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Glass top stove or alternative?

Post #1 made 11 years ago
by laserghost
I use a 12.5 gal aluminum kettle on the stovetop, supplemented by a 2000w heat stick in the boil. At my previous apartment the kettle fit nicely on two gas burners. I recently moved and the new stove is electric with a glass top. The kettle doesn't completely cover two burners but I am assuming I could boil ~8 gal on one burner with the heat stick.

However, I'm a little nervous about cracking the glass top as the kettle is definitely way larger than what the stovetop is designed for. I'm considering an external electric top like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I16B18/re ... rub03P1JBD this would probably be the most economical route up front.

The induction top seems really interesting but I'd need to get a stainless disc to use in the aluminum kettle. Also wondering if having a bit of stainless steel in the aluminum kettle would lead to corrosion over time.

This will be my first time brewing all electric so I'm not sure what the best route to go here is. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
Last edited by laserghost on 20 Oct 2014, 05:34, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #2 made 11 years ago
by 2trout
Hi LaserGhost,

Im back from a VERY busy summer here in Colorado and I just have no time to brew or spend on this site in the summer anyhow.... Thought Id jump in here.....

So a 12.5 Gal pot. What is your usual starting volume on your boils? What Im getting at is how much weight are you really putting on your stove top? Remember, the diameter of your pot spreads the weight of your batch over a significant area.

trout
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
Bobbrews
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Post #3 made 11 years ago
by PistolPatch
LG, I'm not sure about whether you will get enough heat but the glass cooktop will handle the weight. It's toughened glass and it's actually very hard to break. The weakest area of the glass are the edges, especially the corners, so just don't go slamming an edge of your kettle down onto an edge or corner. And, as Trout says, the weight is evenly distributed so you'll be fine.

(Welcome back Trout ;))
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Post #4 made 11 years ago
by laserghost
Okay, that's reassuring. I'll try not to be slamming the kettle around! I've seen some chatter about cracked tops, but perhaps I'll give it a try. On a big beer the kettle will be 12 gal (45 L) full – maybe 10 gal (38 L) of water and 16 lbs (7.25Kg) of grain.

Pretty heavy!
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Post #5 made 11 years ago
by laserghost
Also, the diameter of the kettle extends several inches beyond the diameter of the heating element. Hopefully the area of the glass beyond the element can withstand the heat.

I'll be supplementing with a 2000 watt submersible heatstick, so that will crank it up a bunch. I'll post back to let you know if she boils ~ 8 gal (30 L).
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Post #7 made 11 years ago
by laserghost
Thanks, Joshua! "... the appliances can support a weight load of up to 50 pounds ..." does not bode well for my system where I could easily have 75+ pounds in the kettle, assuming ~ 8 pounds per gallon of water.

This is what I was worried about. Looks like I'll want to explore some alternatives ...
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Post #8 made 11 years ago
by Rick
I still think you will be okay. Knowing engineering standards, the 50lbs max is a safe zone for point loading. As PP stated, this is spread out a bit. I'll bet it can handle at least 2-3x the stated max with a spread out load.

I won't blame you for playing it safe, though.
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Post #9 made 11 years ago
by joshua
Good Day, I have a couple of links about Watts and BTU's for Brewing.

BTU's...
http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing ... rner-need/

Watts...
http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/quest ... -what-abou

I hope this helps, with 10 Gallon Batches.

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