Gigawort for BIAB Small Batches

[Bubba Wade]

Is anyone else using the Gigawort for BIAB small batches? I have made six batches so far. I use a wire 9 inch cooling rack in the bottom to keep the bag from touching the bottom.

The temperature control has a 6 degree deadband, but I have found that the mash temperature holds within about one degree.

I brew a 3 gallon boil after pulling the grain bag.

I am curious if anyone else has used this. This has cut about an hour off my brew times since switching from propane.

 

[oliver]

I use it for small 2.5 gallon BIAB batches. you really don't need the wire thing for the bottom. add your water and bag (that hopefully has elastic to grab around the top of the kettle), and preheat. then turn off the machine and dough in. cover lid and mash, pull bag and crank to boil. No issues touching the bottom that way.

I have noticed mine reads like 7ºF lower than actual temp, until I give it a huge stir, then it reads back to within 1ºF, but I leave my glass thermometer in there the whole time anyway and rely on that. Mash temps hold usually the whole time.

 

[Bubba Wade]

Oliver, sounds like the same behavior I see during the mash. I have a temperature probe in the grain and see a constant 153, while the Gigawort drifts between 148 and 154 during the heating cycle. I use the wire cooling rack since I have a grain bag that's way too big for the vessel.

Have you been able to maintain a rolling boil using the 600 watt setting? I have had to keep the power at 1600 to maintain a rolling boil. At 600W, it sort of boils, although the temperature stays at 212.

 

[oliver]

I've never tried the 600w setting for boiling, it wasn't recommended when I got the machine. But it boils just fine at 1600w set to 216ºF. I also do 3 gallon boils, and boil off 3 quarts in 60 minutes every time.