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Boiling of wort under the heating elements

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  • Boiling of wort under the heating elements

    Hello everyone,

    I am trying to build electric 5HL and 10HL systems with a local equipment manufacturer. I wanted to know if there is any specific guidelines on placing the elements to get a good boil and also little disturbance to whirlpool. Other complaint I have heard is the wort below heating elements never boils properly and there is a big temperature difference between the wort above and below elements. I have worked on 8 BBL system with big single coil and had no issues. But here we are working with multiple elements so I am not sure if this will really be an issue. All the inputs and feedback are appreciated.

    Thanks!

  • #2
    I've used pumped recirculation loops for that very reason. I prefer to take from the bottom and put back in above the elements.
    dick

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    • #3
      Boiling of wort under heating elements

      Hi Jaxpat,

      I have a water still, powered by a 3kW element producing 4 litres per hour of pyrogen free water.

      On starting up from cold, there are always some flakes of scale at the bottom of the borosilicate spherical flask. As heating progresses, the stratification of hot and cold water is plain to see. However, when the boiling point is reached, these particles are swept up the the violence of the ebullition.

      Obviously, it is better to situate the elements as close to the bottom of the vessel as possible, but I do not think it is that critical. A vigorous boil will stir everything up!

      Best regards,
      Michael George
      mike@michaelgeorgeassociates.com

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      • #4
        I managed to only answer part of the question and others appear to have followed suit. Re whirlpool effectiveness, any intrusion such as heating tubes or elements will make the smooth circulation currents essential to good cone formation less effective. My perhaps rather simplistic answer is "i don't know how to design for best results" and "I would always recommend wall / base heating jackets (steam or fluid heating) or external calandria for larger units if you want a combine kettle / whirlpool operation.

        I know there are other threads with similar concerns, so have a trawl through those and see if anyone came up with a good solution.
        dick

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        • #5
          We never had very good results whirlpooling in our kettle that had two large elements. If you can work a dedicated whirlpool tank into your plan, you get a much better solid/liquid separation and a massive bonus for double batching. They're usually not very expensive due to their relative simplicity.
          Josiah Blomquist
          Head Brewer
          Iron Triangle Brewing Co
          Los Angeles, CA

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          • #6
            I'm building a 600L electric kettle/WP vessel and plan to use a rolled electric element to aid the whirlpool. This works well on my home brew scale system but wondering if anyone has done similar on a larger scale? I have been quoted $2K for 3 x rolled elements totalling 40kW 415V and are all ultra low watt density.
            Interested to hear if anyone has done similar.
            Pic below showing my home brew version that works really well and forms a nice trub cone at the end of WP.
            Attached Files

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