Buying brewpot, current partial mash future all grain

I am looking for a brew pot (new to homebrewing) online and have a question. Should I buy a 7 or 8 gallon if I plan to all grain in the future? I figure the answer to that question is yes (why not), but I am also wondering that when I get the, say, 35qt brewpot do I use all 5 gallons in the wort then transfer it to the primary or do I use less than 5 gallons and fill to the 5 gallon line in the primary. I'm not sure but from what I've read, using 6.5 gallons or so in the brewpot (to account for vaporization) is more of an all-grain tactic. Thanks.

30 quarts MINIMUM. for 5 gallon batches, you generally start with 6.5-7 gallons pre-boil. with a 30 quart pot (7.5 gallon), that doesn't leave you much headroom.

you don't generally want to top off an all-grain batch.

I just bought a new 36 quart pot. it works great.

36 Qts sounds like the ideal size, I have only seen them go from 30 or 32 to 40. Mind sharing where you got it and cost?

Thanks, I think I am going to buy 40qt from Austin Homebrew Supply (Austin Homebrew Supply). But about the second part of my question, when I am making my wort (partial mash) how much water do I add to the brew pot initially to make sure I have 5 gallons to the primary (if I'm not mistaken there is some equation for hourly evaporation rates). Thanks.

Check out this place for affordable pots.

60 qt. NSF Medium Weight Aluminum Stock Pot

Someone else posted this a few days ago. I'll probably be buying this pot soon. I got a 7.5 gallon (30qt) pot with my turkey fryer, and it's really tricky to do a full boil w/o boiling over. It doesn't leave you very much room at all. I spilled all over the place last time I brewed, hence the plans for upgrading. And if you're buying a new pot, you should consider whether you will ever move up to 10 gallon batches.

i bought one of these guys from my LHBS and had it outfitted with spigot and false bottom:

Stainless Steel Stock Pots, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Pot

DeathBrewer said:

i bought one of these guys from my LHBS and had it outfitted with spigot and false bottom:

Stainless Steel Stock Pots, 36 Quart Stainless Steel Pot

Click to expand...

What is the bottom of that pot like? I'm looking at that one, or the next one up in size.

I'm also looking at Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor Gas Cooker, Propane: Patio, Lawn & Garden (available at lowes for 48.00). It says 185,000 BTU's but I can't imagine how.

OP: Not meaning to hijack your thread, I figure this is related.

Bob