Size of first brew kettle

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brewingbound

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I am going to need to buy a brew kettle and I was wondering what size/material I should get. I'm looking to start with extract partial boils and eventually work my way to all grain.

So my main question is: would I be ok doing partial boils with a 16qt kettle or would a 22qt be the better route to go being that I want to do all grain in the future? I know I'll need a bigger kettle for all grain but I wasn't sure which pot would be better for sparge water.
 
I've started my extract batches in a 20qt stock pot. It's plenty of room to get 3.5 gallons rolling nicely. Anything bigger than that and I suspect you'll have trouble chilling to pitching temps within any reasonable time. I too plan to move to AG full volume boils. Seems like the 30qt pots are about right for that
 
Are you doing 5 gallon batches? If so and you dont want to have to buy a new kettle when you go all grain then get a 10 gallon kettle at a minimum, preferably a 15 or 20 gallon. I have a 15 gallon and I do not regret getting it for a second. I highly recommend stainless steel.

Here is the brand I bought and I love it and it is super cheap.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-40-QT-Q...d-/200854244323?pt=Cookware&hash=item2ec3d88b
$83 delivered to your door for a 10 gallon ss kettle. Tough to go wrong. They have every size you would need.
 
As far as buying a new pot for all grain, I actually wouldn't mind. I just was wondering if I can do partial boils in like a 16qt comfortably without boil overs
 
I favor starting smaller. I think a huge pot obligates you to do large batches and get a propane burner, and etc.. It is difficult to do a 2.5 gallon batch in a 30L pot, never mind a 15 gallon brute. There is no reason to throw away your smaller pots that are good for extract and smaller batches.

If you usually do 5 gallons and already have a burner, there are some reasonably priced 8 to 10 gallon pots with a valve and a temperature port.
 
16qt is only 4 gallons so you can technically do it, you'll just need to adjust the amount needed boil off and for top off.
 
Are you doing 5 gallon batches? If so and you dont want to have to buy a new kettle when you go all grain then get a 10 gallon kettle at a minimum, preferably a 15 or 20 gallon. I have a 15 gallon and I do not regret getting it for a second. I highly recommend stainless steel.

+1... I wish I had bit the bullet and started out with a larger pot, but I wanted to save money so I started with 20 qts. I quickly figured out that I would rather do full boils rather than partials so I just bought a 44 qt stainless. Now when I decide to go all grain that's one less thing that I'll have to buy. However the 20 qt does come in handy for gallon batches.
 
When I got back into brewing with extract a few months ago I decided to buy my own brew kettle instead of borrowing my mother-in-law's stock pot all the time (now I borrow their turkey fryer for all grain!). 15.6qt SS stock pot with lid at Big Lots for $17. It's certainly lightweight but it works amazing for partial boils and heating up mash/sparge water now that I'm doing all grain. I figure that for less than $20 it's a great pot to have around even after you transition to full boils. Also, boiling 3 gallons of liquid in it has never been a problem, but keep watch anyway.
 
As big as you can afford. If your going to think about all grain in the future, get a 10 minimum, 15 even better. Stainless is best if it's in the budget.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'm going to throw the idea of the 16 qt pot out
 
Yep, I'm with the others. Unless you can't afford to do it right now, you need to go ahead and get a stainless 10 gallon kettle.
If you get a kettle that's "big enough", you will end having extra kettles around that are bigger than you want to make a batch of spaghetti, and too small for what your brewing needs.
You will get to where you want to do 5 gallon boils. If you are doing all grain over propane you may be looking at boiling 7 or 8 gallons to boil down to 5 gallons.
It's cheaper to get the ten gallon one now than to get a 20 quart and end up buying a 10 gallon down the road.
I'm keeping my eye out for some kegs to convert myself.
 
Of the gear that I've purchased and found alternate uses for after outgrowing, my 5 gallon kettle is the only one that sits and collects dust. I always recommend the turkey fryers from home depot or Lowes...8 gallon kettle and burner for under $100.00, hard to go wrong when starting.
 
Forgot to mention, brewing in your kitchen on a stove is rough, most only do it once or twice.
 
Yep, I'm with the others. Unless you can't afford to do it right now, you need to go ahead and get a stainless 10 gallon kettle.
If you get a kettle that's "big enough", you will end having extra kettles around that are bigger than you want to make a batch of spaghetti, and too small for what your brewing needs.
You will get to where you want to do 5 gallon boils. If you are doing all grain over propane you may be looking at boiling 7 or 8 gallons to boil down to 5 gallons.
It's cheaper to get the ten gallon one now than to get a 20 quart and end up buying a 10 gallon down the road.
I'm keeping my eye out for some kegs to convert myself.

I disagree, I like having the different size pots around, especially since smaller volumes of water in smaller pots tend to heat/boil faster. On brew day I typically use our regular 2qt stock pot, plus my old 16qt extract brew kettle, plus my 8.5 gallon turkey fryer. I can heat various kinds of water to different temps this way too.
 
Ok so say if I do get a 10 gal pot... The recipe kit instructions say to do a partial boil. So would I be better off just doing a full boil? How could I convert it to full boil when it comes to hop utilization? Or, do I continue to follow the instructions and do a partial boil in the 10 gal pot?
 
First decide inside or out. I brew outside so a turkey fryer set up was an excellent inexpensive choice. If I do move onto all grain, it will be after I brew the crap out of the turkey fryer gear. It will serve me well. Already 20 batches to the good in the first 14 months.

Inside you have to consider the ability of the stove to heat the pot. Another side issue, one th at you can avoid is how will the wife take a boil over on her stove, kitchen floor and behind things. Even if you clean it up, she'll be pissed. Outdoors? she won't even know.

I like full boils as it lets the hops work better and you're less likely to burn the extract in the batch. I usually start with 6+ gallons and end up with 5+ at the end while hitting my numbers.
 
lgilmore said:
Another side issue, one th at you can avoid is how will the wife take a boil over on her stove, kitchen floor and behind things. Even if you clean it up, she'll be pissed.

Ha ha...This!!! My first batch boiled over on the ol ladies stove and plugged up the ignition system...she was freakin pissed and I had to pull the whole damn thing apart to clean it.

Needless to say, that was the only batch I brewed indoors.
 
I disagree, I like having the different size pots around, especially since smaller volumes of water in smaller pots tend to heat/boil faster. On brew day I typically use our regular 2qt stock pot, plus my old 16qt extract brew kettle, plus my 8.5 gallon turkey fryer. I can heat various kinds of water to different temps this way too.

It's true that some people would have uses for the other pots. Some in brewing, some for other things.
Lots of people don't have use for a 5 gallon pot if it's not their main boil pot though. Now if I could still eat oysters..... About 4 gallons of oyster stew would be a great use for it!
As for me, I've got extra pots now that I don't have much use for. I do use two though. I use my boil kettle for heating my mash water, then since I'm going to drain to the boil kettle I use another kettle for sparge water. I don't worry about the time to heat. Whatever pot I use and whatever amount of water, I can get to temperature fast. I went ahead and bought a very hot propane burner. I don't worry about sparge water until it's nearly time to drain the mash tun.

I do use one of the several smaller pots that I have in the kitchen to boil up and make a yeast starter and believe it or not I've used the five gallon pot to make top ramen.
My daughter was having a sleep over and let me tell you, a small mob of seven year old girls do like top ramen!

Ok so say if I do get a 10 gal pot... The recipe kit instructions say to do a partial boil. So would I be better off just doing a full boil? How could I convert it to full boil when it comes to hop utilization? Or, do I continue to follow the instructions and do a partial boil in the 10 gal pot?

If I were you, I would do everything exactly as the instructions say to get started. Then start changing one thing at a time.

I think the reason that they say to do a partial boil is because with say three gallons, you have plenty to dissolve the extract, plenty to extract the qualities of the hops you are after, and it takes less time to cool three gallons than it does five. If your top off water is cold, it takes even less time.

A couple other reasons for three gallons is probably the size pot that comes with most starter kits and you don't have to figure out how much water to start with so that after you loose water to steam, you end up with five gallons.

A three gallon boil isn't a bad idea until you get a chiller of some sort. You are going to want a chiller at some point in the near future if you start loving making beer. It saves time and the time saved is time that you are not exposing the beer to potential infections.
 
I started out with kit-n-kilo beers (Cooper's). I bought a set of 4 nested polished SS stock pots with lids & steamer trays on sale at Giant Eagle for some $25. Easy to get clean & shiny again with a dobie & some PBW. I do 2.5-3 gallon boils in it with plenty of room to stop the hot break before it goes beersuvious.
With a cake cooling rack in the bottom,it works great for partial mash BIAB partial boils. I did the midwest cascade pale ale pm kit in it & it's probably my best yet. I used the 3 gallon stock pot to heat my sparge water. Chilled wort in an ice bath in the kitchen sink & had a couple gallons of water in the fridge overnight to cool it down a little more yet.
I did have to get new burners for the electric stove. Amazon has some great ones by Petra that heat up faster & more evenly than the stock ones did. I can go from mashed wort to boil in 18 minutes now.
 
Most starter kits don't come with a kettle...and I wouldn't buy a kettle from the brew shop unless you have extra $$$.

If you decide on a full wort boil, u simply start with 6 to 6.5 gallons, instead of the recommended 3 gallons. All else is the same.
 
Thanks for the posts everybody. I think I'm going go ahead and get a 5 gal pot for now and just do partial boils for a little bit. This will give me time to save up for a 10 gal pot with a propane burner :rockin:
 
Thanks for the posts everybody. I think I'm going go ahead and get a 5 gal pot for now and just do partial boils for a little bit. This will give me time to save up for a 10 gal pot with a propane burner :rockin:

Unless you're set on a 10 gallon kettle, keep an eye out for clearanced turkey fryers now that thanksgiving is over. They a bit smaller at 7.5-8 gallons and the burner might not be all that high-powered, but if I see one for $30-$40 I'm jumping one it to replace my in-laws' 5+ year old turkey fryer I'm using right now.
 
metanoia said:
Unless you're set on a 10 gallon kettle, keep an eye out for clearanced turkey fryers now that thanksgiving is over. They a bit smaller at 7.5-8 gallons and the burner might not be all that high-powered, but if I see one for $30-$40 I'm jumping one it to replace my in-laws' 5+ year old turkey fryer I'm using right now.

Yea I'll defiantly keep an eye out. Lol every time I go to like walmart and rural king SWMBO is like omg you're looking for turkey fryers again!
 
Unless you're set on a 10 gallon kettle, keep an eye out for clearanced turkey fryers now that thanksgiving is over. They a bit smaller at 7.5-8 gallons and the burner might not be all that high-powered, but if I see one for $30-$40 I'm jumping one it to replace my in-laws' 5+ year old turkey fryer I'm using right now.

I was looking at larger pots and decided it was cheaper to go this route. I got the 30qt pot with burner from Walmart and it worked excellent. Got 6.5 gallons to a raging boil in about 25 minutes. My stove would take longer than that for a partial 2.5 gallon boil. :)
 
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