Is $35 SS Brew Pot OK?

I have been making a list of equipment I need that was not included in my basic beer making kit. I want to buy and inexpensive pot. I haven’t found anything large enough of the dollar stores, Good Will etc . At the homebrew supply store I saw a $35 Polar Ware 5 gallon stainless steel pot. Even though it was in the box, I could tell it was an extremely light weight pot. As much as I like stainless steel, I wonder if I would be better off with a cheap aluminum pot instead of a cheap stainless steel pot. If a Polar Ware or similar $35 stainless steel pot is good enough, I will go with that. Thanks

Sorry I said 8 gallon instead of 5 gallons in OP.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X48YIK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

the one you linked to is only 20qt = 5 gallons

I paid about $30 for my 20qt stainless pot which is almost identical to the one you linked

if they have an 8gal for $35 i'd be all over it

Good enough to use for a while? Definitely.

Good enough to last for many years of brewing? Probably not.

I've been using cheap aluminum pots for years with no problems, other than replacing them about every 5 years or so; I could probably get a lot more out of them if I took better care.

I think that would be ok. I used a pot that was similar to that for a long time. However, if you're planning on doing this a lot, you might want to spend the extra 30 or so and get a nice heavy duty one. I ended up buying a better one later on after making sure I was going to enjoy this hobby and actually be able to brew good beer.

What size pot is recommended for a full boil, 5 gall volume.

8 gallons+ would be ideal for 5 gallon batch

i have a 30qt (7.5gal) that i have to carefully watch when 1st getting the boil started, even with fermcap-s

But I also have a 10 gallon aluminum pot that is very handy. I didn't buy them both at the same time. But it is nice to have a couple of choices.

The 10 is great for boiling 6 or 7 gallons of wort. But the 5 is great for heating up mash and sparge water. I usually use 3.5 or 4 gallons of each.

All and all I have not spent much on this hobby yet have enough equipment for a 5 gallon batch.

There are plenty of good 10 gallon aluminum pots for cheap. Here's one, for example.

Aluminum works great.

I bought a cheap, thin 5 gal ss pot about 20 years ago and have used it for anything and everything ever since. It has a few dings in but it's still a great pot. Stainless is pretty awesome. However, a 5 gal pot is not that useful in a 5 gal brewery. I use a 30qt aluminum pot ($19 @ Academy Sport's) and regularly start w/7 gals preboil. Go Fermcap!

I have a 7.5 gallon pot that came with my burner (turkey fryer) and I wish I had a 10 gallon. I'm consistently short on my volume transferred to the fermenter and boil overs happen way to easily.

I have the brew kettle in the OP's link, and I'm already wishing I had something bigger after maybe 7 batches. Full 5 gallon boils are pretty much out of the question with a pot that size, but I can do full boils for smaller batches, or I can mash in that pot. But if I had to do it all over again, I'd get one that holds at least 7 gallons.