Moving my Boil Kettle, is it safe?

Hi all,

I just received my Blichmann 10g boilermaker in the mail and an super excited about it however, in the directions it says that the handles are for transportation of the kettle when empty only. With my old setup i would always move myself to my basement for my chill (immersion chiller setup). Also, i know it really can be dangerous to transport this hot liquid but i am very careful and have done this for all my previous batches. Does anyone else move this kettle when it is full? Any issues with the handles failing?? To me they feel even more secure than my old aluminum pot so i think i am ok but just wanted to see if anyone else had any issues.

Thanks

handles will be fine, they might flex a bit but shouldn't fall off. Your skin will take a hit one day though, sooner or later-I have scars to prove it.

it's only a matter of time until you loose it. I wouldn't worry much about the blichmann failing. You should figure out how to brew in one spot.

I've moved mine from my kitchen to outside in the backyard with 7.5G of 170 degree or so wort with no problems. I put the lid on to prevent any splashing but move slow and careful. For that time I actually just brought it to right outside the door and set it on my skateboard to roll it to the backyard then onto the propane burner.

It's best you definitely avoid keeping it lifted just using the handles for anything more than a few seconds just to be safe. If you have someone that can help you the best thing is for each to grab one handle and use a glove or folded towel to brace with the other hand under the kettle. And if you're talking nearly 10G full I would say no way, far too risky.


Rev.

They put that warning there as a safety precaution. If they said it was safe to transport while full, some idiot would find a way to break the handles...spill it on themselves...claim that it is in fact not sufficient to bear the load...then sue Blichmann. It's the risk of owning an American company.

That Blichmann will probably weigh near 80 pounds when it has the 6 1/2 gallons of wort in it, maybe more. It's liquid and its hot. The chances of you falling or dropping that Blichmann given time is pretty high. A pair of hoses might weigh 5 pounds empty and can be strung together to make a longer connection. WHY ARE YOU THINKING OF MOVING A BIG AWKWARD HOT CONTAINER???? String the hoses wherever you have to and chill that sucker right where it is.

A while ago, there were actually photos of somebody who did something like brew in their kitchen...or garage...and built tubing that went down into their basement so they could just transfer it there to ferment without needing to haul the bucket.

I've had to move mine a couple times immediately after boil due to limitations on cooling. It's far from ideal and a prime reason why I'm finally building a basement brewery.

Yes, the handles have held with 6 gallons in my 10 gallon blichmann. No, I don't recommend it.

lboe12 said:

Also, i know it really can be dangerous to transport this hot liquid but i am very careful and have done this for all my previous batches.

Click to expand...

You're going to do what you want, and that's cool. But I can't help but point out that in the above statement, you fall victim to two of the biggest rationalizations that lead people to do unsafe things. 1) i know its dangerous, but I'M CAREFUL. The people who get hurt doing this obviously aren't as careful as me. 2) I've always done it this way.

I certainly don't wish any harm on you. But seriously, the best way to make sure you don't get hurt is to stop carrying large volumes of very hot wort around.

Lecture over, go back to doing what you've been doing.