Dave from Kiwiland Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hi, Was wondering is there anybody out there that uses an electric urn for boiling wort. I currently do partial mashes in a 20 litre pot on the gas stove but have seen a 30 litre tea urn for sale at a good price. I would like to know how long it would take to heat the urn up versus the gas stove. I want to try my hand at a brew in the bag all grain recipe. Any advice much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Too many outside factors to accurately answer your question. Nevertheless, you can always BIAB in a 20L pot no problems... As an indication my 40L urn filled with nearly 37L of cold tap water will take about 35-45 minutes to heat to about 72C. If you are worried about time then fill the urn and put a timer on it simple. Alternatively if you want it to heat up quicker then get an element to hang over the side. I don't bother with either unless I have time restrictions. I just get everything else ready while I am waiting for strike temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I just get everything else ready while I am waiting for strike temps. This is one thing I have decided to do for next time and in the future to speed up the process a little.[lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 If I don't have a lot of time I will fill the urn up with water, have everything milled and ready to go the night before. Then put the urn on a timer and when I wake up she's already to dough in [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave from Kiwiland Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 So do you use the urn to mash, then use it to boil the wort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I usually have Sundays completely free, so there's plenty of time.. although I understand not everyone has that available.[joyful] Anyway, yeah the urn is used to mash the grains, simply remove the bag once finished mashing, drain it out into the urn and then boil the wort in it. Add your hops etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave from Kiwiland Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 how long does it take to boil after removing the grains, and do you get a good rolling boil with an electric urn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Again, it depends on variables. The main ones I would imagine would be the volume of the boil, and the gravity of the wort. Obviously the larger the volume, the longer it will take to get to the boil, I'm guessing the same for higher gravity worts but I'm happy to be corrected on that. I have only done one batch in my urn as I just got it and am brand new to BIAB, however it achieved a decent rolling boil, I didn't time it but I'd guess it took between 30-45mins to get to the boil, and as long as you keep the element clean, should have no worries[biggrin] Mine has the concealed element too so it's a bit easier to clean it. One question I have though regarding the urns, when bringing water up to strike temp, or wort to the boil before adding hops, do you put the lid on or leave it off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave from Kiwiland Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Thanks Kelsey, I was undecided about buying an urn, but I have seen a 30 litre one complete with temp control for $50. 30-45 minutes isnt much more than it takes to do a boil on the gas hob. I boil no more than 15 litres in my pot at present, but I have bought Sam Calagione's book, Extreme Brewing and all his recipes call for 17 litres of water even though they are a partial mash. He does this because he believes with more water the wort doesnt end up to much like a caramel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 One question I have though regarding the urns' date=' when bringing water up to strike temp, or wort to the boil before adding hops, do you put the lid on or leave it off?[/quote'] If I am bring the water to strike temp then I leave the lid on as there is only water in the urn at this time. However, if I am bringing the wort to boil, or adding any heat at all I usually leave the lid half on. You shouldn't put the lid on completely due to Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS). DMS is continuously produced in the wort while it is hot and is usually removed by vaporization during the boil. If the wort is cooled slowly these compounds will not be removed from the wort and will dissolve back in. Thus it is important to not completely cover the brewpot during the boil or allow condensate to drip back into the pot from the lid. However, I disagree with cooling the wort slowly part as I, and literally 100's of others also, have proved this theory wrong as we do a process called "No Chill" without any issues whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That's not a bad deal! Yeah once I get it boiling I'll boil it anywhere from 60 - 90 mins depending on the recipe. Thanks for that Bill, I'll keep that in mind on Sunday when I do my second batch. I've never covered the pot/urn during hop boils, but I occasionally have when bringing it to the boil. Now I know better[lol] I do the "No Chill" process too. I don't have a chiller anyway, but I've decided on a sort of routine to brew batches a month or two before they're fermented, when I have the day available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Yeah No Chill rocks imo. 1/ Can brew with intention to pitch yeast at a much later date 2/ No need to use additional water (eg. like needed for an Immersion Chiller or a Plate) 3/ Can accumulate as many as you like to store for later, then choose which one you would like to ferment at whenever you want. There are others but they are the main 3 that appeal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Yeah I agree with that, especially the extra water. Besides that I'm highly unlikely to run out of beer unless I stop brewing for about 6 months, so there's not really any rush to keep the fermenter in use either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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