Does anyone Boil a full 5 gallon batch on the stovetop?

[Stinkfist]

I wanted to boil a full 5 gallon All grain batch on my stove-top (so about 7 or so gallons) I know my stove-top does not make enough power to boil that much liquid so I have made myself a heat stick but I am not sure if the 1 heat stick will be enough to boil it.

My main question is I have a glass stove top and am very concerned about putting that much weight on it. I am just curious if anyone else has put a pot that large, full of liquid on a glass stove top? I would like to avoid making another heat stick if it possible.

I cannot use a turkey fryer or anything with propane for that matter because I am in an apartment and they do not allow it..

Thanks!

[mookie1010]

I wanted to boil a full 5 gallon All grain batch on my stove-top (so about 7 or so gallons) I know my stove-top does not make enough power to boil that much liquid so I have made myself a heat stick but I am not sure if the 1 heat stick will be enough to boil it.

My main question is I have a glass stove top and am very concerned about putting that much weight on it. I am just curious if anyone else has put a pot that large, full of liquid on a glass stove top? I would like to avoid making another heat stick if it possible.

I cannot use a turkey fryer or anything with propane for that matter because I am in an apartment and they do not allow it..

Thanks!

I have. I used a 52 quart Aluminum pot on 2 burners. Maybe it was 42? At any rate, a big ass pot for tamales. They're cheap and they work as long as you prep them right. Gets hot as shit in the kitchen, but I've done it. It's not ideal, but I've hit 212*F and gotten a rolling boil on that amount without having to use the lid, which you obviously don't want to do.

If I had it to do again, I'd start heating up the first runnings while sparging while there's less wort in the kettle. I didn't do that back then because of the set up of my mash tun. If you can, I'd consider it.

[maxwell]

I make 5-6 gallon batches on a gas stovetop. No heat stick needed in my case. It helps that my kettle is wide enough to fit over two burners. It definitely helps to put a lid on the pot while you're raising it to a boil. Obviously you don't want to boil covered. I second the comment about starting to heat the wort before you're done sparging too. I can put my mash tun on top of a chair set on top of the counter and drain runnings into the kettle. I think that apartment/small space brewing would be a great topic to cover on the Session or Brew Strong at some point. There are lots of folks out there who don't have the money, space, or desire to be doing 10 gallon batches on an outdoor brew stand and still manage to make some great beer. If your cooktop doesn't work out for you, another option might be to get a standalone electric burner or an electric turkey fryer.

Max

[Stinkfist]

Yeah my biggest concern is the amount of weight on my glass stove-top, that would be very expensive to replace..I am almost certain I can get a decent boil using the stove top and heat stick I already have.

and I agree a show on Apartment(small scale) brewing would be a sweet idea, I am sure there are a bunch of techniques people use that would be beneficial to a lot of people in the same situation

[henrythe9th]

also watch the counter top, my 20 gal pot overhangs 3 or 4 in. and I burned my concrete counter top (scorched)

[maxwell]

I would contact the manufacturer of the glass stovetop and find out how much weight it can take. I bet that the weight won't be a problem. The easiest way to break a glass cooktop is to run it with a pot that doesn't fully come into contact with the burner.

Max

[BlueLoon]

Yes, I have, my glass top range has one burner with super high and it still takes a while to heat to a boil. Its also hard to keep it boiling with out the cover 70% on. So I only do extract beers that way. Otherwise my turkey burner has no problem.
Might be better off splitting the pots but never tried.

[Stinkfist]

I would contact the manufacturer of the glass stovetop and find out how much weight it can take. I bet that the weight won't be a problem. The easiest way to break a glass cooktop is to run it with a pot that doesn't fully come into contact with the burner.

Max

yeah so I contacted the manufacturer and this is the ultra helpful response I got...

Thank you for contacting the GE Appliance website, I will be happy to assist you.

GE cooktops are made of a tough ceramic material tested to meet UL requirements.

UL impact test: a 2" steel ball weighing 1.18 lbs. dropped from a distance of 20". The UL impact test is equivalent to the force created when dropping a can of soup (12.4 oz) from a distance above the cooktop of 31" and dropping a can of corn (1lb. 4 oz.) from a distance of 19".

These would be minimums which the glass ceramic would withstand. These 2 food product items were chosen because they are so widely used & the heights were chosen to simulate an item being taken from cabinets above the cooktop & slipping from a hand.

Weight sitting on cooktop - the top is tested to withstand a load more than 50 lbs. So there would be no problem with taking a turkey, in a roaster, out of the oven & placing it on the cooktop. Also, no problem with using a canner on the cooktop.

Nice round about way to avoid saying anything specific..lol