Advice Needed On A Kettle

[power888]

hi
im new to ag brewing just after some thoughts on a kettel

i scored three 50l kegs from a mate at the local and im not sure of the easy way to heat the keggel, kettel, liquor tank ( hot water tank)

would it be better to use a hot water element (cheap off ebay) sparky mate can wire it up for me

or is a burner just the best way to do it- no element to clean and so on?

also, i most likely sound like an idiot but from what i have been reading the mongolian burners and the like use lpg (gas for the car ) or have i missed something and its just gas bottles like on the barbi

thanks in advance
mik

 

[Greg Lawrence]

I would suggest an electric element for your HLT. You can put it on a timer and have it turn on an hour or so before you wake up on brew day.
I saw some weldless elements that just plug in with an appliance lead somewhere. I think it was ebay, but Im buggered if I can find them now.
You would also need some sort of temp control (thermostat or similar) for the element.

I think gas is better to heat the kettle, but there are plenty of people using elements for that too.

Edit: Forgot to say welcome.

Gregor

 

[bradsbrew]

hi
im new to ag brewing just after some thoughts on a kettel

i scored three 50l kegs from a mate at the local and im not sure of the easy way to heat the keggel, kettel, liquor tank ( hot water tank)

would it be better to use a hot water element (cheap off ebay) sparky mate can wire it up for me

or is a burner just the best way to do it- no element to clean and so on?

also, i most likely sound like an idiot but from what i have been reading the mongolian burners and the like use lpg (gas for the car ) or have i missed something and its just gas bottles like on the barbi

thanks in advance
mik

Hi Lowndesy, (sorry but I associate 888 with Craig Lowndes) Any way if you have 3 "legal" kegs you could go
1 as HLT to heat water with a $40.00 ebay weldless element
1 as mash tun with a $40.00 mash master temp gauge and $60.00 false bottom. Your choice as to whether you want it to drain from bottom or lower side.
1 as your kettle, if you are doing 23L batches a $50.00 3 ring burner will work fine ( It will even cope with a full keg but you have to watch for boil overs)
And it is the same gas and cylinder that your barbie uses.

Cheers Brad

 

[power888]

kegs were obtained legally

the mongolian burners are pretty pricey so im stoked that a three ring will do the job

thanks again for the advice guys

mik

 

[boybrewer]

Immersion heaters are the best way to go . Cheap and easy to use and you don't run out of electricity like you do with gas and it doesn't cost you a fortune to run .[post="0"]Electric Element Questions[/post]


Cheers
Beerbelly

 

[mintsauce]

Immersion heaters are the best way to go . Cheap and easy to use and you don't run out of electricity like you do with gas and it doesn't cost you a fortune to run .[post="0"]Electric Element Questions[/post]


Cheers
Beerbelly

Broken Link there Beer Belly....I'm interested in this too so if you get the chance to fix...

I'm after getting my second keg cut and ready as an electric water tank however feel the gas burner suits the kettle fine; going to use electric for the water tank to save a little money on the gas as well as I can turn on the water heater and then mill the grains, tidy the brewery/garage, setup the burner false bottom etc - I find this takes an hour or so and hoping that the strike water will be up to temp by then.

 

[manticle]

Something about the flame that's really nice (nothing about running to the servo half way through a brew to refill that's nicethough so plan ahead and always have a back up).

I have a 38 L HLT ready for when I get an element as I really don't want to use gas on both and the element will stay clean and strong just being used in water.

The great thing about having both is that you can use both. If you run out of gas, you have an element for boiling. If there's a blackout or power strike you have gas. With an element you can also do step mashing if you so desire.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

mmmm - I like the flame too, just like sitting in front of an open fire.

BUT

Electricity doesn't run out

Electricity only costs a few cents a brew as opposed to re-filling a gas cylinder every 4-6 brews at more than 20 bucks a pop

Electricity means you don't have to make everything within a foot of your brew kettle fireproof... you can build your brew stand (and even your kettle) out of plastic if you want to

I think the 2400W over the side immersion elements are pretty much the best way to go if you are brewing single batches. Fixed elements in a kettle work for those who use them (I only have a few times) but for boiling wort I think regular, thorough cleaning of the element is important, and that's easier to do if you can just pull it out and give it a soak and a scrub without having to disassemble your kettle.

 

[Spartan 117]

I use a turkey burner I bought from Grain and Grape a while back, only cost me $50 and it boils 45L+ no worries, but you have to get a high pressure reg with it too which from memory was another $50. With electric unless its a high wattage element it takes an age to boil the wort, some people use a burner and element as to get the best of both worlds, I suppose they use the burner to boil and element to keep it boiling, not used that method so I'm not to sure.

The burner I use works great never had a problem with it, never used an element but I've heard good things about them, my garage doesn't have any plug sockets in it so it's one of the reasons I stick to the burner also I don't like the idea of potential tripping hazards with 40 or so litres of boiling liquid around, I have 2 gas cylinders which I rotate so as I always have gas so running out is never a problem for me.

There are pros and cons to both, I reckon if you can get a good quality element for a good price and you have someone that will be able to wire it up safely then it might be your best option, I don't recommend e-bay as a lot of the stuff there that's cheap is generally of bad quality. You're better off paying a few extra dollars on the better product and save in the long run.

Hope this helps

Aaron