Brew kettles

[Paul Roberts]

Hi
I'm partway through my first brew from extract and am already looking to switch to all grain. Ambitious as ever.

Obviously loads of different systems but I like the look of the ssbrewtech brew kettles. Can a 5.5 gallon kettle be heated for biab on an electric cooker top or would people suggest the need for a gas burner. Would the easier option be to get an electric brew kettle?

The build quality looks great on the brewtech equipment

 

[Rodcx500z]

I would say you would struggle with 5.5g on a hob, the all in one's electric are very good value, I have a klarstein fullhorn and do 21L biab, cost £129-99p

 

[Paul Roberts]

I would say you would struggle with 5.5g on a hob, the all in one's electric are very good value, I have a klarstein fullhorn and do 21L biab, cost £129-99p

I'll check these out, can you mash and boil in one?

 

[Rodcx500z]

I'll check these out, can you mash and boil in one?

Yes

 

[Keats]

I have an Ace boiler which looks very similar to @Rodcx500z’s fullhorn. This looks a good deal, also by Klarstein.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-Keg...956289&hash=item3626670300:g:YGoAAOSwbA9dJG2F

Includes grain basket and chiller.

 

[booosh]

Hi all,

Can anyone explain the difference in something like the two suggestions above versus something like a bulldog that is around £300 more?

Is it just the volume and the pump/circulation things?

 

[matt76]

Hi all,

Can anyone explain the difference in something like the two suggestions above versus something like a bulldog that is around £300 more?

Is it just the volume and the pump/circulation things?

Basically, yes, I think so.

I don't have any of these but have been doing a lot of research lately.

I know @Rodcx500z is very pleased with the one he has though I have to say, the one linked above seems a very good deal - I'm sure it was closer to £200 last time I looked, and benefits from a digital time & temperature controller.....

Though it doesn't appear to be programmable if you want to do a stepped mash - which is another advantage of those £300 systems

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Booosh, I love my little kettle so easy to use biab, normally for a 21L brew I need between 28 and 30L so I fill the kettle get up to mash temp drop the odd Liters into an fv lid on I then mash with the 20L that's left and the do a dunk sparge, I should really work out how much water I need for mash which I am going to do on my next brew, for the money it's a neat bit of kit

 

[booosh]

At the moment I'm using one of those pre made Electrim mashing/boiling bins. I have two issues:

It's too small for a 23L brew unless you sparge heavily

It doesn't reach a good boil unless the lid is on and you're indoors and then you get condensation leaks from the lid

Oh, and it takes 40 mins to heat to mash and 40 mins to reach a boil

Is the one you have any better? Was weighing up gas heater or electric for biab!?

 

[Rodcx500z]

To be honest I have never timed it but will do on next brew day, I brew in the yard at the moment but will move into shed when it gets colder

 

[Horners]

I have an Ace boiler which looks very similar to @Rodcx500z’s fullhorn. This looks a good deal, also by Klarstein.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-Keg...956289&hash=item3626670300:g:YGoAAOSwbA9dJG2F

Includes grain basket and chiller.

This unit gets discussed a lot. I have posted quite a few detailed comments/ observations previously. This is by far the cheapest it has been seen.

 

[Rodcx500z]

That's a bargain at that price and a grain basket as well, mine has a bag

 

[booosh]

Think I'm going to go for that Klarstein today.

In theory I could fit a pump from the tap to circulate during the mash. Not sure how effective this actually us though.

 

[Oneflewover]

Think I'm going to go for that Klarstein today.

In theory I could fit a pump from the tap to circulate during the mash. Not sure how effective this actually us though.

It's a mod I personally think is well worth doing. Looking at the tap I can't see any problem with fitting a pump with some stainless fittings, silicone hose and stainless jubilee clips. There's a thread somewhere with photos and a parts list. I'll see if I can find it. The difficulty might be the lack of a sparging plate, but not sure how essential this is

 

[Rodcx500z]

Don't think it would be hard to knock a sparging plate up,

 

[Keats]

At the moment I'm using one of those pre made Electrim mashing/boiling bins. I have two issues:

It's too small for a 23L brew unless you sparge heavily

It doesn't reach a good boil unless the lid is on and you're indoors and then you get condensation leaks from the lid

Oh, and it takes 40 mins to heat to mash and 40 mins to reach a boil

Is the one you have any better? Was weighing up gas heater or electric for biab!?

I usually boil the kettle a couple of times (about 4 litres) to help things along and I think it takes about 15 minutes to get to mash temperature. I dunk sparge at 75 then add the mash liquor back to the boiler and it probably takes another 15-20 minutes to reach a boil.

Mine has a bag and I had to buy a chiller separately so if I was buying today, I’d probably go for the Klarstein I linked to above.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Keats I think I would buy that, I would love a grain basket

 

[booosh]

I've bought it, £130 all in. Ebay had a 10% off voucher!

The only thing is, it's coming from Germany so may take a while

 

[Keats]

Great, even more of a bargain! Hopefully won’t take too long to arrive. It will give you time to plan your first brew though.

Going electric made a huge difference from using a pot on the cooker, both in terms of time and volume.

 

[matt76]

I've bought it, £130 all in. Ebay had a 10% off voucher!

The only thing is, it's coming from Germany so may take a while

Hey @booosh , where did you get the 10% off voucher?