Is a 20 Gallon pot too big?

I just did a search on my local craigslist and someone is selling a 20 gallon aluminum stock pot with lid for $60. I only make 5 gallon batches... will this this be way too big for my needs or should I go and buy it? Just a little background... I've only made 2 brews so far and both extracts. I'm trying to put together equipment for all grain but I only intend to make 5 gallons at a time.

I got a 15 gallon stainless with lid for under $100 off CL. I would hold out for stainless. 15 is great for 5 gallons, never boils over. 20 might get a little annoying because of size, but I wouldn't say it's too big. Plus it allows you to do a 10 gallon batch if you ever decide to split with a friend or something. Unless it's really wide, then your evaporation rate might be really high.

I use a 20 gal aluminum pot. I brew both 5 and 10 gal batches. I don't see any reason why filling a pot 25+% would be a problem.

That's also an incredible price assuming good condition.

Also I see no problem using aluminum vs. stainless steel for a brew kettle. If you take good care of it, it will easily outlive you.

I too am looking at a 80qt or 100qt aluminum for my starting out on 5 gal batches. I plan to put a weldless valve on it too. 10 gal is roughly 15" dia with a 20 gal at 19" and 25 gal at 20". The only thing I can think is that it has more surface area to the burner and may have more boil off?

bcales said:

I too am looking at a 80qt or 100qt aluminum for even my starting out on 5 gal batches. I plan to put a weldless valve on it too. 10 gal is roughly 15" dia with a 20 gal at 19" and 25 gal at 20". The only thing I can think is that it has my surface area to the burner and may have more boil off?

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I think for a 5 gallon batch in a pot like that you'd have to start with a boil volume of 7+ gallons. It wouldn't even fill the pot halfway! If I was only ever going to do 5 gallon batches, I'd start with a 40 quart pot.

If you do brew in a bag (BIAB) you will like having at least 12 and 15 is great for big beers. 20 is overkill in my opinion. BIAB cuts way down on equipment needs. Great thread on this forum.

Brewitt said:

If you do brew in a bag (BIAB) you will like having at least 12 and 15 is great for big beers. 20 is overkill in my opinion. BIAB cuts way down on equipment needs. Great thread on this forum.

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I do 5gal brews using the BIAB method. I mash in a Bayou Classic 7 or 7.5 gal aluminum pot. Works great! Not too much head space so I keep good temps during the mash (with proper insulation) and the 5 gal paint strainer bag fits perfectly over the mouth of the pot and sits in the water enough to keep the grains off the bottom but well submerged using 4 gal to mash. (see pic below)

JB

When I started I was doing 5 gallon batches, after moving up to BIAB (same setup as the picture above) I wanted to do 10 gallon batches so I set up a 3 tier gravity system, now I wish I had a bigger pot to do 15 gallon batches. If you like the hobby and think you will stay with it buy the biggest pot you can afford.

Transamguy77 said:

When I started I was doing 5 gallon batches, after moving up to BIAB (same setup as the picture above) I wanted to do 10 gallon batches so I set up a 3 tier gravity system, now I wish I had a bigger pot to do 15 gallon batches. If you like the hobby and think you will stay with it buy the biggest pot you can afford.

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Agreed. I also have a 15 gal SS pot I use as well. The larger SS one has a larger diameter and works great for those full 7 gal boils. Then I just transfer back to the smaller aluminum pot after the boil to cool in an ice bath while using an immersion chiller.. The transfer helps promote cooling, too.

JB

I think 15 gallon is the perfect size for 5 gallon beers. No worries about boil over and no worries about beers that need longer boils and the water volume required. I love my 15 gallon kettles.

there is nothing 'wrong" with a 20 gallon pot. It will be big and bulky and cumbersome without a ball valve..... depending on the diameter your boil off may be huge ( no worries , adjust volumes). I do not like aluminum at all but that is your decision.

bmbigda said:

Also I see no problem using aluminum vs. stainless steel for a brew kettle. If you take good care of it, it will easily outlive you.

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If you steep specialty grains or do biab, stainless is a little nicer because it holds heat a lot better than aluminum. I can heat my 20 gallon stainless up to 165 F with 7 gallons in it, and after 45 minutes with no burner it's only to 150 (did it last night around 55dF. Then an hour boil took me to 5.5 gallons.

The only problem is finding an easy place to put a thermometer for steeping, since the pot is so tall compared to where the wort is. Easily solved with a built in thermometer.

Well...I ended up with a 25gal Aluminum - very nice looking. I will be testing the boil off this week and will post my results. It is a 20" wide pot, so from the calculations I've seen, I'm expecting about 2.2 gph.

Picture shows the pot with a 1 gallon jug and 16oz bottle for comparison

that 25 gallon pot looks humongous!

It is really big. I can just about sit in it. yeah....I'm going to test 5 gal batches - with adjustments, should work well. I do plan to do 10 gal and maybe 15 gal batches at some point, and then split it off with different secondary steps.

bcales said:

Well...I ended up with a 25gal Aluminum - very nice looking. I will be testing the boil off this week and will post my results. It is a 20" wide pot, so from the calculations I've seen, I'm expecting about 2.2 gph.

Picture shows the pot with a 1 gallon jug and 16oz bottle for comparison

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Depending on conditions and how vigorous the boil, 2 gallons is probably the low end. I would start 3 gallons over target if I were you. I've been starting min 2.25 over in a smaller 15 gallon pot. Just boil longer, or test with water first.

That is a nice large pot!!!

Because this is aluminum please make sure you fill it with water and boil it for an hour or two to get a layer of oxidation built up. It should get dull, or grey, or even really dark depending on the makeup of your water. Once you oxidize it do not ever scrub it with anything abrasive to keep the oxidized layer intact. The oxidation layer will help prevent leeching aluminum into your beer as wort is acidic.

My test results...

•Started with 7.5gal of 68deg water.
•Hit boil temp at 43min a started 60min countdown.
•5gal remain at flameout

My plan...
•Start with 8gal and once i boil down to 5.5gal-ish flame off...cool down will lose another 1/4-1/2gal

Notes...
•20" diameter alum pot boils at an estimated 2.5gph
•7.5gal water uses about 5" +/- .5" of the pot...therefore normal 12" probe thermometer won't work
•25gal pot is heavy to begin with...definitely need weldess spigot


Pics to come
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Why can't you use your 12 probe thermometer? The sensor is in the tip, you don't need to immerse the entire length. That's why it's possible to measure the core temp of a chunk of meat.