Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

14bbl electric kettle?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • 14bbl electric kettle?

    Looking at some tanks that might make a good 14bbl frankenbrew system. They cannot be easily modified for direct fire or steam but I could easily add ports for electric elements. Is 14bbl-15bbls too large for electric brewing? Would 3x15kw elements for 45kw of total kettle power enough to bring this amount to a boil?

    Thanks!

  • #2
    Have you looked into an external gas-fired calandria? All the benefits of brewing with gas, without having to worry about your kettle being able to take direct flame. I've never priced one out, so, I have no idea if it would be economical – but you're looking at a heck of a lot of watts to get 14 barrels to a boil in a reasonable amount of time, it might be worth thinking about.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Catfish002 View Post
      Looking at some tanks that might make a good 14bbl frankenbrew system. They cannot be easily modified for direct fire or steam but I could easily add ports for electric elements. Is 14bbl-15bbls too large for electric brewing? Would 3x15kw elements for 45kw of total kettle power enough to bring this amount to a boil?

      Thanks!
      Hi There,
      No problem. Check out the following: https://www.wattco.com/product_categ...-plug-heaters/
      WATTCO makes up to 17 KW heaters for brewers. You can contact us at info@wattco.com

      Hope this helps!

      Comment


      • #4
        I use one 17kw wattco element in my 10bbl kettle, works quite well. Consider these things that I have learned:
        - place elements very close to bottom, but leave some room for a wp cone
        - your wp prob won’t be great anyway
        - you may need to recirculate during boil to speed it up and to ensure wort under the element is boiled. I do this with great success and achieve a nice vigorous boil. I also insulated my kettle to help this.
        - my element is almost four feet long in the kettle, heavy! I’ve had to design a cable rig to hold up the end in the kettle while I secure the 4” tc.
        - you will need a lot of room around your kettle for element install and removal. I put my kettle on wheels and have a long flexible power cord.
        - it’s soooo quiet, I just hear music and my steam hood
        - mine is 3phase, 208v, required a bigger service to run this, hlt and BOP.
        - in the summer it doesn’t heat the place up like gas.


        Leo Foy
        Dog River Brewery
        Berlin, VT

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by leosbeer View Post
          I use one 17kw wattco element in my 10bbl kettle, works quite well. Consider these things that I have learned:
          - place elements very close to bottom, but leave some room for a wp cone
          - your wp prob won’t be great anyway
          - you may need to recirculate during boil to speed it up and to ensure wort under the element is boiled. I do this with great success and achieve a nice vigorous boil. I also insulated my kettle to help this.
          - my element is almost four feet long in the kettle, heavy! I’ve had to design a cable rig to hold up the end in the kettle while I secure the 4” tc.
          - you will need a lot of room around your kettle for element install and removal. I put my kettle on wheels and have a long flexible power cord.
          - it’s soooo quiet, I just hear music and my steam hood
          - mine is 3phase, 208v, required a bigger service to run this, hlt and BOP.
          - in the summer it doesn’t heat the place up like gas.

          Leo Foy
          Dog River Brewery
          Berlin, VT
          You are using just 17kw to bring 10bbls to a boil? You make some excellent points above. Thanks for your reply!

          Comment

          Working...
          X