Gas OR Electric.

[snail59]

Ok so it looks like im not going to be moving any time soon so may as well get started building an AG brewery. Question is for a boiler is Gas or Electric better. I ask as I have a twin ring gas camping stove standing idle in the garage that could be used in conjunction with a large stock pot or the like.

 

[Moley]

I brew with a large pot on a mains gas range cooker but would quite like to be able to boil outdoors. Do you think a twin burner camping stove would have enough ‘oomph’, or where can you buy propane ring burners?

 

[jenki]

My first 5 AG brews were electric, but the element played up on my 6th brew this weekend, so I have switched to Gas, I am in the process of upgrading from 5 gallon kegs to 100L Stock pots, and like the idea of gas. Making beer and playing with fire - it don't get better IMO

 

[Mephistopholes]

I've had problems today with electic.

Found out that any real strong beer - 1.060 plus. can catch on the exposed element causing possible burning of the sugars or in my case forcing the safety to keep cutting out the power before i could reach the boil.

i had to water my brew down and give the element a good long clean to get it back up and working.

i can only brew indoors though so for me its the only option. saves on running out for gas refills i guess too.

 

[Springer]

It's all about heat output/input, have a look at the rating of what your appliance puts out. Remember, with electric the energy all goes into the liquid, with gas you are losing lots that only adds to heating up the world.
All the calorific values / costs are out there to be found and compared. I did the comparison a few months ago, but my finding were that if you have a suitable electric supply to hand its a no contest, on efficiency terms and its quiet.
If you want lots of roaring flames.......... well its your choice. They used to make beer using big pots heated by big wood burning fires......... well that appeals to me ........ "free" wood, well if you don't count your time getting and cutting it.
S
P.S.

can catch on the exposed element

Just noticed that bit, :?
Surely the element is only designed to reach boiling point, being held there by a covering of liquid, didn't thing they were supposed to be exposed :?

 

[evanvine]

Surely the element is only designed to reach boiling point, being held there by a covering of liquid, didn't thing they were supposed to be exposed

The element doesn't get exposed S.
The problem is that Malty Sugary solutions cannot physically move as fast as thinner liquids (eg water) and therefor do not take the heat away from the element quickly enough.
So develops the vicious circle where the sugars start to cling to the element.
The element starts to get hotter thus more sugars cling to it, making it hotter still.
The overheat trip is there to protect the element from damage, but this is hotter than the sugar caramelisation point.
Result, a coating of burnt black sugar.
The "Electrim" thermostat overcomes this to a degree by pulsing the power applied to the element alowing the heat to be conducted away.

 

[Franklin]

I used to boil my 38 litre stock pot on our old gas cooker but now I have natural gas plumbed in my garage so bought a big boiling ring. Also just built a hot liquor tank with kettle elements.

 

[jamesb]

The element doesn't get exposed S.
The problem is that Malty Sugary solutions cannot physically move as fast as thinner liquids (eg water) and therefor do not take the heat away from the element quickly enough.
So develops the vicious circle where the sugars start to cling to the element.
The element starts to get hotter thus more sugars cling to it, making it hotter still.
The overheat trip is there to protect the element from damage, but this is hotter than the sugar caramelisation point.
Result, a coating of burnt black sugar.
The "Electrim" thermostat overcomes this to a degree by pulsing the power applied to the element alowing the heat to be conducted away.

You can also use an element with a bigger surface area, like a domestic immersion element that some of us use. Theoretically this leads to less caramelisation and there's less heat directly in contact with a small amount of wort.

 

[Aleman]

Actually the problem of wort caramelisation really only happens if you use elements close to the bottom of the pot . . . the hops become trapped around the element which prevents free movement of wort and they and the wort burns.

Kettle elements have a fairly high watt density though, in in a standard test it has been shown that same wort split three ways and boiled with kettle elements ,Burco type or Immersion Elements (of the same or similar power) is darkest in the kettle element boiler, then The Burco and finally the Immersion Element boiler. So natural darkening does occur (through the Malliard reactions between sugars and proteins), the degree to which it happens depends not only on the power being supplied to the wort but also the area that power is being applied though. . . . The new cheapy kettle elements are probably the worst for this TBH . . . much more so that the exorbitant Backer Kettle Elements :lol:

 

[Mephistopholes]

Wow that schooled me :clap:

 

[pjbiker]

in my case forcing the safety to keep cutting out the power before i could reach the boil.

The safety cut out switch on the cheapo kettle elements can easily be removed and I suggest you do. If you have an 'accident', (which I did) it doesn't take long before it melts itself to the point where it cuts off its own supply. My personal rule is, don't even plug an element in until you cover it with liquid (and unplug when you drain it).
I started with a plastic electrim 'boiler/mash tun' and had the cutting out problem, a real PITA. These elements don't come apart to disable the cut-out so I replaced it with an ASDA kettle one.