may not even need the blankets, depending on your kettle.
1800 isn't enough for 5gallons, though - it takes too long and doesn't quite get to a full rolling boil.
3500w works great though (5 gallon batch, 10 gallon kettle, traditional mash tun.)

 

[Jhenjum]

Before buying my Mash & Boil, I used a Salton 1800w induction burner with an 8 G kettle, and had a reasonable boil up to 6.5 G of wort. I also put Reflectix around the kettle with a bungee cord.
Reflectix makes a BIG difference In the speed and vigor of the boil.
View attachment 764680

Pretty much the same set up but I also supplement with a bucket heater on a different circuit. I use the induction plate to regulate the boil.

 

[zacster]

Now that the keg has kicked I need to make the next batch, but I'll experiment with the boil on the induction burner before I commit to using it on brew day.

Yesterday I tried to deep fry some fish on it and it just didn't quite get hot enough in a small pot of oil though so I'm a little skeptical. I wanted 375 and it got up to 340 and just wouldn't go any higher using my heavy enamaled Le Creuset. When I dropped some fish in it it cooled too much. The fish was OK but would've been better if it were hotter. Beer battered fish of course. There is a reason I've only ever had fish and chips at a resto/bar/pub, but with this burner I cooked it outside and it was a snap to clean up and the house didn't smell from fish.

Now I need to decide what to brew.

 

[Ninoid]

I have 2000W electric heater for 5.5g pot.

 

[zacster]

I tested it yesterday with water and the results were ok. It was going up around 2 degrees per minute, so to go from tap water at 62 to mash temp at 152 (keep the numbers round) is 90 degrees at 2 per minute is 45 minutes but it was actually faster. From 152 to 212 was just over a half hour. This was for 4 gallons of water. It was able to keep up a light boil. I also set the burner temp for the mash at 140 and it then maintained the internal mash temp of 152 for about a half an hour before I moved on so this would be good that it can maintain it without a wrap. And even then, if I wanted to wrap it that wouldn't be a problem either but I don't think it'll need it. I could also just kick up the temp on the burner. It only has 20 degree increments though.

I may give it a try anyway and do it outside.