Is this an appropriate beginner pot?

I might eventually graduate from partial boil extract to mini-mash, would this be an appropriate budget-friendly brew pot?

http://www.kitchencollection.com/Te...nkThis=Y&BrandType=Y&Brand=Kitchen Collection

Should work fine. The basket will also be useful for sparging if you decide to use a large grain bag.

Buy a bigger, cheaper, aluminum pot. 30 qts is a pain to work with. You can get a 40qt aluminum for less money than that stainless pot. It'll be easier to work with, and heat quicker.

Synovia said:

Buy a bigger, cheaper, aluminum pot. 30 qts is a pain to work with. You can get a 40qt aluminum for less money than that stainless pot. It'll be easier to work with, and heat quicker.

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True, but be careful if you're using an electric stove. I have a 24qt aluminum pot and it took a while to heat up water for my extract batch because of the heat loss through the sides. Next time I'm going to either build a heatstick or get a bunch of insulation for the sides. I'm leaning towards heatstick b/c they're cheap to make and I can use it to help regulate a boil

thebigt85 said:

True, but be careful if you're using an electric stove. I have a 24qt aluminum pot and it took a while to heat up water for my extract batch because of the heat loss through the sides. Next time I'm going to either build a heatstick or get a bunch of insulation for the sides. I'm leaning towards heatstick b/c they're cheap to make and I can use it to help regulate a boil

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Theres a good chance the issue is the electric stove and not the pot. I don't know anyone who can boil wort on an electric stove. They're just not powerful enough.

Had to do a little research because that pot looked kind of cheap. I've burned my share of extract and decoctions in cheap stainless. So after a quick search I found that 18/0 stainless is your lower end cookware.

To this day I stand by my 22 quart $40 stock pot from Wal Mart which is 18/10 stainless. It has the clad bottom that will take some heat without burning. I can throw my decoction in there, put the kitchen burner on high and never have to stir to keep it from burning.

Synovia said:

Theres a good chance the issue is the electric stove and not the pot. I don't know anyone who can boil wort on an electric stove. They're just not powerful enough.

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I have an old (probably 15 years) electric stove. I'm able to boil 5 gallons of water and keep it boiling no problem at all. In fact, I have to turn it down to medium-high because high is way to much once it starts boiling.

I have boiled 7.25 gallons in a 40qt aluminum pot on my electric stove. The first time I did it the boil was pretty weak. So the second time I tented in the pot with aluminum foil and it went really good.

Yeah, the big problem with those aluminum steamers is that it takes forever for them to hit boiling because of heat loss, especially when you buy the large ones. I recently replaced mine with a slightly smaller low end stainless steel pot. The combination of thicker metal and less space has resulted in much faster boiling and much better temperature control.

I would say try this:
https://www.pelicansky.com/productdetail.aspx?id=202&cat=88

I bought the same 22qt pot PT Ray has and it works nice, but for pretty much the same money you can get a bigger pot and a burner that will be sure to handle a big boil. Im wishing I would have gone with this.

I've been thinking a lot about brewing equipment myself, and at the moment I'm inclined to go with 2.5-gal batches that I can manage easily on my electric stove -- especially in the winter when I don't want to do anything outside. (In the summer, I think 5-gal batches in a turkey fryer might be worth trying.)

Making a small batch every weekend would be a good way to learn the ropes quickly, and it's an idea that all newbies should at least consider

I do 2.5 gal batches as well. (quality/varriety not quantity) I use a 24 quart steamer pot very similar to the one you have chosen. The steamer basket is great for sparge. I take the basket out and put it in another kettle - sparge - then blend both volumes for boil.

The only thing I could recommend is, look for one with more nickel in the stainless. 18/8 or 18/10 is better. (but more expensive)

I can easily allthough slowly boil 7g of wort. I have one of those small 24in stoves. I straddle the pot across two burners.

I do prefer the turkey burner outside.

But to answer your question.

1. Get at least a 24qt pot for extract. Its big enough to do most of a full boil. Then when you graduate to all grain its the perfect size to heat up mash and sparge water.

2. of course if I had to do it over again I'd collect wort in a bucket and buy a 8-10 gallon pot and be done with it.

The 32qt I have is the bayou classic pot and its capacity is actually 10g to the rim so easily boils a full batch.

I got a 52qt thin aluminum cheapo from Winco grocery for ~$35, and am happy w/ it so far. I use a turkey fryer, so maintaining a boil is not an issue. Boilovers are not a concern either with the extra capacity.

I didn't season it like many have said I should, and my first brew in it was awful.

krkelly said:

Making a small batch every weekend would be a good way to learn the ropes quickly, and it's an idea that all newbies should at least consider

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OK as a nOOb I dont have enough fermenters to make a batch every weekend. If you have a special price and place i'm all ears!

Thanks for all the input. I missed the stainless grade, that is especially poor.
I think i'll pass on this one.
The small batch idea interests me, but I would have thought recipes don't scale that easily, and wouldn't you need a smaller fermenter?

I'm about to get this one (I think, unless I hear reasons not to on this forum ).

I plan to use it both indoors on a old electric stove and outdoors with a turkey fryer. It's pricier than the one you linked to but has free shipping. Not sure what range you're looking at but just wanted to share my decision in case it helps...