New Brunswick Craft Brewers Association

Brewing => Equipment => Topic started by: JohnQ on March 29, 2011, 06:28:26 PM

Title: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: JohnQ on March 29, 2011, 06:28:26 PM: So, as I always insist on doing things "differently"...
I have been reading through the electric brewery site, and noticed that the electric elements are in contact with the wort without any problems...so when I saw this, I thunk...Hmmm, wonder if this would work as a stop gap until I get the cash to build the electric brewery?

http://www.brucefoods.com/mystOre/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=28&idproduct=154

http://www.academy.com/images/manuals/cajuninjector/electric_fryer_fe0808corr.pdf

I've found a reference that says this is 30 quarts, which I think is tight, but I want my AG batches to make 18 litres finished so they can fit in one keg with no leftover, so maybe this is big enough?

What do you think?

JW
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 29, 2011, 09:36:22 PM: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/turknsu ... fryer-723/ (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/turknsurf-electric-turkey-fryer-723/)

Are the electric brewery elements metal? Major thread running through this one seems to be the fear of scorching things. I know Hawoh has some experience with heat-sticks though so he'd be the one to ask.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 29, 2011, 09:38:16 PM: From the manual:

How much oil do I need to use?
Frying with this appliance will require approximately 1.5 gallons (5.7L) of
oil. The fill line marks the maximum amount of liquid that the appliance can
safely contain. The max fill line provides for ample liquid to cook any meal
in this appliance.

So I suspect you might not manage to get 23L of wort in there.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Kyle on March 29, 2011, 10:36:57 PM: 30qt = 7.5 US gal = acceptable for 5-5.5 US gal batches. I use a pot of this size on the stovetop: works very well.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: JohnQ on March 30, 2011, 04:00:04 PM: Quote from: "Richard"
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/turknsurf-electric-turkey-fryer-723/

Are the electric brewery elements metal? Major thread running through this one seems to be the fear of scorching things. I know Hawoh has some experience with heat-sticks though so he'd be the one to ask.

Found a couple of folks that use them after reading through more of the hbt site, apparently there is no problem with scorching. The electric brewery is actually made of a nickel chromium combination.

The guys at Electric brewery say that scorching is "internet folklore", but they use elements that are low density to be safe.

Of the guys using these units that I've found, some have had good success so far, and one has wrapped his in insulating foam to improve the heat retention, another uses a heat stick to supplement the heat supply...I think I might just see how much I can find one of these for on the Hinternet.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 31, 2011, 02:27:52 AM: tbh if you manage to find one that can rock a full boil (6.5Gal at the start), I'd probably buy one.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Shawn on March 31, 2011, 08:48:48 AM: If you have a U.S. address at your disposal, amazon.com has some good kettles. I bought a 10-gallon, 4 mm-thick aluminum kettle for around 35$.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 31, 2011, 01:57:44 PM: I'm good for a brew kettle... I meant the all-in-one electric dealie.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Dave Savoie on March 31, 2011, 05:00:33 PM: Kent has 10 Gallon ones for around $49.99
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 31, 2011, 05:58:40 PM: Dave: 10 gallon electric friers?
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Dave Savoie on March 31, 2011, 09:37:17 PM: no the alunimum pots which could easily be converted into an electric brew kettle best metals in fredericton weld alunimum so you could technically stick in a 3500-5500 Watt element and your total cost would probably run you $100-$150 when all is said and done
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 31, 2011, 10:19:40 PM: You got a link to somewhere I can get the elements + a conversion guide?
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: JohnQ on March 31, 2011, 10:39:40 PM: I expect that the electric brewery website instructions for converting the blichmann would work, might not even need to get the welders involved. Element control would become the issue, the thing with the commercially built unit has the thermostat switching all taken care of with the digital display. The downside is that the temp is not in super accurate steps from what I've read. (I've found it for $97 at Wally's in the US vs $126 here)
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Richard on March 31, 2011, 11:30:28 PM: I'm not sure I'd bother with much control past "is the boil rolling?". I'll check out the conversion guides.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Kyle on April 01, 2011, 09:04:17 AM: yeah, automated temp control is more of a luxury than a requirement... but if budget allows, the controls the Electric Brewery guy uses are really sweet, and they look easy to install.
Title: Re: How about this for a brew kettle?
Post by: Kyle on April 01, 2011, 09:12:01 AM: Just in case anyone without significant electrical knowledge was thinking that electric brewing at 220volts is a good adea: hire a professional electrician to do that stuff, read up on the NB building code, and make sure you don't run afoul of your home insurance rules.

Also, even for those of us that do have a great deal of electronics background: read the building code, and hire a licenced professional to look over your project before you plug it in.