Does this hot plate sold here cycle on all settings, I dont have the money to spend on the 1500watt plate right now and will only be using this during the cold inside my basement as during the summer ill use the turkey fryer. How long does this unit take to get a full EE PS II going and does it do a decent job for now.

i have the 1100 watt and the ee2 low capacity. i have the 7 1/2 gallon kettle. it takes about 1 1/2 to two hours to get up to speed. the plate should be turned all the way up for the entire run. control your temp through your column. i live in a loft so i cant use propane.

"Wade,

Was the cost worth the benefits?

I, too, use the 1100 watter and don't have any issue with it except it'll cycle dropping the temp about ten degrees. It usually only happens a couple of times during the runs if I leave it up all the way. I can do mine sort of outdoors and use plenty of cooling water.

I'd like to use the big boy with an exact control on the heat, but the cheap one seems to work fine. Am I missing something?

Steve"

"

Wade is exactly right for the high capacity unit. It is still best to dissable the thermostate control via brewhaus instructions. But now its past the winter, and by far the best is propne fire. Listen to the birds sing."

"

Hi Wade,

With the high capacity and useing a keg for 12 to 13 gal. of beer, or wash, I will usually get 7 or almost 8 stripping runs if I insulate decent. Cut that by about 30% for spirit runs. Temp. and wind make a large play here. Seems to me, that the heat up is the large portion of the energy usage, I do it hot and fast, but could do it slow and save energy if desired. insulation will make a signiferent difference in fuel usage, as well as the quality of the outcome."

anyone???????????????????

I would definitely suggest using the diffuser plate with propane to even out the heat distribution, and more importantly to protect the bottom of the kettle. It is far lower cost to replace the diffuser plate than the kettle. :-)