kcstrom

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Hi all,

I was really excited to get my Kick A Banjo and 60qt pot in today for my first all grain brew on Saturday. However, I didn't realize when I ordered the pot that it was so wide. It is about 18in wide. I'm pretty disappointed because I expected it to be skinnier and taller. I don't know why I didn't realize this before I ordered as I spent forever looking at different pots online.

Does anyone have any kind of idea of how much extra water will boil off when I use this thing?

Am I going to loose a ton of water for a 5 gallon batch?

There's no way I'm sending it back as it was like $20 for shipping.

kcstrom

s3n8

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I have a 15gallon stainless kettle, and I think its similar in diameter. I lose about 1.5 - 2 gallons in a 60 minute boil. I usually try to get 7.5 gallons into the kettle, a little more if I am doing a big beer or 90 minute boil.

maltMonkey

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I have a 60qt aluminum pot but I think it's a little wider than 18". I typically get 2 gallons per hour boil off, or maybe a little under. It's not a problem - you just collect a little more from your sparge. It will actually improve your efficiency a bit, too.

Anthony_Lopez

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I agree with everyone on this post... Regardless of your required finished volume, extra sparging will increase your efficiency. My polarware pots are a little wider than I'd like and I do about 2 gallons an hour in them.

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kcstrom

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Thanks for the responses. From what I understand, about 1 gallon per hour is the norm for folks that don't have the ultra-wide pots. Is that true?

maltMonkey

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I don't know that there is a norm - too many variables. Kettle material, burner btus, how rapid a boil you like to hold, humidity in the air, air temperature, etc.

I wouldn't worry about it - your kettle will work great!

FxdGrMind

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I have a Narrow Bottom.. WIDE top kettle on my Turkey fryer. 16 inch base and must be 22-24 inches at the top.

My 60 min boil (partialy covered) boiled off 1.5 gal. I had read from here that anything from 6-7.5 gal is needed prior to boil to get a 5 gal batch.

After my boil I had just a 1/4 Gal over 5 gal (into my Primary) as I started with 7 gal (some left in the kettle too that was not siphoned off).

But I don't see an issue with boiling over 60 min if you have a little too much liquid... or do as I did, boil with a partial lid for the first 30 min then take it off and boil down to my est at 5 gal ( I made a mark on the Kettle outside for 5 gal) however it was an est due to the boil froth.

Cheers

s3n8

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I always read to leave the lid off to rid the wort of things like DMS.

Some people even leave the lid off during cooling for this reason. Conventional wisdom is no lid during the boil, and I hope someone with more knowledge on the subject can back me up on this.

0202

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DMS is constantly produced during boil and while wort is still hot.
However, it is still evaporating from solution down to ~80F. That's
why some people say cool with the lid off.

My initial concern with that is contamination.

Some people say that cooling with a lid on will re-condense the DMS
back into the wort and cause off flavors in lighter beers. Other people
use no-chill methods where the wort is put in an airtight container
where nothing can evaporate, and the wort remains hot for many
hours.

HBTer using no-chill without DMS issues:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/no-chill-80692/

I think in either situation, the key is to cool quickly to prevent DMS from
being produced in large quantities. If you cool without a lid, pitching an
appropriate amount of healthy yeast supposedly out competes most of
the infections that could result.

I'm still waiting for my first batch to ferment. So I'm just echoing the
things I've been reading here and in searches online.

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TommyBoy

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0202-

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than to be selfish and worry about my liver.' ”

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