Thunder & lightning

[Fore]

Yep. Brewed outdoors in thunder and lightning today. Have cover, but it was at its limits.

Anyway, my boil off rate was way off. It was clear I was way out, so ended up extending boil before flavour hop addition. It all went a bit mad with the rain and all so I question my calculations a little, but I was expecting 26% total boil off @ 75 min. (from previous experience) and ended with 19% (post-calculation). I'm at AG#6, so still tinkering. Could humidity influence boil off rate to such an extent?

One strong positive this time... last brew the Buffalo kept topping out so I moved the temp sensor; cable tied it to wires away from the pot. Worked a treat. With a rolling boil I reduced the temp setting (0min-6max) and it was tripping at about 3.5. No chance at all of it topping out. I must say it's really a great boiler, but you do need to know how to prep it for rolling boil.

 

[brumbrew]

Slightly off topic but straight back into it,

I work with polyurethane resins a lot, and moisture in the air turns the stuff to foam. Or at least it bubbles like crazy when curing.

So with recent weather I would expect a change in boil off :-)

 

[Fore]

Thanks. I'm going to have to keep a close eye on this. Such a variation could leave me with way too little or too much in the fermenter. I was just lucky this time that my hop addition was late, so I could delay.

I didn't realise the swing could be so big. If I can get a handle on weather conditions vs. boil off rate, I should be able to hit targets better.

 

[Slid]

Yep. Brewed outdoors in thunder and lightning today. Have cover, but it was at its limits.

I was expecting 26% total boil off @ 75 min. (from previous experience) and ended with 19% (post-calculation). I'm at AG#6, so still tinkering. Could humidity influence boil off rate to such an extent?
.

I would definitely say "YES" on that one. There may be other factors than just evaporation, such as what the humidity does to your heat source, but a steep reduction in boil evaporation in a thunderstorm does not sound like an unusual observation. At least to me.

 

[spook123_uk]

I had the same when moving from the Kitchen to the shed or just outside the shed on a decent day.. Waaaay less boil off. I was at 10L per hour in the kitchen and on Sunday in the shed, it was down to 6L which cocked my calculations up too!

Rich

 

[Covrich]

10l Boil off per hour??

 

[spook123_uk]

Yeah.. Pretty much. I couldn't believe it when I first started. Assumed it would be something like 4 or 5L.
That said, when it was in the kitchen, it was a particularly fierce rolling boil with 2 x 2.4kw elements (not from the same circuit!) and a massive cooker hood extractor over it.

 

[Slid]

Yeah.. Pretty much. I couldn't believe it when I first started. Assumed it would be something like 4 or 5L.
That said, when it was in the kitchen, it was a particularly fierce rolling boil with 2 x 2.4kw elements (not from the same circuit!) and a massive cooker hood extractor over it.

2x 2.4KW elements.

I am reminded of a scene from the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".
The titular heroes have held up a train and Cassidy's attempt at dynamiting the Safe results in dollar bills dropping out of the sky like snowflakes.

"You use enough dynamite, there, Butch?"