Aluminum brewpot, s it ok to use?

I picked up an aluminum pot (24qt) and I was wondering if there is any real reason that people use stainless over something like this?

Durability is pretty much it.

Look in the "This or that pros vs cons" thread in the beginners forum. There's a splurge on aluminum vs SS.

Be sure to build up an oxidation layer!

bling.

There use to a stigma on aluminum. it's since been busted. Just boil a full pot of water in the pot before using to build an oxidized layer in the pot before brewing with it.

Cool. I feel much safer knowing this now. Killer deal at the local asiamart. Got it for under 20 bucks! Next time I'll go big though..

im 20+ batches in using aluminum, no problems!

Ditto on all of the "this v that" stickies. Lots of good, basic information in all of them.

I picked up a 40 QT AL pot on ebay for about 1/4 the price of a SS one and love it. Light weight (look for the NSF stamp - which means it's restaurant quality and tough) and allows me to add all the weldless fittings I needed, very easily. Brewing 10 gal extract batches with homegrown hops is GREAT!

I love the "this versus that" stickies! Wow, so much useful info there, thanks for pointing that out!

I've heard that boiling wort in aluminum will give you AIDS.

Seriously, I'm not sure why people even think it's unacceptable to boil in it. It's probably a conspiracy started by stainless steel manufacturers, kinda like the Chewlies Gum scene in clerks.

Darklordenron said:

I love the "this versus that" stickies! Wow, so much useful info there, thanks for pointing that out!

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also, use the search function on the site. the aluminum v stainless question has been discussed ad nauseam.

All the negativity about aluminum is around the fact that wort has a Ph that reacts poorly with it... whereas stainless steel is chemically bullet proof.

That said, I use an inexpensive Aluminum pot for boil and have no problem.. as said before, once the pot is oxidized, don't scrub the oxidation off... leave it there like how you "season" a wok.

If you clean aluminum with oxyclean, then don't let it soak it in and rinse it well... Leaving oxyclean (or any oxygen-based cleaner such as PBW) in an aluminum pot will turn it black... and that black oxidation will come off the pot into your wort on your next boil.

So treat aluminum well and it will perform fine.... if you don;t want to baby your gear, get SS... it is bullet proof.

I have only oxygen based cleaner available, should I use Dawn or the like and a sponge to clean the pot instead? What is safest for the oxidized surface so I don't accidentally scrub it right off? (I've been boiling 2.5 gallons now for a bit over 40 minutes, going for an hour and then planning to brew tonight with it)

ErieShores said:

I've heard that boiling wort in aluminum will give you AIDS.

Seriously, I'm not sure why people even think it's unacceptable to boil in it. It's probably a conspiracy started by stainless steel manufacturers, kinda like the Chewlies Gum scene in clerks.

Click to expand...

I knew this was the source of my HIVs. WTF!

How do I clean it delicately? What do I want to use? I only have some dawn and some pbw laying around.

Darklordenron said:

How do I clean it delicately? What do I want to use? I only have some dawn and some pbw laying around.

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Shouldn't need more than dawn and a scrub pad. Just make sure to clean it immediately after brewing and you wont have a problem

Darklordenron said:

How do I clean it delicately? What do I want to use? I only have some dawn and some pbw laying around.

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Regular dish soap on either a mild abrasive pad, or one that's been used enough to be more mild. That's ONLY if there's gunk caked onto the inside of the pot. Otherwise, a simple soapy sponge/towel will do the job. Use really hot water and you can get the vast majority of stuff off before you even touch it with a sponge/cloth... I use the sprayer hose from my sink to get most things off of the pot before looking to use the sponge on it... Much easier/faster to clean than when I was using SS pots... Just be sure to rinse the pot really well. You want to get all soap traces out of it before you dry/put it away.

BTW, the aluminum oxide coating should be rather resilient... Just be careful with how you scrub it. You're not looking to remove the coating. IME, once you've conditioned it, that layer is going to be difficult to get off (without heavy cleaners)... PBW could probably do it, which is why I won't use that in my kettle. Also, how dark the coating is will be determined by both the pot alloy and what's in the water. I used two different water supplies to condition my kettles. The one at home came out DARK, the one done elsewhere is not even close to the same darkness. Still, you can see the layer/color change, so I'm not concerned with the second kettle... That's for 10 gallon batches (60qt) so it has only been used once so far.

IDK if this was covered or not in the TvT sticky but there are a few reasons to choose stainless over aluminum.

1: It is stainless and you do not need to worry so much about what chemicals you clean it with/easier to clean with chemicals.

2: Corrosion from using mixed metals. I am sure that you can brew in a mixed metal system for years and not have any problems. Be aware that when you mix metals you can get corrosion. The most common of these is mixing aluminum+brass+copper in 1 system. In an all stainless system you do not have this concern.

Zamial said:

IDK if this was covered or not in the TvT sticky but there are a few reasons to choose stainless over aluminum.

1: It is stainless and you do not need to worry so much about what chemicals you clean it with/easier to clean with chemicals.

2: Corrosion from using mixed metals. I am sure that you can brew in a mixed metal system for years and not have any problems. Be aware that when you mix metals you can get corrosion. The most common of these is mixing aluminum+brass+copper in 1 system. In an all stainless system you do not have this concern.

Click to expand...

Mixed metal corrosion only occurs where those metals come into contact with one another. If they don't, for example, separated by a plastic bushing or hose, corrosion won't be an issue.

Cons of stainless: price, weight

If I have to buy a new aluminum pot every 5 years, it will be 20-30 years before It would have been beneficial to buy a stainless pot from the start.

In my aluminum kettle, the ball valve isn't touching aluminum, since it has the silicon O-Rings in place on both sides. The only time copper touches is it when I use the IC...

Also, the aluminum oxide layer is another barrier between the metals.

I suspect that I'll be migrating to a SS kettle long before there's any issue with my aluminum one.

I use Bar Keeper Friend on my aluminum pot, but I always use the soft side of the sponge and never the scrubby side. I also try to get to cleaning it as soon as I can so nothing has a chance to harden up on it.

my god, there's a stickie on it for christ's sake!

Jeez, sorry. I never saw that. I was done with my questions and someone brought it back from the dead. Blame Canada. Let the thread die already.