Turkey Fryer on Craiglist - worth it?

Rankam 30 QT Turkey Fryer

I found this turkey fryer, it seems like a good deal but I wanted to get some HBTers' approval. The kettle is aluminum which puts me off a little, but what do you guys think?

If that is the "outdoor gourmet" brand of burner I wasn't impressed with them. Pretty flimsy.

I bought my turkey fryer setup new from Value City for $20. Marked down from 60.

The aluminum pot is okay... it dents easily. Haven't tried the burner outside yet; been too cold and just brewing inside on the range.

I'd offer $30 for it all, but not a penny more! Alum pot is cheap but will get you started, and its 7.5 gallons which is just big enough. You'll want to upgrade down the road but for now its fine. The stand looks like nothing special, but again, it should get the job done and for $30 the price is right, to me. $40 just seems a little steep.

I saw some Stainless Steel 30 quart fryers at academy for $50 brand new...just FYI

bdaddy said:

I saw some Stainless Steel 30 quart fryers at academy for $50 brand new...just FYI

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Are you referring to this Academy? Fryers

I'm in Boston and I've never heard of them. But prices look pretty good.

Not to thread highjack but where can I get a good burner cheap to use and then find my own stainess pot(again cheap)?

I was going to buy a turkey fryer but if I can get close to the same cost of a stainless version with a better burner.........:rockin:

Aluminum pots are better for brewing because they heat up significantly faster than SS when you are bringing the wort to a boil. They also do not retain heat like SS does, therefore your coldbreak will be better due to cooling being faster in an Aluminum pot. It takes me the same exact time to cool 4.5 gallons of wort in an SS pot vs. 5.5 gallons in an aluminum pot.

Don't hate on Aluminum, its an unfounded myth that its bad to brew in.

Depends on what your brewing plans are. Personally, I like to go slightly bigger than my immediate needs. For benchmark, the setup you're looking at would've been too small for the 10gal AG barleywine I recently did.

But, for about another $50, could double your batch size potential and triple your burner output:

- High Pressure Bayou Classic burner. $49 and 185,000 BTU. Can boil 10+ gallons pretty quickly. Decent quality. I use one and it works great for me.

- 60qt heavy-duty stock pot. Great for 10 gal batches with space for boil-over insurance. Got mine for $45 Sam's Club online. 1/4" walls with nicely riveted handles. Plan on upgrading eventually to stainless, but in no particular rush.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Berlbrew said:

Are you referring to this Academy? Fryers

I'm in Boston and I've never heard of them. But prices look pretty good.

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Yes, that academy. I forget that they're not nationwide sometimes Cheap crap? They got it

what do you guys think about this?

Outdoor Gas Deep Fryer

ezboarderz said:

what do you guys think about this?

Outdoor Gas Deep Fryer

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For frying turkeys? it's probably great.

For brewing? good luck cleaning all that caked on grease off the thing.. that looks like more trouble than it's worth IMO.

Well, this is all good info. I need a burner and a pot (preferably 40 qt) and the best price I can find for the two of them is $100. Anywhere I should look that I'm not? So far Amazon is the most helpful.

i have an aluminum pot turkey fryer i got off of craigslist, and it works great. However, it hadn't ever been used to cook a turkey. I baked the pot for about 3 hours at 400 degrees to "oxidize" (i think) the metal.

I paid $30 bucks for it with a full tank of propane. A new one is $50 at home depot --- or was when i priced it.

The aluminum works fine, but if you can get a stainless for$50 that's a sweet deal.

There seem to be two questions haunting me on my search for a good/cheap fryer on Craigslist and beyond.

1. Will 30 qts be enough? (Probably not in the future)
2. Are the savings of buying second hand (whether used or not) worth it? Or is it more worthwhile to just go and buy a new one

Today I got a response from another person with a 30 qt aluminum fryer. This time it's $35, never been used. It also looks pretty sturdy. Aire Conditioners & Turkey Fryer Set

Comes with: 30 QT Alumiaum pot
30 QT Pot lid
10 QT Fish pot
30 QT Strainer basket
T- Star Stand
Lifter
12 inches thermometer
Steel stand
Burner
Heat shield
Hanging Hook
Soup ladil
Ingector
10 PSI csa regulator
Thermocouple
Automatic shut-off valve
Timer control box
Hardware Pack
Rating label

UPDATE: Ed from Brewmaster's Warehouse informed me that fryer kits only come in 30 qt. size. Any larger pot would be purchased after the fact. Ed sells Bayou Classic kits for $70 + $7 shipping from his site. If this Craigslist fryer has never been used and it's only $35 it seems like a worthy purchase! That is, assuming it's a quality burner... can anyone tell from the photo?? Aire Conditioners & Turkey Fryer Set

Will you be locked into that pot diameter with that burner? Might be tough to get a keggle in there...

That's a good point! I suppose it's like that to prevent knocking the pot over... would be nice for stirring, but if I want to upgrade to a larger pot I would be rather restricted. Does anyone else around here have a burner like that?

anybody have an opinion about Bayou Classic Pots:

Bayou Classic 44 Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot With Vented Lid : ShoppersChoice.com