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Countertop Induction Brewing - BIAB 2.5G 9.5L with pics

Post #1 made 11 years ago
by sammy33
A different take on electric BIAB using an induction cooktop. I saw a few of these type setups here and thought I would share mine. The cooktop is an 1800 watt Vollrath Mirage Cadet with a 5.5G 20.8L induction ready kettle.

The bag is Swiss voile custom made by a vendor here in the USA. I also wanted to say thank you to biabrewer.info and the members here contributing the knowledge. Couldn't have done it without you! :thumbs:

First brew on the new induction system went well. I tested the heck out of it so I new my boil offs and its temp control. The mash stayed in a 3 degree range 152-155 with the cooktop set to 160F. I checked at 30 minutes and at the end.

Enough of my yappin' here is the recipe and some pics.

Simcoe SMaSH
Batch Size: 2.50 gallons (9.5L)
5 lbs 15.0 oz (2.91kg) Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
0.43 oz (12.2g) Simcoe [12.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz (14.2g) Simcoe [12.70 %] - Boil 0.0 min
0.6 pkg (6.9g) Safale American (Fermentis #US-05)

Gettin' ready
Image
Mashin'
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Drainin'
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Hoppin'
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Chillin'
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Fermentin'
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Cheers :drink:
Last edited by sammy33 on 18 Mar 2014, 05:13, edited 1 time in total.
Stumbling Parrot Brewery

"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire."
-David Rains Wallace

Post #2 made 11 years ago
by milligan
That sounds great. I've been thinking about adding some sort of heating element to my kettle and never even thought of an induction cook top. How long did it take to reach mash temps, then to get to the boil? EDIT: Thought I should add what is your starting water temperature?
Last edited by milligan on 18 Mar 2014, 19:49, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #3 made 11 years ago
by PistolPatch
Sammy, great job :peace:.

I think there are actually a heap of advantages to stove-top brewing. With an induction cook-top? Wow! Too easy!!!

I'd love to spend hours on this thread asking questions etc...
Hold on :o. I was just about to ask, "Why in pic #3, have you got your kettle sitting on your scales."
But I'm now guessing they aren't your scales. Is that really a portable induction cooktop? If it is, I want heaps of detail. How much does it cost? How much power does it need? And milligan's questions.

:)
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 18 Mar 2014, 18:24, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #4 made 11 years ago
by milligan
I've just done the magnet test on my Big W 19 litre kettle and two different magnets stick like glue. Also checked ebay and the cheapy induction cook tops, around AU$45 and 1800w/2000w, are mostly limited to 9 temperature settings. Awaiting response from some seller about what the temps actually are. There are also a few with dials but don;t know the granularity of temps. Also awaiting responses.

Can't wait to here the timings from Sammy :)
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Post #5 made 11 years ago
by sammy33
milligan wrote:That sounds great. I've been thinking about adding some sort of heating element to my kettle and never even thought of an induction cook top. How long did it take to reach mash temps, then to get to the boil? EDIT: Thought I should add what is your starting water temperature?
Starting with tap water at 55F 13C it takes about 30 minutes to get to strike temps of 165F 73C for a 155F 68C mash. Then another 15 minutes to get to a boil if I do a mash out at 170F 77C. Not bad and faster than my old stove!

Here is a pic of the test boil. The pic I posted above is just after a hop addition so I thought I would add this pic to show the boil action. It is not as rompy as you may get from an LP burner but I can't use a propane jet on my countertop. ;)
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Last edited by sammy33 on 18 Mar 2014, 20:42, edited 1 time in total.
Stumbling Parrot Brewery

"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire."
-David Rains Wallace

Post #6 made 11 years ago
by sammy33
PistolPatch wrote:Sammy, great job :peace:.

I think there are actually a heap of advantages to stove-top brewing. With an induction cook-top? Wow! Too easy!!!

I'd love to spend hours on this thread asking questions etc...
Hold on :o. I was just about to ask, "Why in pic #3, have you got your kettle sitting on your scales."
But I'm now guessing they aren't your scales. Is that really a portable induction cooktop? If it is, I want heaps of detail. How much does it cost? How much power does it need? And milligan's questions.

:)
PP
Thank you PistolPatch! I am trying to keep this system simple and portable. The cooktop plugs into a 120V 20amp outlet and I have two in the kitchen and one downstairs in the basement next to the laundry. Planning on brewing down there once I get a laundry sink installed.

This is an 1800 watt system with 100 temp settings starting at 100F 37C with 10F 12C increments. This allows good temp control on step mashing say for a nice Pilsner. Mash in at 120F 49C for a protein rest, ramp to 140F 60C for another rest, ramp to 150F 65C for saccharification and then mashout at 168-170F 76C.

The Vollrath Mirage Cadet was $239USD. I know...not cheap but it is commercial grade and has the fine temp control I was looking for. I looked at others like the Max Burton and Avantco brands which would work nicely (and costs less $) but they don't have the level of temp control this unit has.
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Last edited by sammy33 on 18 Mar 2014, 21:00, edited 1 time in total.
Stumbling Parrot Brewery

"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire."
-David Rains Wallace

Post #7 made 11 years ago
by mally
I looked into induction brewing early on, as I have an induction hob in the kitchen. However, one thing I could never find out was what kind of weight they can take.
I think (and as you have shown) they are superb for 20L pot sizes, but I was wondering how they would cope with 40L or 60/80L?
I then thought about using supports to take some of the extra weight but never progressed really.

I think an induction hob capable of boiling larger volumes would be hard to beat. Small footprint & the most efficient (at least of electric anyway). Oh and one like yours means it is portable too!
G B
I spent lots of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I squandered
I've stopped drinking, but only when I'm asleep
I ONCE gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life
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Post #8 made 11 years ago
by sammy33
My most two most important BIAB tools...my bag and dip stick! Should have listened to the Aussies sooner! ;)
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Stumbling Parrot Brewery

"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire."
-David Rains Wallace

Post #9 made 11 years ago
by milligan
sammy33 wrote:
milligan wrote:That sounds great. I've been thinking about adding some sort of heating element to my kettle and never even thought of an induction cook top. How long did it take to reach mash temps, then to get to the boil? EDIT: Thought I should add what is your starting water temperature?
Starting with tap water at 55F 13C it takes about 30 minutes to get to strike temps of 165F 73C for a 155F 68C mash. Then another 15 minutes to get to a boil if I do a mash out at 170F 77C. Not bad and faster than my old stove!

Here is a pic of the test boil. The pic I posted above is just after a hop addition so I thought I would add this pic to show the boil action. It is not as rompy as you may get from an LP burner but I can't use a propane jet on my countertop. ;)
Those timings sound okay to me but I'm still very green.

I'm liking the idea as I've got solar panels and using gas defeats the purpose. Plus I've got solar hot water so I can fill my pot with 55c water. Not far to mash temps from there.

The cheap induction cooker I've been looking at start at 60c and go up in 20c increments. They are only $50 though so a thermometer with an alarm could overcome this short coming. Holding at a temp might be a bit more difficult, though.

Thanks for the inspiration.
Last edited by milligan on 18 Mar 2014, 21:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #10 made 11 years ago
by BobBrews
With induction heating of water the pot does not need to sit on the unit. You can insert the induction heat source under a (homemade) table slightly below the surface. The pot will be resting on the table taking all the weight off the induction unit. The pot only has to be close to the force field to heat. I am hoping to get into induction heating this year. My pots fail the magnet test but........ All I have to do is lay a steel plate in the bottom of any pot. The force field will go thru a aluminum pot and heat the steel plate inside!

Propane is expensive and electricity is fairly cheap. You can brew ( Inside ) during the cold Winters.

P.S. The boil with the cheaper 1800 watt units are not very vigorous so you need to compensate for that. Higher wattage (and higher priced) unit's boil with more ferocity. Higher wattage units are more expensive and may need a electrician to install a 220 watt circuit?
tap 1 Raspberry wine
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Post #11 made 11 years ago
by mally
BobBrews wrote:You can insert the induction heat source under a (homemade) table slightly below the surface.
Hey Bob, I'm looking forward to the self build pics!

This is a hob I had an eye on for a while here.
Same brand as my kettle so I know their electrickery works, but 3Kw & 26 settings sounds good?
Last edited by mally on 20 Mar 2014, 04:21, edited 1 time in total.
G B
I spent lots of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I squandered
I've stopped drinking, but only when I'm asleep
I ONCE gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From Great Britain

One more question...

Post #12 made 11 years ago
by chuckalhashib
Sammy,

I think we must be brewing brothers from different mothers. This is exactly the setup I've been working towards. I think we even have the same kettle--is yours a Tramontina 18/10 SS 22 qt? What kind of insulation are you using on your kettle? With a less vigorous boil, what does your boil off rate tend to be? What did you use for your dip stick? And, where did you get your bag?

Cheers,
Charles

Post #13 made 11 years ago
by sammy33
Charles,
Yup...the kettle is a Tramontina 22qt. The insulation is Reflectix. Boil-off is .6 GPH.

The dip stick is an Oak dowel (5/8" x 18") with the marks burned in with my soldering iron. Bought a new soldering tip for the "pyrography". The bag is from Wilserbrewer. :peace:
Last edited by sammy33 on 16 Oct 2014, 03:30, edited 1 time in total.
Stumbling Parrot Brewery

"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire."
-David Rains Wallace

Post #15 made 11 years ago
by HbgBill
Looks a lot like what I have going. Bought a induction burner and did my last brew on it. I'm doing full volume 3 gallon batches and have a much larger pot wrapped with that reflectex material.. However, I'm only use it to get up to mash temp and maintain it there for my 90 minutes. After the mash is over, I put the pot on an outdoor burner and boil for the 90 minutes. It's much quicker to get the temp up to boiling than on the Ind Burner.

This is the burner I bought:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ic-1800 ... 20120.html

My current pot is a SS 44qt/11gallon Bayou Classic with a SS basket. The basket is great as it keeps the bag well off the bottom and it acts as a strong strainer/colander for grain squeezing. I love it.. but would rather have one in the 32qt/8 gallon size.
Bill
Hop Song Brewing-Santa Rosa, California
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