wort burn

[snooze_button]

On my last brewing day I dripped wort onto my kitchen stove while lifting a BIAB bag out of the kettle. I thought it was only a few drops, so I figured it was no big deal and I kept right on cooking. It was only my second all-grain batch and I hadn't realized how sugary the water had become just from steeping the grains; I thought it would evaporate away immediately with hardly a trace. I Was Wrong. A few minutes later I realized that it was still sizzling, even burning a bit, and there was actually quite a large amount of charred sugar. I moved to a lesser-powered burner (just barely adequate to keep 3 gallons boiling) but it was too late -- I'd baked the spilled wort onto the stovetop.

I cleaned most of it up but a burnt residue remains on the metal stovetop (it's a gas range). From time to time since then I'll soak it in sudsy water for a while and then scrub scrub scrub with a non-abrasive pad, but a coating still remains and I'm not making much more headway.

Anyone have any tips for cleaning up burned wort? I don't want to use anything too harsh/abrasive that would mar the stovetop.

"Cleanup on aisle stupid!" ...here's hoping I've learned to not do THAT again...

[philm00x]

i just use a metal scraper (or butter knife). but the stovetop i have was charred with other stuff well before my wife and i moved into our place.

[John Sand]

A razor scraper. The enamel on the stove is pretty tough, and may be baked on glass. If you are careful not to slice, it should take anything off the surface. I use this on my glasstop. If that worries you, there are plastic scrapers too.

[RickBeer]

New stove. Or move out...

[DaYooper]

That is one of the reasons I have been banished to the garage....

[snooze_button]

That is one of the reasons I have been banished to the garage....

I've muttered something like that several times...that if I'd only I'd been using a propane burner outside, I wouldn't care so much about spills!

At least I was smart enough to buy a black stove so the char isn't visible from a distance. Mostly, I want to get it cleaned as best I can before I start using that burner again; it's my 14000 btu "power burner" and the other burners are only 9000 btu.

[Old Buzzard]

Go buy some glass stovetop cleaner & polish such as Weiman, pour on a dollop, let it sit for a few minutes and then scrub with a cleaning pad. Weiman and other cleaners are designed to clean baked on ingredients. That or try making a paste out of Oxyclean.

Cheers

[Brewbirds]

Without a picture as to where exactly the residue is I'm not sure if this will work but you might try letting full strength automatic dishwasher detergent or a paste of powdered cleaner that is safe for the coating (porcelain ?) sit on it spot for a while , not until it dries out, then rinse and repeat.

For a paste maybe cream of tartar or barkeepers friend (?) something that will attack carbon just like the burnt stuff on your BBQ.

[John Sand]

Buzzard has a good suggestion, that paste stuff is good. I've also heard that barkeeper's friend is good, but haven't tried it. My stove has one speed burner too, and I've burned wort on it. You can clean it. Or no dessert.

[Insanitized]

After my first boil I protect the stove top with a lot of heavy duty foil, (gas stove). Fortunately everything cleaned up with a good soak in PBW. I soaked a washcloth in a fairly strong solution and pressed it tightly on the stain and let it sit for several hours, dripping more solution on it every hour or so.

[snooze_button]

Got the stovetop cleaned, just in time for the next brewday this week. I'd already tried scrubbing with powdered cascade (the dishwasher soap, not the hop) and gotten halfway...then I used Buzzard's suggestion of Oxyclean paste and got about 90% of the way. Philm00x & John Sand, I finished off with a razor blade paint scraper -- carefully -- and I was surprised how well that worked, and with no visible damage! So, if there's a next time, I may start with the razor blade. But I'll probably use Insanitized suggestion of foil on brewday as it's tough to move a strainer with a big grain bag without dripping.

Here's the "before" picture. I'm shocked at how much I'd allowed to drip down the side of the kettle; obviously, I was paying more attention to the grain bag itself. I'll spare you the "after" picture, but I'll say that now it looks clean & shiny and almost new again.

Thanks to all of you! Soap and elbow grease alone wasn't doing it.

[John Sand]

Wow! I've had some bad spills on the glasstop, I think yours is worse. Glad it worked out. Spilling wort is good luck. And if it isn't, I'm starting the myth right now.

[Old Buzzard]

I second what John says. Can't be bad to anoint your brew area with a bit of the product.

[jimjohson]

sounds reasonable. so I guess the urban myth is officially started

[RickBeer]

That's the first picture I've seen of Stevie Wonder's brewing adventure. Clearly you were paying more attention to something...