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Author Topic: Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove  (Read 3859 times)

MaltMaker

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Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove
« on: March 25, 2017, 01:32:51 pm »
Does anyone here use a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove?

The 8 gallon I currently have takes maybe 45 minutes to come to a boil if it's full (7-7.5 gallons), with a new stove element.

2.5 - 3 gallon extract batches would probably be no problem, it's those all-grain batches when the volume gets to be in that 5 - 8 gallon range that I'm concerned about.  Don't mind waiting an hour for boil but beyond that it gets to be unreasonable.

Gas isn't currently an option but may be in the distant future.

Just looking for some way to confirm (science, math, first hand experience) that I wouldn't be wasting money on a 10 gallon pot that I couldn't use.

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2017, 01:40:37 pm »
Does anyone here use a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove?

The 8 gallon I currently have takes maybe 45 minutes to come to a boil if it's full (7-7.5 gallons), with a new stove element.

2.5 - 3 gallon extract batches would probably be no problem, it's those all-grain batches when the volume gets to be in that 5 - 8 gallon range that I'm concerned about.  Don't mind waiting an hour for boil but beyond that it gets to be unreasonable.

Gas isn't currently an option but may be in the distant future.

Just looking for some way to confirm (science, math, first hand experience) that I wouldn't be wasting money on a 10 gallon pot that I couldn't use.



I have a 10 gallon SS kettle that, when it's really cold or nasty out, gets occasionally used on my gas kitchen stove. It's wide enough to straddle two burners on the gas stove for 5.5 gallon batches postboil. Works well.
Jon H.

Offline GS

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Re: Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2017, 02:17:22 pm »
It works, but you might consider how much weight you are putting on a stove that wasn't designed to support 100lbs.

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Offline erockrph

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Re: Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2017, 02:19:41 pm »
I don't know about your stove, but I have to keep my lid on just to hit a decent boil with a respectable amount of time with 4ish gallons in a 5 gallon kettle on my electric cooktop.

You could add an electric bucket heater to give yourself a boost. I've done that in the past and it has shaved off 15-20 minutes to boil with 4 gallons going from mash temp to boil.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/allied-precision-bucket-heater-1000-w
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

MaltMaker

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Re: Boiling 5-8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot on an electric stove
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2017, 02:39:29 pm »
Weight shouldn't be a problem as I've placed a short piece of copper pipe under the element which really works well and haven't seen any sag.

A heat stick is a good idea, found this stainless steel one:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/hotrodrtu1500gfci.htm