Portable Electric Range

[Bugeater]

An immersion type heater is much more efficient than an external electric burner. If you are not comfortable building a heatstick http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm , then you can go with an electric bucket heater. I've built my own heatsticks, but now use the this bucket heater. http://www.tractorsupply.com/allied-pre ... -w-2170534 .

wayne

[cooperville]

I am building a electric keggle and am using a hillbilly stills heater element and voltage controller i will include a thermostat to get the strike and sparge temps to the correct temps whilst sparging i will colllect into a fermentor and then siphon back into the keggle boiler to use it as the boil kettle
so I will only have one vessel to heat up all liquids to make the beer.
http://www.hillbillystills.com/Heat_Con ... /hetgk.htm
http://www.homebru.com.au/index.php?mai ... cts_id=301
I hope this works as i am trying to save on space and equiptment .
my boiler is also set up to be used as the boiler for distilling spirits so it will serve 4 purposes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flRY7kxbPSs
i think it will work really nicely but i am begginer and havent done an all grain batch as yet
today i finshed buying the list of equiptment to brew all grain
cant wait to get some time to start my first batch
if i get the chance i will try and make some video to explain the setup
1 keggle, 1 55 litre esky, 10 gal batches should do the trick

love the networkers

[calpyro]

Just google searched this after hearing Moscow/Scott/Skittles the producer's use of it on the session a few weeks back. I have a burner, but i was thinking since i'll be moving to out sooner or later that this would be a good buy if a burner is not allowed (imagine the landlord randomly pops in when i'm brewing, propane on the third floor? or electric range). Of course i know it's not suggested for mashing in but i'm thinking that it would be

a, cheaper than propane
b, won't run out of propane n the middle of brewday
c, less likely to cause a fire, since it's not actually on fire
d, i can turn it off early and it will still be hot and continue to boil my wort even when it's off 5 minutes before traditional flame out

of course some problems do occur

a, it sill stays hot after you're done (brew with no pants on and you brush the plate?)
b, unsure how likely it can be used for a mash, might have to do a bunch of tests to figure it out (it's ok, i'm sill extract anyways)
c, the $14 ones might not do the trick and could start melting
d, if it breaks, i won't be able to fix it

So, what do you guys think? Should i go for an electric extract system with these electric burners?

here is mine. It is a 2220V induction heater from the Web Restaurant Store: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/avantco ... 2A240.html
I use it for decoctions and sanitizing tubing and parts. It works really good.

[calpyro]

An immersion type heater is much more efficient than an external electric burner. If you are not comfortable building a heatstick http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm , then you can go with an electric bucket heater. I've built my own heatsticks, but now use the this bucket heater. http://www.tractorsupply.com/allied-pre ... -w-2170534 .

wayne

An exception is an induction heater. They heat the pot and 100% of the energy is used to heat the pot only. The cook surface stays cool and only the pot's bottom gets hot. The one that I use is UL Listed and required no fabrication with electricity.

[alan_marks]

An immersion type heater is much more efficient than an external electric burner. If you are not comfortable building a heatstick http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm , then you can go with an electric bucket heater. I've built my own heatsticks, but now use the this bucket heater. http://www.tractorsupply.com/allied-pre ... -w-2170534 .

wayne

An exception is an induction heater. They heat the pot and 100% of the energy is used to heat the pot only. The cook surface stays cool and only the pot's bottom gets hot. The one that I use is UL Listed and required no fabrication with electricity.

Please note that this is a rather expensive commercial grade heater running on 220V-single phase power. Also, since this burner operates using magnetic induction you can ONLY use steel cookware for your pans. My experience with these burners is that you really need to watch how quickly you heat thinks, too quick and the foods might scorch.

[calpyro]

An immersion type heater is much more efficient than an external electric burner. If you are not comfortable building a heatstick http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm , then you can go with an electric bucket heater. I've built my own heatsticks, but now use the this bucket heater. http://www.tractorsupply.com/allied-pre ... -w-2170534 .

wayne

An exception is an induction heater. They heat the pot and 100% of the energy is used to heat the pot only. The cook surface stays cool and only the pot's bottom gets hot. The one that I use is UL Listed and required no fabrication with electricity.

Please note that this is a rather expensive commercial grade heater running on 220V-single phase power. Also, since this burner operates using magnetic induction you can ONLY use steel cookware for your pans. My experience with these burners is that you really need to watch how quickly you heat thinks, too quick and the foods might scorch.

Shipped this was less than $200, not too bad under my budget. I am not afraid to fab up anything to save a buck, but this is really pretty cheap for a very nice induction burner that has a bunch of useful settings. Consider that this burner also has multiple uses and it's value/cost ratio over a home built immersion heater in my opinion wins out. I also use it for making hot water to sanitize parts and tubing and boiling decoctions. I have also used it as a HERMS unit with a grant (pictured insulated pot) for performing stepped mashes. Not to mention it's obvious use of cooking food for parties and such.

It is true that this burner requires induction ready pots, but due to the popularity of induction ranges in the home, most commercial pots work, including the pots from Morebeer and Northern Brewer.

As to burning or scorching, I use the Update International pots (same as Morebeer and Northern Brewer pots) and they have a nice thick bottom and do not scorch at all. The burner has multiple settings and makes temperature control very easy and hands-off if necessary. No need for controllers or home-built wiring circuits.

It also meets the O/P's needs. If his house has 220V for either a stove or a dryer, it will work in his apartment. No risk of fire and does not get hot. Add a small pot (grant) and it can be used as a HERMS for stepped mashes even with a cooler for a mash tun. Portable and comes with a warranty for under $200.

[foomench]

Shipped this was less than $200, not too bad under my budget. I am not afraid to fab up anything to save a buck, but this is really pretty cheap for a very nice induction burner that has a bunch of useful settings.

Very nice. When I was looking at induction, the cheapest I could find with enough watts for 10-15 gallons was close to $1k.

[alan_marks]

$200? WOW! Thats a great deal!