Lpg Burner Or Electric Element?

[Mitcho89]

Gday fellow brewers,

Just wondering what would be better cost wise and in the long run. I have a 60+L pot that I got from Ross at CraftBrewer a while back. I often do a single batch on a 2 element portible cook top, it only just gets to a boil but I wouldn't call it a rolling boil by any means, but it does the trick. Only keeps good heat with the pot wrapped in a couple of blankets with some bungee chords.

I'm looking to get some more heat going by either getting a couple of good bolt-through 2.4K elements from CraftBrewer or go and get a powerful gas burner. The other option is to get a electric cook top with 4 elements off ebay and stick a wall plug onto it. Not too sure how much the gas equpiment is but I can get 2x 2.4Kw bolt on elements for about 80 bucks.

What is the best route to take?

Thanks and kind regards,
Mitch.

 

[felten]

Electricity is a lot cheaper in the long run than continually buying gas bottles. IIRC someone worked out the price diff on the forum and it's only a few cents per batch compared to a few dollars for a LPG bottle.

Not sure about the heat output though.

ed: probably in one of these threads.

 

[QldKev]

I've got some comparison info on my website

qldkev.net
Under Homebrew, Howto, LPG Burners

Cost of running to me is not worth worrying about. For a single batch elec is $1 against LPG about $3. $2 in the scheme of things to me is not a big issue.
LPG is portable which is great if you brew at mates houses.
Elec becomes hard to find enough spare power points, especially when you run bigger systems, and your mate is also trying to run his/her rig.
Can you draw 2 x 10amps loads from you house without tripping out all the time, a lot of older houses can't. The one I sold just before Christmas only had 1 x 16amp feed for all sockets in the house.

A big plus for elec is it is quite and does not throw out as much heat.

I've been brewing BIAB for a few years, always using LPG.
More recently we finished my dream 3V system which was in the planning / build phase for about 4 or 5 years. I've gone elec HLT and RIMS; and LPG under the kettle.

I can't tell you what is best to suit you, where you brew, how much power you have, if a bit of noise is an issue etc. Read up and pick the system to suit you.

As felten has linked too there are many threads on this, well worth the reading time.

 

[pk.sax]

Something ppl don't mention much, electricity costs vary in Australia, so if you are in a place like FNQ, especially outside Cairns town itself, electricity can be a waste of time and money. Portability is another issue. I plan to have my HLT electric, but that's about it.

 

[stux]

Electricity prices are going to double before you know it, wonder how that will affects the analysis

 

[QldKev]

Something ppl don't mention much, electricity costs vary in Australia, so if you are in a place like FNQ, especially outside Cairns town itself, electricity can be a waste of time and money. Portability is another issue. I plan to have my HLT electric, but that's about it.

What is the cost up there per unit of power?

Electricity prices are going to double before you know it, wonder how that will affects the analysis

They have been saying that for a while. But even if it does
Current Elec cost per single brew $1
Future Elec cost per single brew $2

Still a bit better than LPG per single brew $3

And will LPG will probably go up if elec does, cause it can.
Bit like how it has gone up at the bowser every time petrol goes up

 

[pk.sax]

I'll check when I get back, but the bills I pay up there are obscene for a 1 person household considering I'm not very big on aircons at all! Last few were around the 240-280 a quarter. The brew fridge and keezer have made little difference.