With so many ways to use the DigiBoil, it’s hard not to get excited about this electric kettle! Easily brew 5-gallon extract batches. Use it to preheat your strike water or sparge water to a precise temperature. Pair it with a pump and heat exchanger to use it for HERMS brewing. Or slap on a still top lid and condenser for distilling! The DigiBoil is a versatile electric kettle that can be used as a standalone unit or integrated into your current brew system to serve a variety of functions. Find details in DigiBoil electric kettle review.
Feature – DigiBoil electric kettle
- 9 gallon total capacity
- Dual heating element control (1900w and 500w)
- 304 stainless steel construction
- 304 stainless steel 1/2″ ball valve with 13mm barb (approx. 1/2″)
- Heating elements are concealed for easy cleaning
- Stamped-in volume markers (gallons & liters)
- Stainless lid
- Digital temperature control
- 220V power and plug (5 ft. cord)
- Temperature reads in °F or °C
- With elements turned off, hold both +/- buttons to switch between °F or °C
- Compatible with reflux and pot still (DS130 & DS120)*
DigiBoil electric kettle review
Dimension
It is cylindrical round shaped and has dimensions –
- External Dimensions: 29″ H x 15″ W (including handles)
- Internal Dimensions: 19.5″ H x 11.75″ W
Build
It has 304 stainless steel construction and 304 stainless steel 1/2″ ball valve with 13mm barb (approx. 1/2″)
Capacity
The Digiboil is a 17 gallon electric boil kettle that can be used in a variety of fashions. You can easily do 10 -17 gallon extract or mini mash batches, indoor, you can use this kettle for preheating strike or sparge water, or in line with a HERMS system by paring a pump and heat exchanger. We also sell a Digi model with a grain basket so you can use the unit as a mash tun
Heat element
This DigiBoil model has two built-in heating elements that run off a 220V plug. One element is 1900w and the other is 500w for a combined 2400 watts! The elements can be individually controlled, allowing you to use a single element to gently hold temperatures, or engage both elements to quickly go from steeping temp to boiling.
Temperature control
Temperatures are set and automatically maintained through the digital control panel. Simply set your desired temperature and flip on the heating element(s).
If you have access to 220V power, this is definitely the unit we recommend. Although 110v power is enough to get up to boil, 220V will get you there faster and provide a much more vigorous boil.
Integrated stainless ball valve comes with a 13mm barb (approx. 1/2″). The barb can be removed to attach 1/2″ FPT fittings if desired.
How to brew in DigiBoil electric kettle?
COLLECT STRIKE WATER
Depending on your recipe, fill the kettle with 7 to 8 gallons of strike water. In brewing, the water that is heated and then mixed with the grain is referred to as ‘strike water’. Approximately 0.125 gallons of water per pound of grain will be lost to absorption, and we are shooting for 6 gallons
remaining after the mashing process. Reference the chart to the right for a more precise suggested volume based on the total amount of grain in your recipe.
HEAT STRIKE WATER
With the kettle powered on and both elements turned off, switch the controller to read in degrees Fahrenheit by holding down the + and – buttons simultaneously. Set the temperature controller to 156°F and turn on both heating elements. Our target mash temperature is 153°F, however there will be some temperature loss when the room temp grain is introduced. In this process, our water to grist ratio is much higher than in a typical all-grain process, so our expected heat loss is only 4-6 degrees.
MASH–IN (ADD GRAIN)
Once your strike water has reached the target temperature, it is time to mash-in. Mashing is the process of steeping grain, allowing enzymes to convert starches into fermentable sugars. Quickly pour your grain into the malt pipe and stir until the water and grain are well mixed. At this point, turn off the high wattage heating element (1000w or 1900w) so only the 500w element is in the on position.
Adjust the temperature controller to the target mash temperature of 152°F. Put the lid on the kettle and let the mash sit for 60 minutes. In most scenarios, letting the mash sit for 60 minutes at 148-158°F will result in full enzymatic conversion of starches to sugars. During this time the DigiBoil will automatically maintain the mash temperature by cycling on the 500w element when necessary. It is important that the high wattage element is turned off during this process, as it can cause scorching if used to maintain mash temperature.
RECIRCULATE THE MASH (OPTIONAL)
If you purchased the optional recirculation pump kit, wait until you’re 15 minutes into the mash before beginning recirculation. This allows enough time for the grain bed to settle, and then you can recirculate constantly for the remainder of the mash time. Before turning on the pump, open the kettle’s ball valve and the pumps ball valve to allow wort to prime the pump by flowing into the pump head. Keep the kettle’s ball valve fully open at all times when operating the pump. The ball valve on the pump outlet is for controlling the flow rate. Have the ball valve just slightly open when you turn on the pump so it does not come out full force and bore a channel in your grain bed. Adjust flow until you have a gentle, steady stream of wort being pumped back over the grain bed.
DRAIN & VORLAUF
Remove the lid and use the malt pipe handle to lift the malt pipe out of the kettle and rotate it 90° so the feet come to rest on the wire support. Allow the wort to drain into the kettle. At this point you will perform a vorlauf, which is simply the process of recirculating the wort over the grain bed to filter out any sediment that may have gotten through the mesh screen and false bottom. Open the ball valve at the base of the unit and collect the wort in a pitcher or large
Pyrex measuring cup. Close the valve and then pour the wort back over the grain in the malt pipe. Repeat this process until the wort coming out of the ball valve is reasonably free of grain particles. Remove the malt pipe when you are done draining and vorlaufing. If you recirculated the mash with your pump kit, you can skip the Vorlauf step and simply drain the malt pipe and proceed to boil
TOP UP AND PROCEED TO BOIL
When finished draining you should have close to 6 gallons of wort in your kettle. If you end up with less, simply add water until your total volume is 6 gallons. Turn the high wattage element back on and adjust the temp controller setting to 221°F. We suggest this temperature setting because it will ensure that the elements will not automatically turn off once boiling temperature is reached. From this point forward, the process is the same as any other brew process. Add your hops according to your recipe, chill your wort after the boil, and transfer to your fermenter.
DigiBoil electric kettle Performance review
I’ve got one and have used it for several 5.25 gallon, no sparge, batches. I use it to heat the full volume of water to strike temperature and transfer to a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler with a brewing bag for the mash. Once the mash is complete I transfer back to the Digiboil for the boil. Setting the temperature to 214F maintains a light rolling boil.
I think it would be ideal for extract brewing with steeping grains. It takes about 30 minutes to bring room temperature water to 170F. This would give you a good steep if you hung your grain bag in when you turn it on and remove it at 170F. Hanging from one of the handles would keep the bag off of the temp. sensor, so that wouldn’t be a problem.
If you wrapped it well enough to maintain mash temperature so you could turn the elements off when you add the bag and grains and leave them off until you pulled the bag, I don’t see a problem with using it for BIAB. Without sparging you’d be limited to a batch size of about 4 gallons.