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Date: 11 Oct 2006 18:29:18
From: Adam Preble
Subject: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to
do it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
concentrated wort I wanted.
The winter brewing thread here had me wondering if an insulating wrapped
around the pot would help. Whatever material would have to be able to
survive near the flames. I see a bunch of people do this for mash tuns;
is it OK for boiling too? That's prolonged, intense. My thought was it
would allow me to boil much more aggressively.
Does anybody do this?
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Date: 11 Oct 2006 19:23:19
From:
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> On 11 2006 19:28:12 GMT, <goddardbe@netscape.net> wrote:
> > rockobonaparte@hotmail.com wrote:
> >
> >> Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to
> >> do it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
> >> stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
> >> concentrated wort I wanted.
> >
> > When I make a big beer, I make a smaller batch, e.g., 7 gallons
> > instead of the usual 10. All the grain fits in my mash tun,
> > I get good sparge efficiency, I don't boil over (so much) and
> > my wife doesn't get a charley horse crushing all that grain.
>
> You should motorize your mill, that'll free your wife up for more important
> things... like running back and forth to the tap when you need a refill.
Now there's a smart man. ;)
>
>
> John.
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Date: 11 Oct 2006 21:39:06
From: stencil
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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On Wed, 11 2006 18:29:18 GMT, Adam Preble wrote:
> [ ... ] Whatever material would have to be able to
>survive near the flames. I see a bunch of people do this for mash tuns;
>is it OK for boiling too? That's prolonged, intense. My thought was it
>would allow me to boil much more aggressively.
>
>Does anybody do this?
>
JC Whatnot's insulating blanket
http://tinyurl.com/s4rdu
works for me. Make sure you use a good grade of aluminum tape to seal
the lower edge and keep that edge an inch or so above the bottom of
the kettle wall.
I've wrapped the mashtun, a 10- and a 15-gallon pot, and just recently
(not yet tested) the old gas grill that's used to roast coffee.
stencil sends
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 00:45:03
From: Adam Preble
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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stencil wrote:
> JC Whatnot's insulating blanket
>
> http://tinyurl.com/s4rdu
>
> works for me. Make sure you use a good grade of aluminum tape to seal
> the lower edge and keep that edge an inch or so above the bottom of
> the kettle wall.
>
> I've wrapped the mashtun, a 10- and a 15-gallon pot, and just recently
> (not yet tested) the old gas grill that's used to roast coffee.
Sounds like a hoot. Do you have an idea of how much it has improved the
gallons/hour you can boil out?
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 03:15:56
From: stencil
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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On Thu, 12 2006 00:45:03 GMT, Adam Preble wrote:
>> [ de stencil ]
>> I've wrapped the mashtun, a 10- and a 15-gallon pot, and just recently
>> (not yet tested) the old gas grill that's used to roast coffee.
>
>Sounds like a hoot. Do you have an idea of how much it has improved the
>gallons/hour you can boil out?
Not the slightest. Insulating hot and cold things is more of a
cultural thing for me, like washing hands before eating.
Using a non-contact thermometer, it should be possible to determine
the temperature difference between insulated and bare portinons of the
kettle, and go on from there to determine BTU/hr loss rates through
radiation and convection (gotta be some constants at Engineer's
Toolbox.) Since it takes a *lot* of heat to boil a pound of water,
I'd guess the effect is real but small.
Actually the only discernible benefit has been a reduction in propane
consumption from a little bit more than a pound an hour to a little
bit less than that, just to maintain 7 to 9 gallons at a reasonable
boil - not to reduce the wort to syrup..
stencil sends
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Date: 11 Oct 2006 19:28:12
From: Bart Goddard
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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rockobonaparte@hotmail.com wrote:
> Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to
> do it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
> stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
> concentrated wort I wanted.
When I make a big beer, I make a smaller batch, e.g., 7 gallons
instead of the usual 10. All the grain fits in my mash tun,
I get good sparge efficiency, I don't boil over (so much) and
my wife doesn't get a charley horse crushing all that grain.
Bart
--
The man without a .sig
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Date: 11 Oct 2006 19:49:30
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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On 11 2006 19:28:12 GMT, <goddardbe@netscape.net > wrote:
> rockobonaparte@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>> Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to
>> do it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
>> stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
>> concentrated wort I wanted.
>
> When I make a big beer, I make a smaller batch, e.g., 7 gallons
> instead of the usual 10. All the grain fits in my mash tun,
> I get good sparge efficiency, I don't boil over (so much) and
> my wife doesn't get a charley horse crushing all that grain.
You should motorize your mill, that'll free your wife up for more important
things... like running back and forth to the tap when you need a refill.
John.
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Date: 11 Oct 2006 19:11:04
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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On Wed, 11 2006 18:29:18 GMT, <rockobonaparte@hotmail.com > wrote:
> Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to
> do it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
> stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
> concentrated wort I wanted.
That's a common problem with high OG beers. What most people seem to do is
sparge the usual amount (IE same as regular beers) and accept the
efficiency loss, compensating with more grain to make up the difference.
Insulating the kettle might help if you're having trouble maintining a
good rolling boil, but I don't know what you can use that wouldn't be
effected by the heat from the flame. Obviously non-flammable would be a
good idea. ;)
IMO, if you're having problems maintaining a rolling boil in general, then
a stronger heat source would help all your beers, not just the high OG ones.
What BTU rating is your propane burner?
John.
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 00:47:49
From: Adam Preble
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
> IMO, if you're having problems maintaining a rolling boil in general, then
> a stronger heat source would help all your beers, not just the high OG ones.
> What BTU rating is your propane burner?
I can maintain a rolling boil, I just want to boil off the water at a
much faster rate if possible. I don't see much use in heating the sides
of the pot continually. Boiling off the water faster lets me do more
beers on one tank. I can always cut down on the gas when it comes down
to hop additions, but it's that 5+ hours of boil down that are annoying
as sin.
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Date: 12 Oct 2006 17:23:09
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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On Thu, 12 2006 00:47:49 GMT, <rockobonaparte@hotmail.com > wrote:
> John 'Shaggy' Kolesar wrote:
>
>> IMO, if you're having problems maintaining a rolling boil in general, then
>> a stronger heat source would help all your beers, not just the high OG ones.
>> What BTU rating is your propane burner?
>
> I can maintain a rolling boil, I just want to boil off the water at a
> much faster rate if possible. I don't see much use in heating the sides
> of the pot continually. Boiling off the water faster lets me do more
> beers on one tank. I can always cut down on the gas when it comes down
> to hop additions, but it's that 5+ hours of boil down that are annoying
> as sin.
I'm just not sure if the insulation will have much effect on the boil off
rate assuming that you're able to maintain a boil already. At least,
nothing significant.
Like I said, generally for a big beer like that you collect the same
amount of runnings as normal beers so that you don't need to boil for
5+ hours. Then you use extra grain in the recipe to compensate for the
lower efficiency from undersparging.
John.
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Date: 13 Oct 2006 18:07:25
From: Bill Crisafulli
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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Rather than try to insulate the kettle, when I have a lot of boiling to do,
I position a simple household box fan so that it blows across the top of the
boil kettle while it is boiling.
I haven't done any studies to determine if/how much this increases the
boil-off rate, but since I think it makes a difference it makes me feel
better while I sit and watch and watch and watch...
"Adam Preble" <rockobonaparte@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:2KaXg.59038$5o5.24646@tornado.texas.rr.com...
> Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to do
> it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
> stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
> concentrated wort I wanted.
>
> The winter brewing thread here had me wondering if an insulating wrapped
> around the pot would help. Whatever material would have to be able to
> survive near the flames. I see a bunch of people do this for mash tuns;
> is it OK for boiling too? That's prolonged, intense. My thought was it
> would allow me to boil much more aggressively.
>
> Does anybody do this?
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Date: 13 Oct 2006 15:15:23
From: Dan Logcher
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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Bill Crisafulli wrote:
> Rather than try to insulate the kettle, when I have a lot of boiling to do,
> I position a simple household box fan so that it blows across the top of the
> boil kettle while it is boiling.
>
> I haven't done any studies to determine if/how much this increases the
> boil-off rate, but since I think it makes a difference it makes me feel
> better while I sit and watch and watch and watch...
That does help to boil down the wort, but I thought the question was to
help keep a boil going.. for like outdoors brewing.
> "Adam Preble" <rockobonaparte@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2KaXg.59038$5o5.24646@tornado.texas.rr.com...
>
>>Last weekend I made a big beer and had to collect a lot of runnings to do
>>it. It was a real pain in the butt, and I had to recruit the kitchen
>>stove above and beyond the turkey fryer to boil it all down into a
>>concentrated wort I wanted.
>>
>>The winter brewing thread here had me wondering if an insulating wrapped
>>around the pot would help. Whatever material would have to be able to
>>survive near the flames. I see a bunch of people do this for mash tuns;
>>is it OK for boiling too? That's prolonged, intense. My thought was it
>>would allow me to boil much more aggressively.
>>
>>Does anybody do this?
Would a lid help?
--
Dan
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Date: 14 Oct 2006 00:03:31
From: Adam Preble
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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Dan Logcher wrote:
> That does help to boil down the wort, but I thought the question was to
> help keep a boil going.. for like outdoors brewing.
No, it was to boil down the wort.
I was trying the fan idea too. I don't think it made boiling faster
with the same flame. What it let me do was leave it unattended because
the fan helped prevent boilover. This let me use a bigger flame.
> Would a lid help?
Covering boiling wort can lead to a vegetable off taste from DMS. I
think it's dimethyl sulfide.
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Date: 13 Oct 2006 19:46:03
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Does insulating the brew kettle improve boil power?
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Adam Preble wrote:
> Dan Logcher wrote:
>> That does help to boil down the wort, but I thought the question was to
>> help keep a boil going.. for like outdoors brewing.
>
> No, it was to boil down the wort.
>
> I was trying the fan idea too. I don't think it made boiling faster
> with the same flame. What it let me do was leave it unattended because
> the fan helped prevent boilover. This let me use a bigger flame.
>
>> Would a lid help?
>
> Covering boiling wort can lead to a vegetable off taste from DMS. I
> think it's dimethyl sulfide.
Actually, you can cover it but leave the lid off slightly so that steam
can still escape. In my experience this doesn't really cause a problem
with DMS -- which is really volatile stuff.
Covering completely and cooling slowly might cause a problem, but you're
safe in general with leaving the lid on, but cracked an inch or so.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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