Brew Kettle Advice

[marky_mark]

Hey guys,

Until now i have been doing extract boils in a 19L SS pot from big W, but I think that i may as well go all the way and do a full boil. Firstly regarding a burner, i noticed Grain and Grape have a nice looking Outdoor burner priced at $50 that puts out 130,000 BTU. Is this a good choice of burner to fire up a converted 50L keg with around 25 litres wort?

That burner runs on high pressure gas and the regulator costs more than the burner itself, from the photo it looks pretty stock standard. Can anyone tell me if the pressure hoses and regulator from a gas BBQ can be used with this Outdoor Burner?

Regarding the Keg conversion, i have an idea to use a length of copper pipe, with 1/16th diameter holes in it, coiled once and placed at the bottom of the keg. It will circle back on itself and then join a small piece that will attach to a spigot/ball valve. I'm hoping that this may allow me to extract more wort out after the boil in a similar way to that used in many mash/lauter tuns. The problem i was facing with the small pot was when using hop plugs, the larger hops tend to trap much of the wort and have to be rung out with a colander or similar. Hopefully this way i can sparge the "hop back" left behind with 1-2L boiling water...

Any thoughts as to whether this will succeed... I dont know if the copper pipe in the kettle will lead to more caramelisation or even burining of the wort...??

Thanks guys.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Hoops]

Mark

these burners are "Globe" burners and also refered to as "NASA" burners on this site as they sound like a rocket taking off!

Try using the search function and type NASA and Globe and you will find everything you need to know about these puppies. There are several threads about these burners.
You will need a High Pressure reg but it is well worth the investment.

Hoops

 

[timmy]

here's mine in action. After whirlpooling I only leave about 2l at the most to hops and break matter.

 

[marky_mark]

I find that whirlpooling when using hop plugs, is less effective than when hop pellets have been used. I unfortunately use both, pellets for bittering and plugs for flavour and aroma. Will the use of some sort of manifold i described earlier allow straining of the wort through some sort of hop bed, or will it cause more problems by clogging up and causing caramelisation of the wort?

Cheers

 

[tangent]

you shouldn't get much caramelisation unless you're boiling for ages
although i suppose a cheap thin pot rather than a converted keg will scald on the bottom fairly easily.

 

[Aaron]

I find that whirlpooling when using hop plugs, is less effective than when hop pellets have been used.

[post="105366"][/post]​

A good way around this problem is to grind up your plugs before putting them in. I use a small electric home coffee grinder. Stole this idea from Chiller. The kind of thing you can pick up at a discount shop for $10. You could just mulch them up with scissors or a mortar and pestle. Makes for a much easier brewday and less loss to hop trub in my experience.

My setup is very similar to timmy's except in a 60l aluminium pot and it works very effectively. Remember if you put in multiple holes you ill want them all at the bottom or you will have problems with flow once the first holes are exposed.