Newbie Burner For Biab

[bobban]

Greetings all

Been lurking for a few weeks trawling the information goodness and trying to figure out my plan for ag brewing (have only brewed starter kits so far).

I am going down the BIAB path..I just like the general simplicity.

I had in mid the get a gas burner but when i saw elctrical/immersion heaters were available I liked the sound of it (I like the handleld immersion one here with hook, seems like easy to clean no worries with gas etc). Not fussed waiting a bit longer for a boil etc, but I do have in mind to get a 70L SS pot (initially to do single batches but like to option the scale up later if desired, plus less chance of boilover good).

Two issues occurr to me I need some help with about the immersion heater:

1. Can the heat be controlled well? (or is the thing just in the water or out or off/on?)
2. Do these things clash with BIAB because I assume they are oging to make a fair amount of contact with grain and/or bag?

Also still got no qualms with a gas burner either. Does this one look good? I know nothing about this stuff really but am I right thinking I would just need a hose with regulator to connect this to a bottle? The other one I was looking at was this italian spiral burner. Last question..does the hose on this one allow the control of the gas flow and heat output etc?

Thanks heaps for help with any of this

 

[Spoonta]

I think an over the side element will burn the bag if not carefull I would go the gas burner myself or an element on the bottom of the pot with some sort of rack to keep it away from the bag

 

[kelbygreen]

with a immersion it will take a while to boil and no there is no control just off and on. I dont BIAB but if you had to heat threw the mash you would have to lift the bag out to heat it with a immersion and prob pays to with gas or normal element unless you put something to hold it off the bottom.

Please dont look on ebay!!!

POT! its not in stock but ask Ross when they expect them, Or Here not sure that would be much good on gas as it doesnt have a alloy sandwich but not sure if ross's one does prob not for cost.

burner HERE! Italian spiral is fast and gets good gas mileage out of it.

 

[kelbygreen]

Oh sorry just found there thick base (sandwich) HERE!

 

[bobban]

Please dont look on ebay!!!

POT! its not in stock but ask Ross when they expect them, Or Here not sure that would be much good on gas as it doesnt have a alloy sandwich but not sure if ross's one does prob not for cost.

I have seen that pot on craftbrewer and was going to get one but Ross told me they 6 to 8 weeks from restocking and I don't want ot wait that long. It's a shame becuase I live in Brisbane and already planned to get BIAB bags and hop socks form Craftbrewer.

Oh sorry just found there thick base (sandwich) HERE!

Great tip thannks I might go for that.

 

[kelbygreen]

no worries found that site only last week looking for a pot about the cheapest I found so far apart from crap quality ebay ones

 

[kelbygreen]

if you go electric you wont need a sandwich base as the heat is inside the pot not underneath. So if you wanna save a heap on the pot think about that you can put insulation around the pot to help the thinner walls.

 

[bobban]

if you go electric you wont need a sandwich base as the heat is inside the pot not underneath. So if you wanna save a heap on the pot think about that you can put insulation around the pot to help the thinner walls.

Yeh that's a good point and I think you have helped me finalise my equipment set for first ag brewing rig.

I am going to go for a basic 50L pot with immersion element for single batch BIAB. I feel comfortable with this as a starting point.

Thank you very much for your helpful comments.

p.s. very nice picture in this thread by Flano using an immersion heater for BIAB.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Comments you have seen in this thread about the immersion elements and how they would work in BIAB, are largely misinformed.

The combination you have settled on - A stockpot and an OTS immersion element of this type


or similar is, in my not so humble opinion, the very best possible set up for a BIAB system. Slower than a gas burner yes, but you've already said you dont mind that - aside from that i believe its superior to gas in pretty much every way.

Dont buy horrible cheap immersion elements off ebay - at bargain prices, the good ones are over $80 and any cheaper means your are probably buying something thats more likely to electrocute you than do a good job. You can buy decent ones from most HB shops, or you can hunt down manufacturers - Tobin, Stokes and Grimwood are all manufacturers who (as far as I am aware) produce good quality OTS elements.

The OTS elements have no heat control - they are on or off - but it doesn't matter, you only need to use them either flat out or off anyway.

With grain and bag still in place, you put in the element, switch it on and pump/stir the element CONSTANTLY while you use it to add heat to your mash. You need to agitate any mash in any sort of brewing system if you are adding heat - with the OTS element, you use the actual heat source as your mash paddle. Hold a thermometer in your other hand, turn off the element when your mash is at the temp you are aiming for. Easy.

With the bag out and only liquid in the pot, well, you're up to boil time anyway. Just hang it off the side of the pot and set it going. You wont need to turn it "down" at any point, because if anything the 2400w elements are a little under-grunted for the job at hand. In a bigger pot than 50L, you might have to do a little fiddling with insulation, floating lids etc to get a boil that you are 100% happy with, but at 50L just a bit of foam insulation on the outside of the pot and you'll be fine.

Pot - as mentioned above, if you are using an OTS element, then you're mad to waste money on an expensive pot - aluminium or cheap thin stainless. cheap! all it needs to do is be heat proof and food grade and you're good to go. Tall and thin rather than low and wide will mean your element will be able to a better job of maintaining a nice rolling boil.

Your current plan is excellent - If i were building a BIAB system tomorrow, thats exactly the way I'd do it.

TB