Does anyone have any feedback on these?

I saw these on eBay and figured for this price, I could install my own port, sight glass, and thermometer for less than the price of some of equal sized big names. I know, I know, quality, quality, quality. I'm just curious if anyone has bought any of these from this person/business and if so, what did you like/dislike about it.

Thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200734781097?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

$30 to ship? ouch. That picture does not look like a 25 gallon kettle either. That price seems way too cheap if it really is 100 quarts, even with the ridiculous shipping.

Boomer said:

I saw these on eBay and figured for this price, I could install my own port, sight glass, and thermometer for less than the price of some of equal sized big names. I know, I know, quality, quality, quality. I'm just curious if anyone has bought any of these from this person/business and if so, what did you like/dislike about it.

Thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200734781097?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

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$125 for a 25 gallon SS pot? Dang. That's a good price. It's gotta be some thin metal. But hey, as long at it won't warp when you cook in it and it's actual SS, then it would be great for brewing.

buckeye2011 said:

$30 to ship? ouch. That picture does not look like a 25 gallon kettle either. That price seems way too cheap if it really is 100 quarts, even with the ridiculous shipping.

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You don't know how ebay works, do you?

LandoLincoln said:

$125 for a 25 gallon SS pot? Dang. That's a good price. It's gotta be some thin metal. But hey, as long at it won't warp when you cook in it and it's actual SS, then it would be great for brewing.

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That's what I was thinking. I've been looking for a 20 gallon pot and he has one for $110. It doesn't have a tri-clad bottom, but how much of a problem would that be?

Boomer said:

I saw these on eBay and figured for this price, I could install my own port, sight glass, and thermometer for less than the price of some of equal sized big names. I know, I know, quality, quality, quality. I'm just curious if anyone has bought any of these from this person/business and if so, what did you like/dislike about it.

Thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200734781097?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

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That kettle will work fine. It only has .8mm side walls and bottom which is getting thin (durability wise) for a kettle that large but it's not going to warp or anything like that.

Here's a breakdown on that kettle with weldless fittings vs our kettle with thicker walls and welded fittings

There's:
$125 - 100qt kettle, .8mm thickness
$45 - Ball valve - http://www.midwestsupplies.com/home...-conversion-stainless-steel-with-no-barb.html
$30 - Combo sightglass - http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=83
$35 - Thermo - http://www.midwestsupplies.com/all-.../thermometers/brewmometer-1-2-npt-thread.html

Total: $235 for kettle, accessories and your labor


Ours:
$230 - 100qt kettle, 1mm thickness http://spikebrewing.com/collections...5-gallon-home-brew-kettle-2-vertical-couplers
$20 - Ball valve - http://spikebrewing.com/collections/accessories/products/1-2-stainless-steel-ball-valve
$26 - Thermometer - http://spikebrewing.com/collections/accessories/products/1-2-npt-thermometer
$30 - Combo Sight glass - http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=45&product_id=90

Total: $306 for kettle, accessories and our labor

So it comes down to how important wall thickness and welded vs weldless is to you.

PS... We also sell the 100qt model with no fittings for $180 http://spikebrewing.com/collections...tles/products/25-gallon-stainless-no-couplers

bja said:

That's what I was thinking. I've been looking for a 20 gallon pot and he has one for $110. It doesn't have a tri-clad bottom, but how much of a problem would that be?

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It would be 0 problem. Tri-clad is not needed for brewing beer. The only reason we would recommend tri-clad is if you plan on using it on a glass stove top as the bottom of those kettles sit perfectly flat.

bja said:

That's what I was thinking. I've been looking for a 20 gallon pot and he has one for $110. It doesn't have a tri-clad bottom, but how much of a problem would that be?

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I like the tri-clad bottoms, personally, but some people believe that they're unnecessary for brewing purposes and just adds needless weight.

But this pot without a tri-clad bottom is not a deal breaker in my opinion.

buckeye2011 said:

$30 to ship? ouch. That picture does not look like a 25 gallon kettle either. That price seems way too cheap if it really is 100 quarts, even with the ridiculous shipping.

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Ever shipped a brew pot? That price is about right for shipping.

OneHoppyGuy said:

Ever shipped a brew pot? That price is about right for shipping.

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I agree with this as well

Weldless vs welded? There is no contest. "I will never buy another weldless fitting." Please repeat after me: "I will never buy another weldless fitting."

I really hate the weldless fittings and am sorry that I have them. They are a PIA and eventually leak. My only comment about the pot from Spike above is that the fitting is not an Tri Clover that is easier to clean. I would get the ball valve and sight glass, You need them. Also being a little thicker is better.

oakbarn said:

Weldless vs welded? There is no contest. "I will never buy another weldless fitting." Please repeat after me: "I will never buy another weldless fitting."

I really hate the weldless fittings and am sorry that I have them. They are a PIA and eventually leak. My only comment about the pot from Spike above is that the fitting is not an Tri Clover that is easier to clean. I would get the ball valve and sight glass, You need them. Also being a little thicker is better.

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Eh. I don't think that welded fittings are worth the investment, if you have other equipment that you need to spend your money on. Later on, down the road, if I'm really scratching my head on how to blow some more of my money, then I'll find a welder to weld the fittings on my stuff. But until then, I'll work with the weldless fittings and deal with the occasional drip.

OneHoppyGuy said:

Ever shipped a brew pot? That price is about right for shipping.

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Especially since I'm in Alaska and it's still $29 to ship. I was in a LHBS yesterday and saw a Polarware 10 gallon kettle with spigot, thermoPORT, and NO sight glass marked at $399.99. Exactly the same as this - http://www.midwestsupplies.com/polarware-stainless-steel-brewing-pot-with-spigot-10-gallon.html - methinks. This eBay price doesn't look bad at all.


Spike, what are you going to charge me to ship TWO of them to Alaska, though? 99645 to be exact. It adds up, hence my questioning these and having some weldless fittings thrown in a flat rate box and DIY'ng them.

Boomer said:

Especially since I'm in Alaska and it's still $29 to ship. I was in a LHBS yesterday and saw a Polarware 10 gallon kettle with spigot, thermoPORT, and NO sight glass marked at $399.99. Exactly the same as this - http://www.midwestsupplies.com/polarware-stainless-steel-brewing-pot-with-spigot-10-gallon.html - methinks. This eBay price doesn't look bad at all.


Spike, what are you going to charge me to ship TWO of them to Alaska, though? 99645 to be exact. It adds up, hence my questioning these and having some weldless fittings thrown in a flat rate box and DIY'ng them.

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When I checked FedEx last time for someone on a 15gal it was over $100ea kettle... It's outrageous!

What about USPS?

OneHoppyGuy said:

What about USPS?

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You don't want my opinion on USPS.... Let's leave it at I don't think very highly of them.

SpikeBrewing said:

You don't want my opinion on USPS.... Let's leave it at I don't think very highly of them.

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And that's why we get shafted. People in the lower 48 have an opinion about USPS and won't use them. They're usually less than half of UPS and FedEx. That's why I'm interested in the ones on eBay. Plus the seller told me he'd knock $10 off of shipping if I bought 2!!

I prefer USPS, quick and easy and less expensive.

OneHoppyGuy said:

I prefer USPS, quick and easy and less expensive.

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I've shipped with them maybe 30 times in my lifetime. They've lost 2 of my packages and one was an iPhone which I lost about $400 on.

SpikeBrewing said:

I've shipped with them maybe 30 times in my lifetime. They've lost 2 of my packages and one was an iPhone which I lost about $400 on.

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Did you buy the $4 insurance?

Boomer said:

Did you buy the $4 insurance?

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It was a package that went to Germany that a friend shipped out which ends in a long drawn out sob story. The story ends with me not using them as a carrier any longer.

SpikeBrewing said:

It was a package that went to Germany that a friend shipped out which ends in a long drawn out sob story. The story ends with me not using them as a carrier any longer.

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The story ends with yet another quality product which more than likely wont be used in Alaska because of shipping.

No hard feelings, we're used to it.

Boomer said:

The story ends with yet another quality product which more than likely wont be used in Alaska because of shipping.

No hard feelings, we're used to it.

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I understand where you're coming from. I'll do some research and see what it would cost to have the kettles shipped to AK. The thing is (from what I've seen) is that we might be able to get the kettle to AK for around $40 but it'll take 3 weeks.

SpikeBrewing said:

I understand where you're coming from. I'll do some research and see what it would cost to have the kettles shipped to AK. The thing is (from what I've seen) is that we might be able to get the kettle to AK for around $40 but it'll take 3 weeks.

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Time doesn't matter to me. I work a schedule where I'm gone for 2 weeks at a time. Usually stuff is here by the time I get back.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on 3 of the 100qt pots on eBay and various fittings from bargainfittings.com. I'm right at $550 including shipping. I'll post pics when they get here. $550 for 3 100qt pots with valves (3-piece stainless) sight glasses, thermometers, a screen in my brew kettle, and lids is not a bad deal at all. More to follow. I'll be gone for 2 weeks so hopefully it'll all be here when I get back and I can't put it all together and give a review.

I bought this vendors 80 quart pot after seeing this thread. Received it yesterday and I am very happy with it. It far exceeded my expectations.

bja said:

I bought this vendors 80 quart pot after seeing this thread. Received it yesterday and I am very happy with it. It far exceeded my expectations.

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Good to know. Mine should be here this week. I'm definitely looking forward to getting them. I wanna build my eHERMS to fit the pots, so now that they're almost here, it means it's almost time to build it!!

Boomer, did you get your kettle and what did you think of it? It looks like he is selling both flat lid 100qt and stepped lid 100qt pots like the Blichmann. It's clearly different handles that the Blichmann, but looks similar: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-100-QT-...6453&pid=100011&prg=1005&rk=2&#ht_1277wt_1401

I know that this is an old thread, but I recently purchased one of these 100 quart / 25 gallon pots from this eBay vendor. Very nice pot! The thing is a monster compared to my 15 gallon keggle, of course. $125 (w/ shipping) pot plus $95 (w/ shipping) spent on a 3-piece valve, a sight glass and a weldless bulkhead / SS dip tube from Brewhardware and I had me a nice new 25 gallon boil kettle. Now to drill the three holes needed to install the valve and sight glass...

HOLY CRAP WAS THIS THING HARD TO DRILL THROUGH! That thing I said about being worried about how thin this stainless steel was? Yeah. That's not a worry in the slightest now.

I've drilled a few holes in my SS kegs in the past, and they were pretty darn easy. But THIS pot...oh man, it did not want to give up the fight! I started out with some hardened steel drill bits to make pilot holes for my step bit, some vegetable oil for lubrication and used a variable speed drill and went slow, the same thing I used on my previous ones. I snapped three bits before I gave up and went to the hardware store and bought some cobalt steel bits and some better cutting oil. And even the cobalt steel bits took freaking FOREVER to get through! Maybe it was because Menard's sold some cheap Chinese knock-off cobalt steel bits, I don't know.

Anyway, I did finally get the pilot holes drilled, and then used the step bit to finish the holes. Thankfully the step bit didn't have to struggle much to get the holes big enough.

A couple of minutes with a round metal file, and voila, three very nice holes ready for use.

We calibrated the sight glass and found out that the pot holds about 26 gallons, not 25. Bonus!