Basic questions about electric brewing kettle

I'm window shopping for an electric brew kettle. Need to mash and boil in it. Can I just use a fancy hot water heater? I posted two examples. Can someone point me in the right direction here?

I want my mash temps more consistent and easier to control than the stovetop. I do all-grain BIAB so everything is pretty compartmentalized. I just need decent temp control. Advice? Looking for 120V.

Below, you can see this Sparge Water Heater by Grainfather. It's 18L and $169.00.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/av...9-liter-water-boiler-120v-1500w/177WB19L.html






Here, you can see another brand, Avantco, for much less. 19L at $109.99.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/images/products/large/479410/2461542.jpg

 

Thanks. The task-specific digiboil has the digital input. But I'm discovering that lots of these vendors don't make claims as to their precision. I guess that's what I need to know...how precisely can these boilers hold for over an hour?

As a BIABer, I do sparge. I remove the grain bag from the wort and sparge it outside of the kettle separately, then combine.

 

Nice link -- and thank you! However, my BIAB setup is almost all in one. I use one kettle with which I mash and boil and cool, and all I do is sparge on the side for about 15 mins. With an electric kettle, I would have what I need: freedom to plug it in elsewhere and huge time-savings on temp control (plus more precise mashes).

With an electric kettle, I could see how cooling the wort would be another step for me.

 

I'm thinking I'll go with the 35L 110V Digiboil. It can become an all-in-one system with the purchase of the equipment.

Looking at the upgraded Gen 2 on morebeer with a glass lid and improved base.The first one gets great reviews by brewers.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/gen-2-digiboil-electric-kettle-35l-925g-110v.html

I don't work for them!

 

Somehow this info has been hard to find online. Thank you. If that is +/- 1.5F, even if it's off by a couple, sounds good to me. Do you recirculate? Do you use one of those interior SS filter screens ie bazooka screen? I think I'll build my own but utilize more surface area and a finer filter for fine sediment (<75 microns).

 

What I plan to do with BIAB in the digiboil is use a version of a false bottom to elevate the grain above the bottom where the heat is concentrated. I'll circulate and do a lautering of sorts mid-mash by filling a vessel with filtered wort and returning it at the top of the digiboil. The grain bags I use of are drawstring-close and have a length of cord to utilize. I'll try that and improvise.

 

The user must create great conditions for the machine to gauge and maintain a desired temperature, and otherwise works very well. I've used it for 2 brews now and I THINK it's going to be awesome after some upgrades.

A few notes. If there's any chance the grain in a bag will sit at the bottom on the thermometer probe, then some type of false bottom or rack is needed to lift the grain off the bottom. Otherwise, the temperature will be wrong and wildly uneven.

Recirculating the wort manually is a labor of love, and does not allow one to go far from this electric kettle. I now realize that I'm going to invest in a recirculation pump, and make this easier with more consistent temperatures.

Some type of insulation is needed for this device, especially for smaller liquid volumes. Like others have stated, it can do it in +/- 2° pretty easily, and that will certainly improve with the insulation and good recirculation.

Even though I only have the 110V, it heats up plenty fast for my needs.

In summary, I think it's a great device with some necessary aftermarket items: a false bottom or rack, external insulation, and a recirculation system.