Kettle Jackets

[rich_lamb]

At ANHC recently I saw a picture of a brew kettle - think it was one of the Wesgate Brewers -that was wearing a crude jacket of corrugated steel, with the ridges bent in at the top.

The owner was saying it made a remarkable difference to the kettle's efficiency, and it certainly looked like a cheap and easy mod to do. Anybody else have this kind of thing?

 

[Tony M]

The only photo is of the bottom of mine but you can see the jacket and insulation which was scrounged off a roadside discarded hot water system and tailored to suit the kettle dia.
[

 

[rich_lamb]

Very simple huh? You reckon that saves a lot of gas - or gets you to boil quicker?

 

[Supra-Jim]

Surely reaching the boil faster will save gas?

 

[raven19]

Surely reaching the boil faster will save gas?

Elementary my dear Watson

 

[BusinessTime]

I have an electric kettle, insulation massively reduces the time to boil. I don't have any numbers on the reduction in time but I basically wouldn't be able to manage a 40L boil with a 2400W element without the insulation I would say.

Edit:Spelling

 

[Peter Wadey]

Here's Ned,



Rgds,
Peter

 

[Supra-Jim]

Here's Ned,

View attachment 23338

Rgds,
Peter

Does Mr Sqiggle live in that thing when you're not brewing?

 

[rich_lamb]

LOL - good one SJ.

Hey Peter, any quantitative reason why you've used that shielding? Did you notice a big difference?

For myself, I added a small shroud around the stand just above the burner and I "think" it helped but didn't measure it. I definitely notice problems maintaining a good boil when there's a lot of wind - since I brew outside.

 

[warrenlw63]

Does Mr Sqiggle live in that thing when you're not brewing?

:lol: Hahaha she's looking at that pencil nose in a knowing way.

Warren -

 

[RobW]

Oooh Miss Pat - wait till you see what I can do with this!

 

[fraser_john]

I have a bit of shroud around mine and find it allows me to turn the gas down quite a bit once the boil has started. It also stops me getting burnt if I move down the side of the kettle to open the window <_<

edit - added pic

 

[goomboogo]

Oooh Miss Pat - wait till you see what I can do with this!

Oh Mr.Squiggle, I already know what you can do with that. Don't you remember the work Christmas party last year?

 

[Peter Wadey]

LOL - I'd like to say I keep my Rubbermaid in there, but she's a little bit on the big side.

B&T,
Like you, I brew outdoors and the shield around the bottom stops the wind blowing the flame around. The extra height keeps more heat around the kettle before escaping out the top. I can get a more vigorous boil/ or maintain the same boil with less flame (gas) from the 3 ring burner. Most noticeable in cold or windy weather where a lot of heat is otherwise lost.

It had to be removable for immersion chilling. The kettle handles stick out too far for me to have it rolled permanently and just slip it over the top, so I store it flat and simply wrap it around when setting up. It's just a bit of flat gal sheet, with some cut-outs. When putting it around the kettle the 2 ends are overlapped and held together in 2 spots with self-clinchers and nuts. Easily removable at the end of the boil.


BTW that shot is not recent. The kettle sits on a stand that allows me to pull out the cast iron burner at end of boil.

Pete