So I've made quite a bit of batches on my new electrical HERMS system but I'd like some input from those using electrical heating elements. I normally set the PID on manual at the boil kettle and set the duty cycle to 60-65%. (The percentage is the amount of time the electrical element will be firing within a one second interval). Here lately, I've been trying to dial in my process on beersmith because the last beer I made, I was supposed to collect 8.something gallons of pre-boil but according to the 1.25 qt/lb ratio, I only needed 7.2 gallons. I've noticed that if I set the PID to 100%, the wort seems to bubble endlessly. So I dialed it back to 90% and that keeps a great rolling boil. How intense are you guys boiling the wort? It's a little trial and error but I've just been all over the place on this. Thanks.
Mine is definitely not a full rolling boil…I want it to roil and generally show healthy signs of a boil, but definitely not to the point where the wort surface is 3 dimensional…it generally gets me to about 1 gal/hr boil off rate on 11 gal batches, I try to dial it down to .75 gal/hr on 5 gal batches…but that doesn't always work. Perfect for me since that's an easy number to work with...
My 10-gal kettle covers two stovetop gas burners, so I get a nice rolling boil. My boil-off rate is almost right at .85gal/hr. No issues here! As long as I stick with 5-gal batches, I don't need to do all the outdoor propane hassle. I really like brewing indoors, right next to my sink and all that. Makes the day go smooth (and comfortable!)
Bubbles breaking the surface/mixing things up works fine for me, anymore just seems to waste gas. A "rolling boil" is probably a good description.
90% duty cycle on the PID definitely had a rolling boil. A vigorous one. I wonder at what point scorching of the wort begins.
