Advice please on a minor upgrade

[LesTom]

I've been brewing quite successfully using a 1 gallon Brooklyn Brewshop kit for over a year now and I quite fancy a wee bit of an upgrade.
I'm looking at scaling up to 10 litres and also moving my brewing out to the shed as my missus gets a bit annoyed at me taking over the kitchen and the associated aroma of the beer brewing (even though she enjoys my beer).
So, my questions are: will a portable induction hob such as this https://www.vonshef.com/vs_en/digit...MI0PnKsNnJ4AIVjpTtCh0Idg-LEAQYAiABEgJ69_D_BwE be powerful enough to boil and keep 10 litres at the boil.
Also would this be OK as a fermentation bucket? https://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/2-gallon-10-litre-fermentatio-bucket-with-lid.html I would take it fitted with a little bottler, again any downside to this idea?

Looking forward to the advice given.

 

[An Ankoù]

IMHO. The bucket looks fine. You might want to fit a tap and an airlock.
Not sure about the heat source. It might take quite a while to reach the boil. Is your copper (boiling pot) suited to induction heating?
As you're working outside, why not move over to propane and get a gas ring with multiple taps. A quick search of Calor Gas shows this
https://shop.calorgas.ie/foker-triple-burner-cast-iron-gas-boiling-ring-fk003200.html
It's just to give you an idea and cheaper ones can be got quite easily. Then when you want to upgrade to bigger volumes your heater will still be good for the job. (You'll also need a pressure regulator and a bottle of gas, of course).
Just a thought.

 

[LesTom]

I have airlocks available so that won't be a problem and I thought the little bottler would mean I would have no need for a tap??
Regarding a heat source, I didn't want to faff about with gas hence the induction hob and I would be buying a new induction suitable pot.

 

[An Ankoù]

I have airlocks available so that won't be a problem and I thought the little bottler would mean I would have no need for a tap??
Regarding a heat source, I didn't want to faff about with gas hence the induction hob and I would be buying a new induction suitable pot.

Fair enough. I do 10 litre batches in the winter as I normally brew outside. My bigger gas rings are rated at 3KW and at full gas it brings the copper to the boil in 15 to 20 minutes.
Perhaps others have used a 2kW induction plate who may be able to advise you better.
What is there not to like about the aroma associated with brewing, by the way? Does your good lady not know that it smells like that all the time in Heaven!

 

[matt76]

Fair enough. I do 10 litre batches in the winter as I normally brew outside. My bigger gas rings are rated at 3KW and at full gas it brings the copper to the boil in 15 to 20 minutes.
Perhaps others have used a 2kW induction plate who may be able to advise you better.
What is there not to like about the aroma associated with brewing, by the way? Does your good lady not know that it smells like that all the time in Heaven!

Those boil times sounds similar to my experience using the large 3kW gas ring on the kitchen hob.

Be aware that an A rated hob is only about 55% efficient - so the 3kW ring is effectively only about 1600W. I'd expect induction to be more efficient.

For what it's worth, Mrs Matt doesn't seem to mind my brewing but I do get earache about the aromas from the boil to so I'm also looking at a more powerful gas burner for doing the boil outside - already got a gas BBQ so already got a gas bottle

 

[F00b4r]

I would get the 12L Speidel fermenter, it isn't much more but the build quickly is much higher, it has more headspace and the airlocks they use are massive so can cope much better with a vigorous fermentation than normal ones. They also use seals so are fairly airtight.

 

[LesTom]

I would get the 12L Speidel fermenter, it isn't much more but the build quickly is much higher, it has more headspace and the airlocks they use are massive so can cope much better with a vigorous fermentation than normal ones. They also use seals so are fairly airtight.

I quite fancy the idea of the 12L Spiedel fermenter, pity I can't seem to find them in stock in the UK

 

[An Ankoù]

I quite fancy the idea of the 12L Spiedel fermenter, pity I can't seem to find them in stock in the UK

Brew UK do them, they've just run out at the moment. They've got the other sizes so they'll probably be getting these back in.

 

[MmmBeer]

I agree that a larger fermenter would be beneficial, I would go for 15/16l (3 gallon). This will allow more headspace above the beer; I currently have 21l of a strong beer in a 30l FV, trying to escape through the blowoff tube. It will also allow you increase the quantity of each brew; I found that 11.5l was ideal, because I could follow standard 23l recipes and simply halve all quantities.

 

[An Ankoù]

I quite fancy the idea of the 12L Spiedel fermenter, pity I can't seem to find them in stock in the UK

Mike
Hi Guys Are you getting
Speidel 12 litre Fermenter
£19.56
Out of stock
back in stock any time soon?
Chat started
Dan joined the chat
Dan
Hi Mike, we have a shipment en route to us so we're expecting this be back in stock any day now!
Dan
Customer support

Brew UK.co
You owe me a pint!

 

[Tuizner]

I use a 3kW induction hob on my copper. You need to ensure though that your copper isnt copper and is induction compatible.

3kW easily handles a 28L boil