keg brew kettle conversion

NateKerx · 04-12-2007, 06:30 AM

I'm in the process of building my first homebrew setup and have a question about brew kettles.

I had been looking for a 7-9 gallon brew kettle that would allow me to comfortably do 5 gallon batches. I remembered that i'd seen a keg in my downstairs neighbors backyard at a bbq last year, and when i asked them about it they said it had been there since they moved in and it was mine if I wanted it. I have a welding friend who I plan to have cut it open for me and weld in a spigot. I'm ready to go ahead with all of this but have a few questions...

1.) is this a stupid idea? considering my brewing will be done inside of my brooklyn apartment.

2.) the keg looks pretty good from the outside, is there any chance it will prove itself somehow corroded or useless one the top is off?

3.) are there other modifications i should either have done or keep in mind so that my brew kettle may double as a mash tun?

thanks in advance everybody, this is my first post here and I cant wait to get things rollin'

nate

**the_bird** · 04-12-2007, 11:04 AM

If you're brewing on a stovetop, this may be one time that a keggle is not an ideal solution. They're obviously big, heavy, and bulky - add six or seven gallons of wort to the mix, and that's not something I want to wrestle on top of the stove, and I've concerned that it would damage the stovetop.

As to the other concerns, the inside should be fine, they're SS.

I haven't heard of too many people who use their brew kettle as their mash tun. You would still need to have another vessel to collect the wort while you cleaned out the grain, then you'd have to move the wort again back to the brew kettle. I'd spend the $40 - $50 to put together a cooler-based mash/lauter tun, myself.

EDIT: Oh, and welcome to the forums!

Craig5_12 · 04-12-2007, 02:20 PM

The Bird is wise....listen to him......
By all means, get that keg though! When the day comes that you want to setup a 3 tier or start going all grain you'll be thankful you did!

Cheesefood · 04-12-2007, 02:34 PM

If you have a patio or area where you can set up a burner and confidently let it run for a few hours, go for it. I recently went to a keggle and love it. In my 11 gallon pot, I had a boil over. No such problem in my keggle!