Blichmann BoilerMaker Worth It?

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NedStackey

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Hey There

I have some money coming my way and I want to move up to doing 10 gallon batches. Obviously this means getting a larger brew kettle. I've been looking around and it seems that the Blichmann BoilerMakers are top notch, but are they worth the price point over a Polar Ware kettle? For a 15 Gallon kettle it's about $100 bucks more and from what I can tell the only difference is the sight glass.

I have a Blichmann floor burner and love it so they must make some great stuff.

Anyone have one of the BoilerMaker kettles?
 
I know a lot of people do keggles. My only thing with them is usually the kegs still are owned by the brewery and the deposit one would pay isn't comprable to the cost of the keg initially. I'm not really interested in the keggle route, but thanks for the advice.ß Other then the keggle option has anyone had any experience with these?
 
I've got a 15 gal which I use to boil 5 gal batches. IMO, I'm not sure I can justify the added cost. If that polar ware kettle doesn't have a sight glass, then maybe. For 5 gal batches the thermometer is not very useful, but you won't have that problem.

If the polar ware kettle just has a different sight glass, then yea, save the $$$ and get something else you need.
 
I have a 15 gal one and I love it. My father-in-law gave me a good sized gift certificate at my LHBS, so I didn't pay full price myself. I wouldn't have sprung for it otherwise, but I think I may when I buy another pot(for HLT).
 
Cool. Good info about the thermometer at a 5 gallon batch. The Polar Ware I was looking at didn't have any sight glass. The kettle I have only had "punched" marks which show the level so it's never been too precise. The one I have now doesn't even have a ball valve so either will be a huge upgrade for me. I'll let you know what I finally decide. Thanks
 
I love my 15g Boilermaker. If you can afford it, it is worth the extra money. I think the only way to improve it is to buy a bigger one! Sight glass is actually fairly accurate. I like the add-ons like the hop-blocker. HUGE bling factor.
 
Thanks for the link. I like that it comes with the false bottom and the braided tube filter. Is a sight glass really needed/useful? Both this one and the Polar Ware seem to have the same price point but both do not have the sight glass. For a $100 the BoilerMaker has a sight glass but I believe the false bottom is an extra fee. It does have a dip tub though. Sorry for all the question. It's like of a big purchase so opinions of the features really helps since this will hopefully be my last kettle. (I have a 5 Gallon from when I was doing extract and now an 8 gallon for the all grain).

Thanks
 
I don't know if a sight glass is worth it or not. My kettle has graduations for every quart, so I don't see the need for a sight glass for myself. I don't know if that particular kettle I linked has it either.

You could make your own as Sweetcell mentioned. You could also put marks on your stir spoon or massh paddle to tell you your water volume.
 
i sold my blichmann kettle in favor of keggles (which i know you are not interested in) and if i was doing it again i would have bought one of morebeers 15 gallon kettles which are very burly. blichmann kettles are too expensive and only get more expensive as you add false bottoms ($80-130 or so) and hop filters (none of blichmann's hop filters work very well). there are other kettle on the market that do exactly the same thing for less, they just don't have the bling factor. they do have a nice resale value and i bought a blichmann mash module with the proceeds from mine. i also have a 3 burner top tier stand which is very well made and a very good value for the money. by the way, there are vendors out there selling used sanke kegs without a dodgy provenance that are still cheaper than a blichmann kettle.
 
Awesome! Thanks everyone for the advise. They do seem to be priced very high and I'm sure it is because they advertise that "other kettles are modified for brewing but ours are made for brewing". I really liked the Bayou kettle. I'm going to look around to see if I can see one in person or maybe I can email the Amazon seller since it does not mention if there is any liquid measurement built in.

Worse case is I use a marked spoon as suggested and use the extra money to buy something fun like an aeration rig or maybe a pump since I'm starting to put my wish list together to build a single tier stand.
 
I recently went from keggles to Boilermakers so here are a few of my observations.

The Boilermakers are:

- Light but sturdy, my 15 gal ones are easily two thirds of the weight of my keggles. I've also never had a problem with scorching the bottom so a "clad" type bottom seems like it just adds extra weight.

- The weldless fittings are nicer than your average aftermarket ones and the way they're designed and installed make them super solid and rigid.

- The beveled botom and pick up tube make it super easy to whirlpool and pick up almost zero trub when transferring into your fermenter. No need for a HopBlocker or any other type of screen. You can always use a spider or hop sack if that's how you roll but I've found I don't need them. You don't want a false bottom on a BK but I'll tell ya what, that Blichmann FB for an MLT rocks!!!

- The sight glasses are awesome!! They're tight against the kettle so they don't stick out. IMO if you've never had a sight glass on your BK you're missing out.

- Being able to hang the lids on the handles is a nice feature. I was always looking for a place to put my keggle lids when removing them for whatever reason.

- Three piece valves are nice.

The only thing I'm not crazy about on my Boilermakers are the thermometers. The tilting function is nice but they don't seem very accurate and go out of calibration each time they are tilted to a new angle.
 
well, to be fair they aren't selling them at the moment - -all sankes suitable for keggles are sold out :D

that's true but i got on their email list and they contacted me within the week saying they had some in stock, seems they go fast. i had already found my third and final keg on craiglist for $35 so i never bought one from CHI.
 
The only thing I'm not crazy about on my Boilermakers are the thermometers. The tilting function is nice but they don't seem very accurate and go out of calibration each time they are tilted to a new angle.

this is so true, i would call them useless. i would tap mine and it would jump up or down to some other temp.
 
I have 3 15G Boilermakers and enjoy them. Also have the mash screen and hop rocket. Everything works exceptionally well and is very high quality.
 
I have a 20g and 15g boilermaker. The 15g is my HLT and the 20g is my boil kettle.

I love them. Can you get all the same stuff for a better price? Yes. But if you like the handle orientation, the great fit and finish of the included accessories as well as their add-on accessories, the quality of the accessories and the way they look then I think they're worth it. If you're not sold on any of the benefits of their "engineering" on their kettles then you'd just be paying the premium for the name.

As far as sight glass, I'll never go without it again and the Blichmann's glass is above and beyond what I've seen elsewhere. It has a heavy duty metal shield around it and it connects at both the top and the bottom. The laser engraved markings are pretty accurate, although a bit hard to see (I use colored sharpies to make lines on the glass itself).

In the end they're kettles. If the way it's made makes your brew day a little more enjoyable and a little easier than it's hard to say it's not worth it...over time.
 
I have a 10 gallon Boilermaker. I only use it as my boil kettle but I can't see brewing without it. The pre-calibrated sight glass rocks. The thermometer is a nice-to-have, but I find it handy to know what temperature things are at while chilling.

If I had the money, I'd pick up another one with a false bottom and auto-sparge arm. Oh, and a tower of power, top tier stand, and additional burner!
 
I have a 20g and 15g boilermaker. The 15g is my HLT and the 20g is my boil kettle.

I love them. Can you get all the same stuff for a better price? Yes. But if you like the handle orientation, the great fit and finish of the included accessories as well as their add-on accessories, the quality of the accessories and the way they look then I think they're worth it. If you're not sold on any of the benefits of their "engineering" on their kettles then you'd just be paying the premium for the name.

As far as sight glass, I'll never go without it again and the Blichmann's glass is above and beyond what I've seen elsewhere. It has a heavy duty metal shield around it and it connects at both the top and the bottom. The laser engraved markings are pretty accurate, although a bit hard to see (I use colored sharpies to make lines on the glass itself).

In the end they're kettles. If the way it's made makes your brew day a little more enjoyable and a little easier than it's hard to say it's not worth it...over time.

Thanks a lot. I think these are great points and I like the point about just making brew day a little more enjoyable (if that's possible, i am making beer after all ha). I'm still going back and forth but I'll be pulling the trigger soon on something.
 
+1, love my boilermaker. The blichman burner is also by far the best I have seen, maybe moreso than the pot. The shielded sight glass is accurate and durable. Quality is exceptional. I don't move my thermometer and it is spot on when I have checked the temps against my digital. The valve is well made and easily cleaned.

Is it worth it is a relative thing. If you can spend on it, I would recommend it. There's a bling factor if you like man toys, sure. But can you make beer for much much less, absolutely.
 
I use a 15 gallon PolarWare and have been very happy with it.It is very well made.Like others say the thermometer is not in the optimum spot for 5 gallon batches but it works fine for me.
 
I have a 10 gallon Blichmann and I love it. It's just made for brewing (I know, I sound like a shill, but I'm not.) I make 5 gallon batches with BIAB and it works out great. I haven't found the thermometer inaccurate either. The only thing I don't like about it is that the thermometer gets in the way of whirlpooling. That's a minor issue. The sight glass is great, the siphon/dip tube is great, and the valve is great. It's just well put together.

Would another kettle work? Sure. Would you think it is great too? Sure. Is the Blichmann worth the extra? That's for you to decide.
 
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