word to the stupid like me...

[mrduna01]

Don't put a hot growler of starter wort in an ice bath. It will soon be a growler minus its bottom.

 

[dutchoven]

Bummer, that sucks ... at least it was in the ice bath and not on your stovetop. Time for a borosilicate flask?

 

[mrduna01]

Yeah the only cleanup involved was pulling the stopper in the sink... boiling up another starter now. I would get the flask but I hear they are no good on electric stoves as far as boiling in the flask itself. I suppose I could boil and then dump it in to the flask though. I'm going for ingredients tomorrow I might grab one.

 

[kbuzz]

I bought a pyrex flask with the intentions of boiling starter wort in it. I got intense boilovers the first couple times I tried and have since given up...I just boil in a normal cooking pot and transfer to the flask for chilling purposes...

 

[kh54s10]

I have a glass top electric range and have used my 2000ml flask directly on it twice. I start the heat slowly and increase it after warming up some. I then let it sit for a few minutes, then start with warm water in the sink and run cold water then add ice. I think this should present no problem. I have read that on coil elements the difference between the hot and not hot areas can present a problem. You could put the flask in a pan on the element or get a heat diffuser.

 

[Germelli1]

Pyrex flask, straight on the burner cranked up all the way, straight into the fridge on an oven mit. Never had a problem!

 

[Golddiggie]

I know I can put my flask(s) on the burner (I have a gas range) but I just don't trust it (or me)... I'm still cooking the starter in a SS pot, cooling it in the sink (cold water bath) before pouring into the sanitized flask. I know, I can reduce steps by cooking directly in the flask, I'm just a bit nervous about it. I might do it, if I'm making a starter with enough head space in it (I have a 2L and 3L flask)... I could use fermcap-s in it too. Maybe for the next batch I will...

Either way, IF you're not using something immune to thermal shock (pyrex, etc.) then I wouldn't put hot liquid in it and then put it into ice. I wouldn't even put pyrex into an ice bath. The first time I met a past roomate he had cooked a steak in the oven, in a pyrex pan, which he then put into the sink and opened up the faucet... It shattered. Of course, he was broiling, and was an idiot, but under the right conditions even pyrex will fail from thermal shock.

 

[Germelli1]

Usually if I am using the full 2 or 3 liters of the flask, I am stepping the starter up, so it is nowhere near full for the initial boil (so hard, but not impossible to boilover)! The thing you have to watch out for with pyrex is impact. I have a buddy who boiled in his flask, was moving it to the sink for an ice bath, barley grazed the edge of the sink with the flask and it cracked.

My process is heat the water in the flask to 150-190 or so, add the DME, then let it rip on the burner. When the boil is over I stick the aluminum foil over the top to let the steam sterilize it for 10 minutes or so, then move it to the fridge on an oven mit.

This has worked on my electric "@ shaped burner" stove at my old apartment, my parents glass top stove and a gas stove at my new house at school!

Just make sure the flask is quality glass since I think now pyrex is just a brand!

 

[Catt22]

I would get the flask but I hear they are no good on electric stoves as far as boiling in the flask itself.

You can safely use an Erlenmeyer flask on an electric stove if you use a trivet. You can easily make a wire trivet from a wire coat hanger or other similar steel wire. I shape the wire into a star pattern. The trivet separates the flask from the heating coils of the stove burner. This helps to prevent the uneven heating that can occur if the glass contacts the red hot coils directly. The non-uniform heating can cause excessive stress leading to possible fractures. You can put the flask directly on a gas burner grate without problems. I use foam control drops to help prevent boil overs and they are very effective. I also bought a cheap electric hot plate to use for the starters. I've found a position on the dial where I can set it and forget it. It takes about 1/2 hour to come to a boil, but never boils over at that setting. I have it hooked up to a timer to shut off the hot plate at 45 minutes. This has worked very well with not a single boil over and I fill the 2 liter flask almost to the neck. I cool the flask in a pan of water, but I let it cool a bit prior. No fractured flasks so far.

 

[CompassBrewing]

I always winch a bit when taking my erlenmeyer flask from the hot stove to the cool water but haven't had a problem yet. I run cool water from the faucet around the sides before setting it into the ice water though

 

[outside92129]

Pyrex (the specific brand name) on gas burners is generally ok as the flames heat a greater area and there's a gentle temperature gradient up the side. Electric coils on heat only the bottom and the temperature difference can break things if you're not careful.

US Pyrex(tepered soda-lime for kitchenware) is different from Pyrex that the rest of the world uses (borosilicate). It's a big controversy in some circles, but it appears that the end result is that the US stuff is more impact resistant with slightly less tolerance for temperature swings. US Pyrex for lab use is still borosilicate unless marked otherwise.

 

[bottlebomber]

You can put a PYREX flask straight from boiling to ice water, amazingly enough. I suspect that it is weakening it over time though. As far as the flask boiling over, is it an electric range? That would get tricky... I never boil my starters for 15 minutes. I bring them to a boil, let them simmer for about three minutes, and then its off to the ice bath. No problems yet.

 

[mrduna01]

Thanks for the input everyone... I think ill just more carefully use what I have laying around for now. A large old pickle jar worked fine after my growler incident.

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for the input everyone... I think ill just more carefully use what I have laying around for now. A large old pickle jar worked fine after my growler incident.

I can't seem to get the pickling aroma out of those pickle jars. I've tried a bunch of stuff. Tenacious.

 

[mrduna01]

I can't seem to get the pickling aroma out of those pickle jars. I've tried a bunch of stuff. Tenacious.

I've had this jar for 6 or so months and used it for various brewing things... the smell is gone but it did take several months. Even when it did smell I used it for sanatizing and what not.