I just bought a 10 gallon Blichmann boil kettle so I could boil volumes of about 8.5 gallons. My question is, will I be able to do that on my stove top or do I need to move to a propane burner?
Unless you have one serious home stove, you will need a burner. My Bayou Classic has treated me well.
Dave
I was afraid that was going to be the answer. I was hoping not to spend the night in the garage but I guess there is no escaping it… Looks like we’ll be drinking a stout during this brewing. Thanks Dave.
Fill it with water and see if you can boil it. One burner on my stove is super strong will boil easily. I’ve seen both gas and electric stoves that could do it - and some that couldn’t. It all depends on how powerful the burners are.
+1. Try it and see. Chances are, though, you’ll have to get an outdoor burner. My stove would take about 2 hours to get to a simmer. Now I can get to a full boil in 20 minutes or less.
I have a “bridge burner” in the center of my stove, I found that if I positioned the kettle partially over it and one of the other burners, that I could get my 8.7 gallons of wort to boil in about an hour and a half. After that I bought a Bayou Classic outdoor propane burner, it can do the job in about 25-30 minutes.
Get a nice Blichmann burner to go with that kettle. You wont be sorry. They are built like a brick sh!thouse and get an 8 gallon boil going PDQ
+1 i have the bayou classic also.
IDK…Aside from the boil aspect, 8.5 gallons of water is about 70 lbs. That plus the weight of the kettle is a lot of weight to lift up onto the stove unless you have a pump.
Thanks all for the suggestions. A Blichmann looks pretty nice, especially with the leg extensions that are available. BUT, it might be a little over my budget right now. I do see where I can pick up a Bayou Classic KAB4 High Pressure Banjo Cooker for $87.49 on Amazon. I might have to go that route. So, now that I’ve decided to move the process to the garage, I guess I need to get water out there so I can chill the wort. Always something to think about. Thanks again everyone.
I don’t know anything about it, and there aren’t any customer reviews, but I saw this on the NB website the other day. Cheap…dunno about quality.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/the-dark-star-burner.html
I just saw that on their catalog. It does say up to 10 gallons, but I don’t like the way the top is constructed with no direct support on the outer rim where the kettle weight would be. I guess it would be fine for a flat bottom kettle, but I’m not sure about a keggle where the weight rests on the edge.
I looked at that one also along with the Bayou KAB4 AND KAB6. After reading the reviews and getting an offer from NorthernBrewer.com for a free Porter extract kit with the purchase of $125 or more, I decided to go with the Blichmann burner. A little over my budget but it should last me a good long time.
You will never regret spending a little more than you had intended as opposed to less than you should have.
I really like my Blichmann burner. I think you’ll be delighted with it.
A big +1 on the Blichmann, I got mine last week and used it for the first time on Sunday. Definitely a good investment, especially with the leg kit.
Despite my efforts to post the link, I’m glad you went for the higher quality product. This looked kinda cheap to me as well. I don’t know much about the Blichmann either since my burner is homemade, but I would imagine it is a superior product. Good choice IMO!
If you see picts of the Bayou vs Blichmann, the burners are identical, its the shroud surrounding them that’s different. The Bayou just sits on the ground and is made from cast iron and the Blichmann can sit either on the ground, connected to their top-tier system or have legs installed. You’re only paying more for the shroud and its options.
Bayou:
Blichmann:
Just the burner:
Your are right Tonyp. The options are what sold me, as well as, the Blichmann being SS. It will be here Tuesday and we brew our first all-grain on Friday. Can’t wait.
You will love it. Good equipment. But I use a two burner Camp King
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Hi Jim! Good to see ya here!