[802Chris]

I have been saving my "brewing allowance" since September and I am hoping to solicit some feedback. Not necessarily from this unit (Brewers Edge Mash and Boil), although I think it's what I want. I am wondering if anyone has gone from propane/cooler/kettle brewing to an electric system and had regrets? If I buy this thing I will more than likely sell my whole propane setup to help offset the cost.

I guess I am just teetering on the edge of pulling the trigger and asking if anyone would care to talk me out of it!

P.S. I am typically a no sparge/batch sparge, mash in a cooler(with brew bag). I rarely if ever brew over 7% ABV. and currently avg around 82% efficiency. I currently use an 8 gallon ported kettle on a bayou burner.

[case thrower]

When we moved into new construction last March, I had 220 and hot and cold water put in the garage.  I do 2.5 gallon batches with a 5 gallon cooler and I'm using 220 induction.  Substantially faster to a boil than the Bayou Burner I used before and when it's zero outside, it's a balmy 40 in the garage.  If you have any questions on induction, there was an article about it by josh Weikert in the Jan/Feb 2018 issue of BYO.  Don't know if that helps you, but I know I'll never go back.

[jpeets]

I just purchased the blichmann 5gal all electric pilot system .I did two dry runs to clean and check for leaks .It’s set up in my garage now I can brew in winter and summer with door closed .It’s  amazing how quiet the pumps are and the boil is. Brewing my 1st batch this weekend Can’t wait

[jpeets]

Sorry took so long to get back My 1st all electric went better then I thought Hit all my numbers Next I time I will know to allow more water for hoses and hop rocket heater  The whole system was so quiet I don’t think I ever want to go back to gas

[802Chris]

Thanks Jpeets, I appreciate the info.
I ended up ordering the mash and boil for budgetary reasons and I will post a full review once I get it up and running. It's funny too because the whole reason for this was to save time, space and propane... I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

[gman1954]

...  I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

Yeah Sorry,   maybe an Steep & Extract batch, but 1:45 for all grain is NOT possible... Heating the water takes 30-45 mins, Mash takes an hour and the Boil takes an Hour, then Chilling takes at least 15 minutes, then Cleaning takes another hour or more...

That said.. I have a GrainFather and am buying a Mash & Boil to use as a mult-iuse system: Heat Sparge water, Extra Mash Unit, & you could ferment in it too. I really like the fixed bottom mash basket. 
Anyone want to buy a Beer Tree? cheep!
regards from,
Gman1954

[denny]

...  I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

Yeah Sorry,   maybe an Steep & Extract batch, but 1:45 for all grain is NOT possible... Heating the water takes 30-45 mins, Mash takes an hour and the Boil takes an Hour, then Chilling takes at least 15 minutes, then Cleaning takes another hour or more...

If it's not possible, how can I do it?

[mabrungard]

I'm never going back to gas. The only thing to be sure that you do with electric systems is to make sure the element(s) is clean after each use. Organic deposits do collect on the element and will burn in the course of many batches. I find that those deposits come right off with a scrubby pad if you attend to them after each batch.

[tommymorris]

...  I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

Yeah Sorry,   maybe an Steep & Extract batch, but 1:45 for all grain is NOT possible... Heating the water takes 30-45 mins, Mash takes an hour and the Boil takes an Hour, then Chilling takes at least 15 minutes, then Cleaning takes another hour or more...

If it's not possible, how can I do it?

I am guessing 802Chris did a 20 minute mash and 20 minute boil. That’s what he meant by “20/20 batch.” A 60 minute mash and 60 minute boil obviously adds to more that 1 hour 45 minutes.

[TANSTAAFB]

I'm never going back to gas. The only thing to be sure that you do with electric systems is to make sure the element(s) is clean after each use. Organic deposits do collect on the element and will burn in the course of many batches. I find that those deposits come right off with a scrubby pad if you attend to them after each batch.

I still have my burner and can envision instances (albeit rare) in which I would brew with gas. I enjoy brewing outside when the weather is nice and I'm not likely to take my 240v induction cooktop to a homebrew club event or a buddy's house. That said, I am very happy with my switch to electric and have thoroughly enjoyed brewing inside all winter!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[802Chris]

...  I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

Yeah Sorry,   maybe an Steep & Extract batch, but 1:45 for all grain is NOT possible... Heating the water takes 30-45 mins, Mash takes an hour and the Boil takes an Hour, then Chilling takes at least 15 minutes, then Cleaning takes another hour or more...

If it's not possible, how can I do it?

I am guessing 802Chris did a 20 minute mash and 20 minute boil. That’s what he meant by “20/20 batch.” A 60 minute mash and 60 minute boil obviously adds to more that 1 hour 45 minutes.

This is exactly correct. He must have misread my post. I definitely accomplished the task.

[802Chris]

So I brewed my first batch on the mash and boil... sort of. I was pressed for time as usual so I heated up my strike water with my propane set up, used the M&B to keep it at temp and then ramped to boil in the M&B. It went quite well for me and did not seem to heat to boil all that much slower than propane. The thing was easy to clean and I was able to use my immersion chiller with some slight modifications  (see: wrestling an immersion chiller for 20 minutes to recoil it). My efficiency was only slightly lower than my normal 78% (it was roughly 72%), and  I enjoyed the BIAB style. I will be brewing start to finish with the M&B next weekend and I hope to take better notes of time/efficiency/ etc to share with the class :-)

[denny]

...  I did my first 20/20 batch Tuesday on my regular setup and from start to done cleanup it only took me 1:45!!! I am excited to see if I could continue that trend with a built in timer!

Yeah Sorry,   maybe an Steep & Extract batch, but 1:45 for all grain is NOT possible... Heating the water takes 30-45 mins, Mash takes an hour and the Boil takes an Hour, then Chilling takes at least 15 minutes, then Cleaning takes another hour or more...

If it's not possible, how can I do it?

I am guessing 802Chris did a 20 minute mash and 20 minute boil. That’s what he meant by “20/20 batch.” A 60 minute mash and 60 minute boil obviously adds to more that 1 hour 45 minutes.

Yeah, I saw he did a 20/20, which I've also done several times.

[jrector]

So I brewed my first batch on the mash and boil... sort of. I was pressed for time as usual so I heated up my strike water with my propane set up, used the M&B to keep it at temp and then ramped to boil in the M&B. It went quite well for me and did not seem to heat to boil all that much slower than propane. The thing was easy to clean and I was able to use my immersion chiller with some slight modifications  (see: wrestling an immersion chiller for 20 minutes to recoil it). My efficiency was only slightly lower than my normal 78% (it was roughly 72%), and  I enjoyed the BIAB style. I will be brewing start to finish with the M&B next weekend and I hope to take better notes of time/efficiency/ etc to share with the class :-)

You enjoyed the "BIAB style"? Does that mean you used the malt pipe as designed or put a bag inside the malt pipe? Or even bypassed the malt pipe altogether? I got my M&B right before knee surgery so I haven't used it yet and these questions float around my head. 

[tommymorris]

So I brewed my first batch on the mash and boil... sort of. I was pressed for time as usual so I heated up my strike water with my propane set up, used the M&B to keep it at temp and then ramped to boil in the M&B. It went quite well for me and did not seem to heat to boil all that much slower than propane. The thing was easy to clean and I was able to use my immersion chiller with some slight modifications  (see: wrestling an immersion chiller for 20 minutes to recoil it). My efficiency was only slightly lower than my normal 78% (it was roughly 72%), and  I enjoyed the BIAB style. I will be brewing start to finish with the M&B next weekend and I hope to take better notes of time/efficiency/ etc to share with the class :-)

You enjoyed the "BIAB style"? Does that mean you used the malt pipe as designed or put a bag inside the malt pipe? Or even bypassed the malt pipe altogether? I got my M&B right before knee surgery so I haven't used it yet and these questions float around my head. 

Using the malt pipe is still BIAB.