decisions decisions.... :/ cooking issues

[zorak1066]

been having a bit of a logistics problem. the new place has an electric stove top with a glass top. it heats like a champ but the vent hood does a pisspoor job of drawing air. so with the florida humidity, mold would be a serious issue. I do NOT want to spend another day on move out taking down ac vents and scrubbing mold like I did at the last place. god that was awful.. did I mention I hate florida?

so I considered using a blichman cooker with a natural gas conversion on our patio. cost for gas quick connects, line etc $185. cost for cooker $170 ish plus cost of ng conversion kit. problem 1) patio is small and full of potted plants. 2) there is a flowering dogwood or cotton wood tree nearby so fluffy bits would end up in my beer. :/ add to it I have a small pond behind the house which serves as mosquito central. yay!

an alternative: max burton 1800 watt induction cooker with a 6 gallon stainless steel pot. cost of cooker around $80 .. cost of pot about the same. I could hopefully cook in the garage with the door open and a fan in front of it to blow out the steam. I would be doing 2.5 gallon boils for 5 gallon extract batches... and eventually maybe 3 gallon all grain batches.

question: anyone use an induction cooker?
how much of an energy hog is it?
can it handle boiling 3 gallons?
recommendations for a pot? I know stainless is a must and magnetic... any brand? would like to have a 6-8 gallon pot size.

ive seen youtube of ppl who wrap refletix insulation around their pot... is this safe?

is max burton a good brand?

thanks for any help.

[russki]

Instead of an induction plate, I would recommend installing a heating element into your kettle - this way you can always upgrade to a PID controller down the road... Another option is to just use a propane or LP burner in the garage (with the door partially or full open).

[DaYooper]

Either the last issue or the one prior of BYO had a very good, long article on induction brewing. I have been contemplating looking more into it for smaller pilot batches in the dead of winter coldness.

Speak of the devil, here it is:

https://byo.com/component/k2/item/2967-induction-heat

[mtsoxfan]

I agree with Russki, go with the heat stick.

As far as induction cookers, if anyone was to go that route 240 blows away 120 volt. I've used both on the job (and I have induction stove at home) and the 120 has a much slower recovery time. 240 might make it prohibitive to use, or restrict use, which would be a shame because they rock!!

A thought may be to use a screen to cover the pot while boiling outside.