I think this is the last set of questions before I make the plunge. I've decided to go stainless.
Are these two pots really the same product?
http://www.homebrewing.org/2-Weld-15-gallon-SS-Brew-Pot_p_2756.html
http://spikebrewing.com/collections...5-gallon-home-brew-kettle-2-vertical-couplers
If so, I'll pick the lease expensive shipping. The only thing that concerns me is that threat on homebrewing.org that says it could be a little beat up....
Lastly, if I get vertical coupling welds, how does that work if I do a batch that ends with 5 gallons? Do thermometers bend down into the wort? I did some quick math (@spike - you can help me here):
If the pot is 16.5" diameter and 1mm thick, that makes the ID 16.46". There is also 231 in^3 in one gallon of fluid (thanks google). So assuming a ending boil of 5 gallons, I would have ([height in pot]*3.1415*8.23^2)=(231 in^3.*5 gal). So the height in the pot for a 5 gallon ending boil would be... [height in pot] = (231*5)/212.783 = 5.4"
Ok, sorry for the math... But to me since the 5 gallons would be at 5.4", it'd be less than the 6" coupling...
So would I have to go horizontal? And would a thermometer 1.5" from the bottom of the pot give off a bad reading being so close to the burner?