Poll-->Best Brewery Power Source

Williams 728
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What is the best fuel source for a brewery?

  • Electric

  • LP Gas

  • Natural Gas

  • Other

Results are only viewable after voting.
lschiavo

lschiavo

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Choose what you believe is the best. Choose not what you have now but what you would have if everything was right with the world.

[OTHER]
If you burn wood, tell us about it. If you use solar power, tell us about it. If you do "other", tell us about it.

Please vote.
Thank you very much.
 
Electric! (At least once I finish building my electric system!)

Cheaper than almost anything except wood. Easy to control. Quiet. Doesn't tend to run out in the middle of brewing.

If I had a pipe to the garage, I'd consider NG a close second.
 
Was on propane,now on nat gas with a electric rims tube . Wish I could be all electric
 
I read the poll as "what do you believe to be the best source" rather than "what is your current source" so, I voted electric. I think it seems to be the easiest to incorporate either partial or full automation.

For me, Natural Gas would probably be the cheapest to operate.
 
Electric.

And isn't "Solar" also electric? If not, like solar cookers or something, somebody please clue me in to how you're doing it.
 
I used to use LP.
I'm now on electric.
Without question the electric is better between the two.
1-cheaper
2-not affected by wind/rain/snow/hurricane as it's inside.
3-doesn't `run out` mid boil like LP can(does)
4-faster to hit intended temps
Just my 2 cents.
 
Magnus314 said:
Electric.

And isn't "Solar" also electric? If not, like solar cookers or something, somebody please clue me in to how you're doing it.
Click to expand...

If you are asking about the best SOURCE, then solar would be a source of electricity.

Someone might be willing to build a solar concentrator and try brewing with that, but then you are forced to brew during the day on sunny days.
 
wilserbrewer said:
2 circuits at 120v works pretty darn well up to 10 gallon batches
Click to expand...
+1^^^ this! I use a single 120V 20A circuit in the garage. It takes a little longer to heat up, but I still get a good boil (just not a real high boil off rate.) I bought a Grainfather, but I still have my old 10 gal EBAIB pot, so I can use (and do,) both. Ed
:mug:
 
Electric all the way for me! Most efficient use of energy to, no wasted btu's like when using gas burners. All the energy from the ripple element goes right into heating the water in HLT, or boiling the wort. It's quiet, you can brew indoors or out, and with pids and temp probes you have excellent control. Gotta love it!

John
 
I feel like it's not really much of a comparison if we're going by "best". Electric is quiet, efficient, able to brew indoors, potential automation etc. Also I havent brewed on propane in probably 6 years but I recall having to scrub my pot because wort would scortch to the bottom sometimes. Not a big deal but that means even cleaning is easier for me on electric.

I could see an argument being made about a plumbed natural gas burner being a better option for some people if you take into consider startup costs, never worrying about a contactor dying or what not, etc. But as for "best" I feel electric winds hands down.
 
Still do some brewing stovetop (strike water and sparge), so natural gas along with propane burner. Both are cheaper boil-to-boil in our consumer area.
 
GHBWNY said:
Still do some brewing stovetop (strike water and sparge), so natural gas along with propane burner. Both are cheaper boil-to-boil in our consumer area.
Click to expand...


I fail to understand how propane or NG could be cheaper from an energy use comparison using an electric immersion element?

Unless one were to factor the heat losses with NG as home supplemental home heating. Sure electric power is more expensive, but it is transferred to the wort very efficiently with an immersion element.

Perhaps your referring to an electric stove IDK?
 
i fail to understand why you are so happy that the heat transfer from an electric element to water is more "efficient" than a flame on the bottom of a pot??? Seems like an irrelevant point to me...

it is all about cost - how much does it cost to boil 10 gallons of wort for an hour or so??? here in southern California, i did the math and the increase in cost for electric brewing was somewhere around 8-12 dollars per batch (for me - your electric rate could be different).

I went with NG and have observed the cost to be nearly negligible. Granted, if electricity were cheaper, i do absolutely concede that using Electric has many advantages - quiet, less waste heat and no issue with carbon monoxide. Creating an electric brew rig i think is somewhat more expensive and risky if you do not absolutely know what you are doing. That said, i wish i could go electric, but my sensibilities with cost pushed me to NG.

so for me in Southern California - it is NG.

Cheers!

Jim
 
JimWard said:
i fail to understand why you are so happy that the heat transfer from an electric element to water is more "efficient" than a flame on the bottom of a pot??? Seems like an irrelevant point to me...

it is all about cost - how much does it cost to boil 10 gallons of wort for an hour or so??? here in southern California, i did the math and the increase in cost for electric brewing was somewhere around 8-12 dollars per batch (for me - your electric rate could be different).

I went with NG and have observed the cost to be nearly negligible. Granted, if electricity were cheaper, i do absolutely concede that using Electric has many advantages - quiet, less waste heat and no issue with carbon monoxide. Creating an electric brew rig i think is somewhat more expensive and risky if you do not absolutely know what you are doing. That said, i wish i could go electric, but my sensibilities with cost pushed me to NG.

so for me in Southern California - it is NG.



Cheers!

Jim
Click to expand...

What are you paying for electricity?
 
I don't know anyone who went electric and then went back to brewing with gas. I don't think I'd still be brewing (as much) if I hadn't started using electric
 
JimWard said:
i fail to understand why you are so happy that the heat transfer from an electric element to water is more "efficient" than a flame on the bottom of a pot??? Seems like an irrelevant point to me...
Click to expand...

Think of how hot the area around your burner is. That's a lot of energy not going into the pot. I've heard numbers before that half the heat from a burner is lost to atmosphere. Not sure if that 50% is true or not, but suffice to say it's nowhere near as efficient as an immersed element.
 
We are lucky in Texas. My electricity rate is under 10 cents per KWH. Even though the price of natural gas is at rock bottom the price of those Blue Rhino tanks have only increased to $17-$19 a pop. No way I would go back to using anything but electric. Moving to an induction approach now. Will be interesting to see if there are any differences in the beer without having an element in there burning away.
 
gromitdj said:
I'm in Orange County, just north of him, and worst case scenario is approx. 35 cents a KwH. I figured a while ago that if I ran a 5500 Watt element for 2 hours @ 100% it might cost me approx. $3.50.
Click to expand...

That is more than double my electric rate so I guess I'm lucky here. That's probably not a bad approximation of a brew day usage though. IIRC, I thought I was in that ballpark when I hooked up a power meter a while back.
 
For me, it's a tiered service. So, the more I use the more I pay per KwH. I live in a small house, and I am rarely in the 1st or 2nd tiers. Which are a bit cheaper. To venture a guess, they are 17 and 24 cents per KwH.
 
Over the years I have read a lot about electric and it never really appealed to me, the up front costs seem like a lot and propane for me is simple, I like the idea of simple.

So I'm not looking to start a debate but just trying to understand more why electric is so much better. Now I just moved from Pa to Ca and when I was in Pa I loved to brew when it was cold out and now the weather here is a bit more consistent and no where near as cold.

I brew on average every other week and I spend about $200 a year on propane, from what I have read the costs for electric are $1500-2000 so it would take me 7-10 years to recoup that cost and I would still be using electric at whatever that cost is (someone posted about 3.50 a batch), I spend $8 a 10 gallon batch now so I would only be saving $4.50, so how do the benifits of electric outweigh other gases?

This may not be the thread to post this but since most have posted that electric is better I'd like the input from you guys.
 
lschiavo said:
I suppose solar would need to be electric but would be off the grid so I would consider it "other".

I'd like to see how anyone is brewing solar.
Click to expand...

Last summer I had solar panels installed on my house which is tied to the grid. They generate enough to cover my annual electricity usage. I recently received my Colorado Brewing Systems setup, so I voted electric but would classify myself as solar.
 
I have brewed gravity with propane, single tier with pumps with propane and now electric. Although all have their advantages and appeal I prefer electric for the efficiency and control.
 
Now I bet if you asked this in a forum full of crafty or commercial brewers I believe the overwhelming response would be steam...(question remains on how to make the steam). I use electric and find it to be the best of what Ive used but steam would have benefits..

This poll is pretty biased too since many who vote may not have used multiple methods... Also some people know nothing about electric and are unwilling to learn or even consider it. Many are afraid of what they dont know. (or brew while drunk and dont trust themselves).. So They defend their choice :(
 
JimWard said:
i fail to understand why you are so happy that the heat transfer from an electric element to water is more "efficient" than a flame on the bottom of a pot??? Seems like an irrelevant point to me...

it is all about cost - how much does it cost to boil 10 gallons of wort for an hour or so??? here in southern California, i did the math and the increase in cost for electric brewing was somewhere around 8-12 dollars per batch (for me - your electric rate could be different).

I went with NG and have observed the cost to be nearly negligible. Granted, if electricity were cheaper, i do absolutely concede that using Electric has many advantages - quiet, less waste heat and no issue with carbon monoxide. Creating an electric brew rig i think is somewhat more expensive and risky if you do not absolutely know what you are doing. That said, i wish i could go electric, but my sensibilities with cost pushed me to NG.

so for me in Southern California - it is NG.

Cheers!

Jim
Click to expand...

Good point... That said your paying some crazy costs for electric out there... It cost me less than $3 to brew 10 gallons with my 3 element 3 vessel system with electric... I know the costs would be triple if I went propane but I really dont know what they were when I used NG all I remember is it didnt work as well and was a lot more work to control.

Another good point is The fact that the electric is way more efficient means its less wasteful... and depending on how the electric is generated its a lot cleaner too... and its not like you guys in california dont need one less fire burning... (sorry bad taste in humor)
 
GHBWNY said:
Still do some brewing stovetop (strike water and sparge), so natural gas along with propane burner. Both are cheaper boil-to-boil in our consumer area.
Click to expand...

Where in western NY are you because I live smack dab between buffalo and Niagara falls and brewing with electric is way cheaper than the couple times I used propane... I also doubt there ius much cost difference between electric and gas but I have a feeling the electric would be cheaper since its less than $3 in electric per brew for me, possibly much less.
 
gromitdj said:
I'm in Orange County, just north of him, and worst case scenario is approx. 35 cents a KwH. I figured a while ago that if I ran a 5500 Watt element for 2 hours @ 100% it might cost me approx. $3.50.
Click to expand...

? his profile states hes in western NY.... last time I checked im in western NY and orange county is 5 or 6 hrs east.

I pay with delivery (which costs more than the gas) and BS charges around 6-7 cents a kwh considering my last bill was $99 and I used 728kwh (I have a reef tank and hot tub to power as well)
 
augiedoggy said:
? his profile states hes in western NY.... last time I checked im in western NY and orange county is 5 or 6 hrs east.

I pay with delivery (which costs more than the gas) and BS charges around 6-7 cents a kwh considering my last bill was $99 and I used 728kwh
Click to expand...

From what I can tell JimWard's profile says he's in San Diego, CA. Which is 2 hours south of me.

ETA: @lschiavo and I were discussing JimWard's statement, Not GHBWNY's. There's an Orange County over here, too.
 
Also, I pay the 2nd highest rate for electricity in the country, second only to Hawaii. With a 10,000W brewery, 5 refrigerators, 6 computers, and a 10,500W indoor sauna...our electric bills are HUGE.
 

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