So it took about 50 minutes, but with two burners I was able to get 6.5 gallons to a boil. Thanks for that link, I ordered some reflectix overnight on Amazon, so hopefully that time can get reduced... no hardware store w/in 30 miles of Manhattan has it. Pathetic, I know.
Great call on the heat stick. I asked my wife to get me a stir-plate for Christmas. I can't imagine how she'll react when I ask her for one of those too.