Bergland pots with Induction

[windrider]

Just out of interest and I’m guessing the answer is probably NO but do the Bergland pots work on induction hobs?

I have a 50L (40cm) pot and currently use gas. We have at work a second hand Buffalo induction hob (we sell Catering Equipment) which works fine and is in really good condition

I’m guessing even if it did work the pot would be too wide for the hob? that’s why most people plumb for the narrower SS brewtech pots? (says 28cm on the hob top)

Cheers,

[edgearsenal]

The way to tell is to see if a magnet will stick to the base. If it does they should work on an induction plate the bases are often made of different material than the sides. I used a 70l pot yesterday on mine and just about managed to get it up to 98/99 degrees. But it should do a full boil once insulated correctly. This pot overhangs by quite a fair bit I would say 3/4 of the pot was on the buffalo plate and is a brewbuilder high end pot.

[windrider]

The way to tell is to see if a magnet will stick to the base. If it does they should work on an induction plate the bases are often made of different material than the sides. I used a 70l pot yesterday on mine and just about managed to get it up to 98/99 degrees. But it should do a full boil once insulated correctly. This pot overhangs by quite a fair bit I would say 3/4 of the pot was on the buffalo plate and is a brewbuilder high end pot.

Was that a 70 litre pot at capacity?

I’ll have to give the magnetic test a go tonight. Was hoping someone could turn around to say they’ve tried it with that pot and it either works or doesn't

[Matt in Birdham]

Is it possible to just test your pot on the hob?
I wouldn't worry too much about the overhang. Obviously the induction will only be working over an area in the middle of your pot, but it will still be doing its job.

[edgearsenal]

Was that a 70 litre pot at capacity?

I’ll have to give the magnetic test a go tonight. Was hoping someone could turn around to say they’ve tried it with that pot and it either works or doesn't [/quote]

yes it was pretty close to full

[windrider]

I took the Buffalo induction hob home with me last night. I tried the magnet test and nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Tried it anyway and it actually worked on the induction hob It took 20litres of water from 13°c to 69°c in about 25mins. Does that seem about right?

Going to look at insulating the pot now to make it a bit more efficient. Is it okay to position the pot over the display of the Buffalo unit? was worried the heat would damage the display if I did. (worked it out last night and it’ll cost me about £1.50 for a brew day on the induction about a 68% saving over gas that I currently use )

[Kev888]

I took the Buffalo induction hob home with me last night. I tried the magnet test and nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Tried it anyway and it actually worked on the induction hob It took 20litres of water from 13°c to 69°c in about 25mins. Does that seem about right?

If your figures are accurate I make that a heating effect of very slightly over 3kw. Which is considerably better than I would have expected from such a thin based pot, impressive.

Its worth testing a boil though, make sure it'll give a decent roll.

[Matt in Birdham]

Cool! I had heard that the magnet test is not infallible - seems to be the case (although I tested my SS pot and a magnet does stick to the bottom - but not to any other part of the pot).
What sort of gas are you using? That sounds cheap to me - before I moved to electric I was getting through pretty much 1/4 of a 7kg bottle per brew and it was costing about a fiver!!
I reckon on electric now I am using maybe 8 kwh which is what? less than a quid I think, or in that area at least (this includes bringing mash water up to temp).

[cerbera84]

awesome windrider, I too brew with propane and was looking at induction, however as I have bergland pots I too was in the same predicament. glad to see it worked, are you planning to test a rolling boil?

[windrider]

I took the Buffalo induction hob home with me last night. I tried the magnet test and nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Tried it anyway and it actually worked on the induction hob It took 20litres of water from 13°c to 69°c in about 25mins. Does that seem about right?

If your figures are accurate I make that a heating effect of very slightly over 3kw. Which is considerably better than I would have expected from such a thin based pot, impressive.

Its worth testing a boil though, make sure it'll give a decent roll.

I was surprised it worked at all tbh. If I can I will try a rolling boil with the pot tonight. Might shoot for 38 litres as that’s the maximum I tend to boil (BIAB).
Going to pop down to B&Q and pick up some thermawrap.

Does anyone know what grade of stainless bergland uses on the base and how thick? I’m assuming it’s safe to use a pot like this without damaging it…?

Cool! I had heard that the magnet test is not infallible - seems to be the case (although I tested my SS pot and a magnet does stick to the bottom - but not to any other part of the pot).
What sort of gas are you using? That sounds cheap to me - before I moved to electric I was getting through pretty much 1/4 of a 7kg bottle per brew and it was costing about a fiver!!
I reckon on electric now I am using maybe 8 kwh which is what? less than a quid I think, or in that area at least (this includes bringing mash water up to temp).

I did use a fridge magnet so not the strongest
I was using a 7.5kW burner (like Malt Miller sells) and 6kg bottle (£18-20 per bottle). Like you I used about ¼ a bottle per brew costing about £4.50 - £5. I’m paying 16.28 kWh so if I used the induction for 3 hours then that’s about £1.47 per brew

awesome windrider, I too brew with propane and was looking at induction, however as I have bergland pots I too was in the same predicament. glad to see it worked, are you planning to test a rolling boil?

If I have time I’m going to try it tonight, but with slightly more water. Biggest batches I usually do are 25 litres so that’s about 38 litres in to the boil. It should heat up even quicker if I insulate the pot
Will let you know how I get on. Would make life a lot easier if I can switch to induction...

[Matt in Birdham]

Electric is the way forward, no doubt about it. I don't think you'll miss the noise, heat and ventilation requirements - or the constant worry about running out of gas and the hassle of swapping the bottles.

btw I have no issues with a rolling boil for those volumes (same hob), although I am sure it would get there quicker with a bit of insulation. I may get round to it one day..

[Mr Squiffy]

[quote="windrider"]Going to pop down to B&Q and pick up some thermawrap.[/quote]

If there's a Homebase near you they are doing good thermawrap for £9.99 a roll at the moment, don't know how that compares with B&Q.

[sbond10]

I've used my 19kg propane tank for 7 brews so far at 30 quid a bottle and there seems plenty left for at least another brew maybe more

[cerbera84]

If I have time I’m going to try it tonight, but with slightly more water. Biggest batches I usually do are 25 litres so that’s about 38 litres in to the boil. It should heat up even quicker if I insulate the pot
Will let you know how I get on. Would make life a lot easier if I can switch to induction...

bloody hope it works, won a buffalo induction cooker on eBay earlier (got a bit excited!)

[windrider]

I managed to test this last night. Should of started it a bit earlier as I didn’t get it on until 10pm…

Starting with 35 litres of 13°c tap water, it took 55 mins to get up to 69°c (mash in temp). Then it took a further 40mins to get it to a rolling boil. It seemed to hold a rolling boil quite comfortably at this volume, but I didn’t leave it on for long as it was getting late.

In comparison to my gas burner I would say it takes the similar sort of time to get to these temperatures. I normally use hot water from my combi boiler on brew days. It is a lot less hassle than a gas burner and I will be using it in future


(I did add one layer of Thermawrap last night, might add another layer on top of this).