Is a 30qt pot big enough for 5 gallon batches?

I found a pretty good deal on a stainless steel turkey fryer, and the pot is 30 quarts. I only plan on doing 5 gallon all grain batches, but I know that after sparging, pre-boil volumes can be 7 gallons or so. So, assuming I get seven gallons of wort, I'd be left with two quarts worth of space for boilovers. It seems to me that this is cutting it close. Still, it's such a good deal, that I'm thinking about buying it anyway, and maybe only boiling 6.5 gallons, or somewhere in that range.

Do others here use 30 qt. pots? I was hoping for at least a 32 quart pot, but then the price goes up considerably (about $50). So, someone please tell me that 30 qts is more than sufficient for my needs, and I'll pick this thing up first thing tomorrow. I had a very hard time leaving the store tonight without it, but thought I'd come here and run it by the experts before shelling out the $$$.

I used one for a while and it is possible but not recommended. What I mean is that with eagle-eyed vigilance you can get through the boilover period with 7g of wort 80% of the time (in my case). Beyond the stress of managing that, what if you want to do a medium-large to large beer? You'll need to collect more than 7g of wort and then you'll have to do two boils.

If you can afford it as a stopgap measure then go for it, otherwise I think you'll be happier in the long run applying your resources towards a larger kettle such as a converted keg or larger pot.

My first 5 or 6 brews were with a 30 Qt pot. Like Baron said, it is possible, but not recommended. I was able to do it but it was a lot of work to keep the boil over down by constantly adjusting heat, stirring, misting with water, etc. I now use the 30 Qt for my sparge water instead of the 3 smaller pots I was using.

Baron von BeeGee said:

I used one for a while and it is possible but not recommended. What I mean is that with eagle-eyed vigilance you can get through the boilover period with 7g of wort 80% of the time (in my case). Beyond the stress of managing that, what if you want to do a medium-large to large beer? You'll need to collect more than 7g of wort and then you'll have to do two boils.

If you can afford it as a stopgap measure then go for it, otherwise I think you'll be happier in the long run applying your resources towards a larger kettle such as a converted keg or larger pot.

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Maybe I'll still buy this set, and like you said, get a keggle. I could use the kit's pot for sparge water, as Hopfan suggested. Although, if I'm going to get a keggle, I'd assume going with an aluminum turkey fryer set may make the most sense. I really want SS for the boil, or more accurately, I don't want to boil wort in an aluminum pot. However, I think there should be no risk of leeching with just hot water. The aluminum kits are readily available in my area for around $40. Basically I'd just be buying a burner, with a free pot included, as I see it.

I use mine all the time, but I'm just spinning my wheels until I get a bigger pot or a keggle. I usually have a smaller pot that I collect the extra wort in and slowly add it to the rest in the fryer. It can work, but not the most ideal situation.

Well I do 3gals in a 20 quart, so I figure 5 gal in a 30 qt is doable. I also got a good deal on a fryer with 30qt, but I'm still using the partial boil until I get a wort chiller.

JnJ said:

Well I do 3gals in a 20 quart, so I figure 5 gal in a 30 qt is doable. I also got a good deal on a fryer with 30qt, but I'm still using the partial boil until I get a wort chiller.

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I'm in a similar boat as you. I'm putting my all grain setup together one component at a time. I figure if I have everything ready to go by March, I'll be happy. I built the mash/lauter tun last week. I'm now in the stages of locating the appropriate burner and stock pot ( I think I found the perfect thing by the way). I think I may try my hand at making a wort chiller myself...although, as expensive as copper is right now, it may make more sense to spend the extra couple bucks and buy one professionally done. I have a bunch of old coolers laying around, I figure I could use one of them as a hot liquor tank in the future if I decide to try and build some sort of sparge manifold for my mash tun in the future.

As for the 30 qt with 5 gallons, I've decided to go bigger on the stockpot. I've done all my previous batches in a 16 qt. pot, with pre-boil volumes as high as 3.5 gallons. I never had a boilover, but I couldn't take my eyes off the wort for at least 1/2 hour until the hot break subsided and some evaporation took place. For all-grain, I figure I'm going to get what I want right off the bat. I'm sure I'll have so many things on my mind the first couple all grain sessions, that the extra $100 or so will be well worth one less thing to worry about.

I have been using a 30 qt Al pot for a year now and have been forced for the most part to run a second boil on the stove to get my total volume for a 5 gallon batch.
I get by, but a larger kettle is planned for when I can snag a deal on a
keggle or large SS pot.