Flimsy Aluminum Turkey Fryer Pot

jeremu · 01-28-2010, 05:49 AM

I was stoked to buy this turkey fryer for $10!

It came with a 7 gal?!? flimsy aluminum pot.
I read the post of This vs. That and it said that you could use aluminum if you created a Passive oxide layer. I went to my LHBS and it was a different dude than last time and he was no help at all.
I asked him about the pot and all he said was "Pst. You could use it if you want your beer to taste like medal."
Then he showed me a $80 ss pot.
Yea ... eventually I would love to by ss, but for now can I use the aluminum?
Has anyone used aluminum? a really thin one at that?

Any help would be much appriciated!!!!!!

mordantly · 01-28-2010, 05:56 AM

i have muffin pans, bread pans, 13x9x2, sauce pans, etc aluminum. but you can't make say spaghetti sauce in aluminum due to the acidity. as far as beer, i wondered since one can buy an aluminum 15 gallon pot for $75 where as stainless is $200.

GateTwelve · 01-28-2010, 06:18 AM

This post is from the "Equipment" section stickies: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

I used an aluminum turkey fry pot, identical to the one you posted only for my HLT, and did not have any metallic flavors as a result. Had a good oxide layer built up, but like I said, only used it for my HLT.

CDbrews · 01-28-2010, 07:11 AM

Yes of course you can i use the same pot as pictured and its fine. i can heat 7 gallons of water in that thing faster than i ever could heat 4 gallons in my ss pot

smitty2324 · 01-28-2010, 11:01 AM

I use the same pot and I love my beer. Hasn't ever tasted like metal.

gtpro · 01-28-2010, 11:04 AM

Think about it this way, if restaurants use them for food, you can use them for beer. I had my LHBS tell me the same thing when I first went in.

**shelly_belly** · 01-28-2010, 12:18 PM

Great find Jeremu! My aluminum pot is my HLT & my BK. I've never had a metal taste. I use fermcap to prevent boilovers and can pretty much fill it up to within 1" from the top. Brew on!

LoLa · 01-28-2010, 01:39 PM

I guess I should try it too - could it be that the aluminum keggle stories are just old wives tales?

jiggerachi · 01-28-2010, 02:09 PM

I just bought the same pot. FYI you can get it at Academy sports brand new for $20. Sold as a 'turkey frying kit.' They also have larger pots. The burner which I bought earlier cost me $30 and came with a 4 or 5 gallon pot, from Academy also.

The pot is flimsy, but just don't throw it around and it'll be fine. Haven't tasted the one batch i've boiled in it yet, but im not worried at all, I made sure it had a good oxidation layer first.

If you're too worried about it Walmart has a really nice 5 gallon Stainless for $50. It's a 'tramontina' brand. I almost bought this before I cheaped out and went with the aluminum.

jdp · 01-28-2010, 03:07 PM

I use the same pot. I have even started doing full boils in it. No problems at all. I was planning on buying a nice stainless pot, but after using this one, I don't really see a reason to until it is no longer useable.