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**pwortiz** · 03-10-2012, 02:01 PM

Thanks, borny! I ended up with one that looks identical to yours - is 4mm thick. I went with a Winco one that has a thicker bottom and is 32 qt. Oxidized last night and it looks nice now - ready for some brewing anyway. I need to find a way to insulate the pot now though as it boils awesome with the lid on...but then as soon as i take it off it goes back to 211.

Since I got the dang thing just so I could start doing full boils, that's not going to cut it so I need to figure out which option or options make the most sense:
1: Get a new gas range with a high powered burner (my wife's not likin' that as counter-intuitive as that sounds)
2: Get an outdoor burner and start doing outdoor full boils - I could do this year round I guess but would prefer not to in winters here in MI
3: Understand the right way to insulate the pot and get those supplies. My question here is whether it will make that much of a difference?

Anyone else had this problem?

borny · 03-11-2012, 03:50 AM

I have the same pot, winco 60 quart... I do have a similar problem, kind of. I have a heating element and it appears to take about 10% more power to maintain the same boil I had in a keg... I will eventually get the aluminum (?) insulation others use one the board. If I were you, I would look for a cheap burner or just leave the lid on halfway during the boil....

**Cabby58** · 03-11-2012, 04:05 PM

Would it be okay to get the oxide layer by filling with water and Oxyclean? It looks like the same dark layer and would not require a boil. The reason I ask is that it took about 3 hours to get a boil in my 15 gallon aluminum pot when it was full.

**Holzster** · 03-11-2012, 09:00 PM

This thread is a good read - thanks all

milldoggy · 03-11-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabby58

Would it be okay to get the oxide layer by filling with water and Oxyclean? It looks like the same dark layer and would not require a boil. The reason I ask is that it took about 3 hours to get a boil in my 15 gallon aluminum pot when it was full.

I heard vinager and water will do it. I think oxyclean is a o2 based cleaner, meaning it strips o2 for cleaning. Don't think that is what you want to ue.

usshanebond12 · 03-16-2012, 05:06 PM

Yea vinegar with a cup of water works great. Nice and very useful thread.

BuddyWeiser · 04-13-2012, 06:25 AM

After reading this thread, I decided to do an experiment! I got a brand new 40 qt aluminum pot that I've just finished oxidizing. While oxidizing the inside, I took the posts on this thread and some info I read elsewhere about aluminum and oxidizing for food preperation into account.
No hypothesis, I just wanted to see if it gets any noticibly darker or lighter from boiling with water for longer than 1 hour or from boiling wort vs water. Here are the results.

The very top layer has never touched boiling water and looks the same as when I pulled off the plastic wrapping. The second layer down (in between the top two arrows) was boiled in tap water for 1 hour. The third layer down (in between the 2nd and 3rd arrows) was boiled in a weak wort made of table sugar and NB hops for 1 hour (in addition to the first boil). The very bottom layer (underneath the lowest arrow) was boiled in tap water for 1 more hour.
IMO, if you read this thread and still feel paranoid about using aluminum, then be warned that "paranoia will destroy ya!" not aluminum or alzeheimers. Live in fear and you're wasting time that could be spent feeling good. Be strong and confident, and even if alzeheimers gets ya (like it did my grandpa), you'll leave behind a legacy to be proud of.
Thanks all for the info!

burntgraphite · 06-18-2012, 12:28 AM

While pure Al and Al-based compounds do affect brain chemistry (Audus) and grey matter peroxidation (Fraga, Oteiza, and et al), there is no direct correlation between brain lipid peroxidation, increased permeability of the blood brain barrier and all of the other interesting things that aluminum does to your brain, and encephalopathy (brain disease). That being said, Al2O3 (Aluminum oxide) is a very hard substance. It is used for high grit sandpaper, for sanding metal. As a sailor, I have had to attempt to polish it or sand it off of aluminum hulls, and that is not fun, let me tell ya. If you boil vinegar in your kettle you are creating aluminum acetate which is a completely different subject.

Not being a neurologist but merely an overeducated military member, I see it this way: Aluminum is harmful, yes. Studies show this. The thing that really saves your bacon is that Al is not soluble in water, so it cannot poison you in this way. There you go; some simple research leaves you with interesting data, provided you are willing to look up all of the definitions of the various neuroscience terms in the abstracts.

To break it all down? You're probably fine using Al pots and pans. And I'll keep using my aluminum sandwiched SS boil kettle. Which is exactly what everyone else said. Have fun, make some good brews.

Works Cited:
Audus, Kenneth. "ScienceDirect.com." Aluminum effects on brain microvessel endothelial cell monolayer permeability. University of Kansas, 21 Jan 1988. Web. 17 Jun 2012. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378517388902955>.
Fraga, , Oteiza, and et al. "Uk Pubmed Central." Effects of aluminum on brain lipid peroxidation. University of California Berkley, 1990. Web. 17 Jun 2012. <http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/2330606>.

FlemingsFinest · 08-16-2012, 04:31 PM

Would I be safe using C-Brite sanitizer on my aluminum pot?

**Golddiggie** · 08-16-2012, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlemingsFinest

Would I be safe using C-Brite sanitizer on my aluminum pot?

If it's your boil pot you have zero need to sanitize. The boiling wort will take care of that for you.

I wouldn't use anything chlorine based on either a stainless or aluminum kettle/pot.