Opinion on kettle upgrade

hey home brewers-

I am considering upgrading from my pretty standard 5gal SS kettle to this pretty nifty 9gal SS:

Amazon.com: Bayou Classic 1036, 36-Qt. Stainless Fryer/Steamer with Vented Lid: Patio, Lawn & Garden

It looks like a pretty decent value, holds almost twice the volume of my current kettle, I can upgrade it with some brew fittings (ball valve and thermometer) and I can start doing full boils :rockin:. The only drawback (maybe it's not) is that it is 0.8mm, which seems thin, but it is a 20 gauge kettle.

Anyway, just want to get some thoughts on the quality of this brand and if anyone has ever used it and any reccomendations/opinions.

It's a good pot, I had that model before I moved up to an 82qt. I didn't have any issue with the thickness, and plenty of room for full boils on 5g batches.
I got mine from cookware.com, at the time they had a free shipping deal
60 bucks delivered.

DanVader said:

It's a good pot, I had that model before I moved up to an 82qt. I didn't have any issue with the thickness, and plenty of room for full boils on 5g batches.
I got mine from cookware.com, at the time they had a free shipping deal
60 bucks delivered.

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Thanks for the feedback DanVader. Would you say it is of a suitable thickness to support ball; valve and thermo additions? Did it seem sturdy/substantial??

the pot did seem sturdy enough, But I never put a ball valve in it. I sold it a while back, so I can't look at it now, but I'd venture to say that it would work with a weldless bulkhead set-up.

hindsight is 20-20 I've got a stainless keggle now, I cut it myself, and put in my own ball valve with parts from mcmaster carr. I would never have got the 82qt if i new the keg was coming along ( laid out 160 for the 82) got about 35 into the keggle.

if you've got the tools or have friends that do, the keg is the way to go.
a friend of mine got mine at a swap meet for 20 bucks.