To buy or not to buy.....brew kettle

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I actually would recommend you going to a store where they specifically sell kitchen products or used kitchen products. I myself went to one in winchester, va.. it was about a hour away but worth the drive. I spent 160 on a kettle that was the highest quality stainless steal(brand new), very thick for absorbing the heat on every part of the kettle. But the kettle you are looking at is pretty nice but maybe you could go just a little bigger, but that is based on your own opinion since you wont really boil over with 7.5 gallons..
 
That kettle is from this site:

http://www.homebrewstuff.com/servlet/StoreFront

It looks like a fair deal to me, but I would get a 10 gallon kettle if I were you. Strangely, I don't see a 10 gallon kettle listed on that site. Polarware kettles are first class IMO. I have a 10 gallon one with a false bottom and I'm more than satisfied with it. I plan to buy a 15 gallon version soon.

Here's a nice 10 gallon kettle for about the same price: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/heavy-duty-stainless-steel-brew-pot-40-quart.html

It doesn't come with a valve or thermometer, but you can add those later if desired. IMO, a valve is a necessity, but not the thermometer.
 
I was looking at that myself some time ago. Seems a good deal, although the fittings are brass and not stainless steel.

A 10 gallon Polar Ware is going to cost you double that. I have a 10 gallon with all the bells and whistles and love it!
 
Go bigger. At least a 10 gallon kettle. At some point you may want to do full boils or 5 gallon AG batches, if you're not already doing them, and the 7.5 gallon pot will be somewhat inadequate. I say that because I've had boil overs with a 10 gallon pot on my 5 gallon AG batches.
 
I have 3 of the 10 gallon on my rig and they are great. I would recommend that you consider the 10 g pot. I brewed extracts in a 7.5 before I went AG and boil overs were common.

Cheers...:mug:
 
Go bigger. At least a 10 gallon kettle.
That. If you're going to spend the money on a nice SS kettle, do it once.

I did my first AG in a 7 gallon (28 quart) kettle, and even with FermcapS preventing a real foam boil-over, it was still very easy for a robust boil to splash hot wort out of the pot and foul my burner. Which was very unpleasant.

-Joe
 
You could always go with a aluminum stock pot.

Instawares.com

Update International
40qt $37.63
60qt $61.32

You could add weldless site glass and ball valve and still be under the Stainless steel kettle price.

I have the 40qt, now wishing I bought the 60qt.

Chris
 
I agree that it's a bit small. I have a 32 quart Morebeer kettle with ball valve and it's a bit small for AG 5 gallon batches. I always have to boil some of the wort in a different kettle and add it back about halfway through the boil. I really wish I'd have gotten a 10 gallon. Boil overs are just too damn easy with 8 gallons or under. Definitely go with a kettle that has a ball valve though, super convenient and will work with whirlpool chillers etc.
 
Where are you brewing? Stove top? Propane? Heat stick? I bought a 7.5g turkey fryer with propane burner and stand. Using fermcap I've done full boils without worry about boil overs. Then I bought and converted a keg into a keggle. Haven't brewed with it yet, but it fits on the burner stand etc.. It's a nice upgrade path I think, especially if you are on the stove top now but want to move soon.
 
I got this one from Amazon.
It's cheaper, made by a good company, solid construction. It's 9g, so with a little attention to the kettle boil over's shouldn't be an issue. I have no problem doing all grain 5 gal batches in is thing.

If it's only for boiling and not mashing I haven't found the need for a thermometer on a brew kettle, I mean first boiling is boiling does it matter what the temp of a roiling boil is and second if you want to know when it's getting close to boil I drop in my long brewing thermometer.

I also haven't found the need for a valve on my kettle, last 15 min of the boil drop the chiller in (or chill by what ever means you normally do if you don't have one), when chilled say 70-80F I using my racking cane and move the wort to the primary.

Just my input if your looking to save a few dollars, every dollar saved on equipment is one more for ingredients.
 
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You need 60 quarts....it's cheapest and most flexible in the longrun. Aluminum is an excellent choice if you're not hung up on stainless....you won't be disappointed with an Update International pot.
 
I second that it would be helpful to know how you are currently using the boil pot, and what you plan on doing with it. A 32quart aluminum is perfectly fine for my Electric setup, but my 32quart stainless is small if I use it on the burner outside. My aluminum is insulated with Reflextix, so that look of it doesn't matter at all while my stainless is still 'Purdy'.

More importantly, would getting a cheaper pot let you pick up other important gear?
 
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