borrowed neighbors turkey fryer.

[YamahaXS]

it was nice sitting out side, drinking hoem beer and brewing,. a lot easier on the kitchen too.

i think i need ot buy one.

[fuji6100]

I rather like the malty smell it gives my house for a few days. The girlfriend always says "It smells like roasted nuts in here."

My reply to that " Yeah, isn't it GREAT!"

[ray m]

Yamaha...About 6 weeks ago or so I bought a complete turkey fryer set-up, made by Morrone, at Lowe's for $30. The pot, 7.5 gal. capacity, is porcelainized stainless steel (somewhat thin stainless, though). I have done 2 batches with it so far & I love it. Couldn't believe how quickly liquid heats up on this thing! I believe the burner is 170,000 btu's. Why didn't I purchase one sooner? And I definitely like being one with nature much better than being cooped up indoors!

[Kiltlifter]

Originally posted by ray m
About 6 weeks ago or so I bought a complete turkey fryer set-up, made by Morrone, at Lowe's for $30. The pot, 7.5 gal. capacity, is porcelainized stainless steel (somewhat thin stainless, though).

$30 total? I'm looking for a brewpot and just may have to make a visit to Lowe's!

[ray m]

Yep...$30 for the whole shootin' match. I couldn't believe it either. Has worked very well for me. I MAY step up to a better (maybe a little bigger, too) stainless pot in the future, but I imagine that it won't be for quite awhile.

[mcarlson74]

I have been using my turkey fryer to brew since last Thanksgiving and I have had no problems. My wife likes it to since the last time I brewed in the house I made a Barley Wine that almost destroyed my kitchen. Plus nothing beats sitting outside and partaking in a few homebrewed adult beverages

[BucksBrew]

What about in the winter time with the cooker? Are you going to or have already set up shop in 20-30 degree weather yet?

I want to get a turkey fryer too, but read that aluminum may retain flavors from previous brews? Any thoughts on this?

I don't want to go backwards in my zeal for homebrewing perfection! All though the porcelainized stainless sounds like it would be perfect. I wonder how long it would take on the stove. I have propane and could stager pot on two burners.

[mcarlson74]

We actually had a pretty bad winter out here(central NC) last year (teens at night and upper 20's low 30's during the day) and it did just fine. Of course you had to keep the heat up to maintain your boil. As far as residuals from prior batches I haven't tasted any. Personally I think it's a wise investment for every homebrewer.

[BucksBrew]

KiltLifter: I looked at that Fryer at Lowes online and it looks like a good deal to me!

I might go pick one up tomorrow at work on my lunch break!

Thanks for the info.

Also glad to hear that it works fine outside in the winter!

[bazooka]

I've read about these turkey fryers for a while now, but am not quite sure what it is-does anyone have a picture of one so I can stop wondering???? thx.

[sullydavid]

To see a picture just go to lowes.com and do a search on one.

To get an idea, all they are is a specialized gas BBQ's. Mine stands knee to thigh high and is really nothing more than a square metal frame to mount a big ass burner. From the burner there is a hose running off to a propane tank (not part of the frame).

They generally gome with a large pot, large enough to drop a whole turkey into, that sits on top of the burner to boil oil.

These work so well because the plan is to cook turkey's at about 350 degrees and we only need to get our liquid up to 212.

[sallad]

i did some research on them before i bought one, and found some scary videos of them catching on fire when cooking turkeys.

open flame + several gallons of grease + a little drip down the side = BIG flame

lots of grease at very high temps + oxygen added when the lid is removed = BIG flame

no turkey will touch my turkey frier! just wort, hops, and the occasional spice!

[mcarlson74]

Here is the deal with the turkey. What you do is you basically do a dry run. You put water in your turkey fryer then insert the turkey still in its wrapper and you keep adding water until the turkey is covered. Then you remove the turkey to find out how much water is in your pot and mark it. Then you dump out the water and make sure that you pot completly dries. I usually do the dry run a couple days in advance so I know that the pot is completly dry. Then when you go and cook your turkey you just put the oil in up to the fill line and you are good to go. The reason that these things catch on fire is because some dumb redneck who has had a few too many decides he is going to fry a turkey and just pores a bunch of oil in there thinking that it's all good. Then boom instant redneck flambay. Just remember too do this somewhat away from your house and someplace where you don't mind if you get an oil stain because yes the oil will stain concrete. Sorry for the long post but they really aren't that dangerous if you do it the right way.

[jsmurphy]

Glad I found this thread! Just looked at the Merrone 7.5 gal fryer online at lowe's, 19.99 on sale!

Have any of you had a problem with the porcelin coating?

[BucksBrew]

I just went and bought one. Looks like it will do the job two fold.

One, it will work for my homebrew batches.

Two, deep fried Turkey is GOOD! My buddy cooked one down at an Eagles game tailgating. We were like seagulls on a piece of bread on the beach with that bird!

It was juicy, golden brown, and had nice crsipy skin! yum!

[Brownbeard]

Originally posted by BucksBrew
I just went and bought one. Looks like it will do the job two fold.

One, it will work for my homebrew batches.

Two, deep fried Turkey is GOOD! My buddy cooked one down at an Eagles game tailgating. We were like seagulls on a piece of bread on the beach with that bird!

It was juicy, golden brown, and had nice crsipy skin! yum!

EAGLES!!! The Giants are gonna own the Eagles this year.

[ray m]

JS...I have only done two batches with mine, and so far I have not had any problems with the coating coming off. I am VERY careful to clean it, tho...I usually let it soak, inside & out, in very hot soapy water overnight, then clean it up using the soft part of a kitchen sponge. The only thing you will notice when first using the set-up is that the paint on the stand will burn off---no big deal. Only complaint is that you really gotta watch the boilovers...it will happen very easily with 6 gallons of wort in a 7.5 gal. pot!!!

[jsmurphy]

Thanks, ray. I'm getting one on the way home from work today.

[michaewa]

Not to sound like a nancy, but is it difficult to horse around a full five gallons of liquid to get it into the primary?

I'm assuming the turkey fryer kit (which sounds like a steal) doesn't have a spigot in the bottom of the pot.

[ray m]

Ya gotta have a little bit o' ass to ya to handle not only the 5 gal. of brew to primary, but also the 6 to 6.5 gal. of pre-boil wort (if your doing full-wort boils from all grain). It's not like the full pot weighs 400 tons or anything, you just gotta be careful. The turkey fryer kit does not come with a spigot.

[BucksBrew]

Originally posted by Brownbeard
EAGLES!!! The Giants are gonna own the Eagles this year.

Oh no! A vagiants fan!

Where do you live?

I'm in Bucks County PA, used to live in So. Jersey.

Eagles season ticket holder for close to 20 years. The Linc is the place to be now! Nice stadium!

[jsmurphy]

I boiled my first batch in the turkey fryer last weekend. Worked like a champ. Probably the best 20 bucks I've spent in a long time. Well, since that case of SNPA last week...:p

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by jsmurphy
I boiled my first batch in the turkey fryer last weekend. Worked like a champ. Probably the best 20 bucks I've spent in a long time. Well, since that case of SNPA last week...:p

agreed. I bought the Lowes special too. money very well spent.

[BucksBrew]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
agreed. I bought the Lowes special too. money very well spent.

I'm going to do my first "outside" boil this Sunday maybe or even Saturday night. Now that I think of this, how pathetic is my life that I'm cooking beer on a Saturday nite!

I plan on doing it in the garage in case it rains, plus pollen and leaves, etc. would be a bummer in the boil!

[michaewa]

After reading this thread I went out and picked up the same kit at Lowe's - this site should get some kickbacks from Lowes.com. I'm still waiting to find a flaw, but it looks like a great deal.

I built a wort chiller and did a test run a few days ago, boiling the chiller in some vinegar water to kill the copper taste and to test the structural integrity of the fryer.

Got some kits in the mail from Austin Homebrew yesterday - I am ready to go for batch number two tonight (as soon as the temp drops below 100).

Thanks for all your help and advice!

[jsmurphy]

Originally posted by michaewa
After reading this thread I went out and picked up the same kit at Lowe's - this site should get some kickbacks from Lowes.com.

LOL.

I built a wort chiller and did a test run a few days ago, boiling the chiller in some vinegar water to kill the copper taste and to test the structural integrity of the fryer.

HOW FAST DID IT COOL THE WATER? AS FOR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY, JUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO SCRATCH OFF THE ENAMEL INSIDE THE POT WITH THE CHILLER, BUT THAT'D PROBABLY BE HARD TO DO ANYWAY.

[michaewa]

I bent the in and out flows of the tubing so it just rests a nice coil on the bottom of the pot, haven't seen any evidence of scratching so I think I'll be ok.

As far as time to cool, I got to 85-90F within 15-20 minutes, but unfortunately didn't drop past that despite running for another 30 minutes.

I had it hooked up to the hose outside, and it was a freaking hot Kansas afternoon (about 98F at 3pm) so the water temp was not likely much cooler coming in from the house, especially after running around the corner of the house in the sun.

I was a little bummed, but I have a strategy: I will cook up tomorrow morning early when it is still in the 70's, and have a primary chilling tub. The garden hose (didn't spring for another copper coil, perhaps if this doesn't work) will be coiled up next to the brewpot in a tub ful of ice. It will go spigot -> hose coil in ice bath -> copper tubing in wort in brewpot - > out.

Hopefully this will get me down close to 75F, otherwise I'd love some suggestions from other counterflow chiller users in hot climates.

I guess another option would be to get an adapter and hook up to the kitchen sink, but I'm not sure that would be much cooler. Plus, I like the idea of spending some fall afternoons listening to college football on the radio kicked back in the garage, homebrew in one hand, stirring spoon in the other, whipping up another batch. Having to go in and out of the kitchen might ruin the 'magic.'

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by michaewa
As far as time to cool, I got to 85-90F within 15-20 minutes, but unfortunately didn't drop past that despite running for another 30 minutes.

I had it hooked up to the hose outside, and it was a freaking hot Kansas afternoon (about 98F at 3pm) so the water temp was not likely much cooler coming in from the house, especially after running around the corner of the house in the sun.

I was a little bummed, but I have a strategy: I will cook up tomorrow morning early when it is still in the 70's, and have a primary chilling tub. The garden hose (didn't spring for another copper coil, perhaps if this doesn't work) will be coiled up next to the brewpot in a tub ful of ice. It will go spigot -> hose coil in ice bath -> copper tubing in wort in brewpot - > out.

Hopefully this will get me down close to 75F, otherwise I'd love some suggestions from other counterflow chiller users in hot climates.

One suggestion I have is mentioned in this (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=950) thread.

Another is try brewing at night; it's cooler than the daytime. :)

[michaewa]

I wanted to give some feedback on the wort chiller - maiden voyage today.

I brewed early in the morning to get the coolest air and water temps, and did a full 5-gal boil. The extra garden hose (30+ ft) was coiled in a tub full of ice water immediately before going into the actual copper tubing of the chiller.

And the results were...pretty dismal. Got to 95F in 15 minutes, but stuck there, and went to the ice in the sink method. Took a while, but finally got it chilled.

I'm sure copper tubing on the pre-chill coil would absorb a lot more cold than the insulated garden hose, but still liking the idea of the ice filter. That or I'll wait until it is not so freaking hot to brew.

[BucksBrew]

What type of water supply do you have? Is it city water? What is the temp at it's coldest right now?

I have a well and I think my tap water gets down to around 55 degrees at it's coldest.

This was a concern of mine considering a full 5 gallon boil.

[michaewa]

Right now it is b/t 70 and 75F. I was hoping the ice-bath pre-cool would drop it to 55, as I would say that would likely do the trick.

No science here, but I'm guessing you could get within 15-20F of your coldest temp pretty quick like I did, but going closer than that was beyond my patience.

[BucksBrew]

I'm hoping I can get it to 70 degrees with the smaller wort chiller I have.

I would use 2-3 gallons of tap water at 55-60 degrees with the hot wort at 80-90 degrees and it typically evens out to around 70-75 degrees.

What size chiller do you have? A small or larger one?

If this doesn't work effiecently I may make my own chiller with more tubing. Of course after I get a Freezer and thermostat controller and Tap system and......on and on it goes!

[michaewa]

My chiller is homemade, from 50' of tubing.

I have a feeling with each successive brew I'll be fine-tuning my laundry list of 'ideal' brewing accessories. Perhaps I'll just resort to bathtub gin...

[ray m]

Michaiwa...I used to think that running the water through another coil of copper submerged in ice water would act as a supercharged, so to speak, immersion wort chiller. When I was led to believe this (via an article in BYO, I believe), I made another wort chiller with 20' of tube for this purpose. Well, this second chiller in ice water does NOTHING to promote much cooler water...I have tried this 3 times and I have come to one conclusion---it is a waste of time. Now what I do is just hook up the one chiller only to the outside water, which, where i live this time of year, cools the wort to @ 82 degrees in @ 20 minutes. Then, I dump an entire big bag of ice into a large tub and submerge the pot into the tub of ice water. Wort temp. will go down to 70 degrees in about another 10 minutes. Anyone need a well-built, immersion chiller---I got an extra one that I'll sell for $15, seriously!

[michaewa]

Thanks for the amen. You should have seen me standing in the garage this morning as I turned off the propane, chest puffed out in anticipation of the cold break I was about to receive. I'm glad I tried with the hose rather than building another coil out of copper.

I'm learning fast that patience (and a stock of homebrew to turn to in times of need) is a virtue in this hobby.