8GAL kettle $25 shipped

Just wanted to put this out there for others who may be looking to slightly upgrade your kettle but are on a budget. I picked up this steamer pot from amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00194DVJI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Did a small 2.5gal batch in it on my stove top to try it out and its a pretty nice economy kettle.

Enjoy

What can you tell us about the thickness/sturdiness of the pot. I'm not expecting it to stop a bullet, but does it seem serviceable for years?

For $25 it doesn't have to last years...

Btw, I just bought one so I could do half batches on my stove during the winter. Great find!

munklunk said:

For $25 it doesn't have to last years...

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Sure it does. $25 for a kettle isn't free. I can get a decent stainless steel kettle for $70 that will last lifetimes. If I have to replace this every year then I lose money after three years. I plan on brewing for longer than three years.

Its slightly thinner than my turkey fryer, but not by much. The handles and rivets seem pretty strong, i boiled ~7gal of water in it to get the oxidized layer built up and picked the whole thing up full of water no probs.

The false bottom has holes too large for what we need, but i think you could put a screen over it to help, as well as drilling this and installing a valve. I'm considering doing that in the near future.

If you take care of your equipment this should last you AT LEAST 3 years IMO.

impur said:

The false bottom has holes too large for what we need, but i think you could put a screen over it to help, as well as drilling this and installing a valve. I'm considering doing that in the near future.

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Thanks for the info. The built-in ridge for a false bottom is what I really like about this kettle. I'm thinking I could fashion a new false bottom with finer holes for mashing. Is there enough room below the false bottom ridge to put the valve?

Yep, plenty of room. Probably ~3"

I use this same kettle, it loses a lot of heat through the sides and I got a much better boil after insulating it.

The handles are sturdy but I do worry picking it up full of wort.

Never used the false bottom.

I did a SMaSH brew in it over the weekend, ended up about 2.75gal. I mashed in the kettle and just covered the kettle with 2 towels. I lost 1-2 degrees in 1 hour which isn't too bad!

Walmart has the same pot. They call it a tamale pot. I use mine frequently.

Man, that is a pretty good deal. Might be perfect for the stovetop all grain method that I was reading about yesterday.

jbrookeiv said:

Man, that is a pretty good deal. Might be perfect for the stovetop all grain method that I was reading about yesterday.

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I use one for BIAB I mash in a 5 gal. pot sparge in the 8 gal pot dump the mash in the 8 gal. pot and boil works good.

I love Amazon. One of the few places that honors the free shipping to Alaska. Most other places charge you up the wazoo for shipping.

bilder said:

I love Amazon. One of the few places that honors the free shipping to Alaska. Most other places charge you up the wazoo for shipping.

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I swear by it. Love thier free shipping!

thank you now my starter kit is complete. no problem making smaller batches in a bigger pot to control boil over easier is there?

sportscrazed2 said:

thank you now my starter kit is complete. no problem making smaller batches in a bigger pot to control boil over easier is there?

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Your boil off rate will likely be a little different but that's hardly a show stopper.

hal2814 said:

Your boil off rate will likely be a little different but that's hardly a show stopper.

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allright thanks alot i am only going to be boiling 2.5 gallons with extract but i think it's a good idea to get a bigger then nescessary pot just in case i want to up production later. btw what is best procedure to stop extract from getting burnt to bottom of pot?

Keeping a good rolling boil going helps keep the extract from caramelizing on the bottom of the pot, since the water is continuously circulating... but I tend to stir regularly as well. I have a hard time leaving things alone.

sportscrazed2 said:

allright thanks alot i am only going to be boiling 2.5 gallons with extract but i think it's a good idea to get a bigger then nescessary pot just in case i want to up production later. btw what is best procedure to stop extract from getting burnt to bottom of pot?

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Add the extract toward the end of the boil. I add about 25% at the beginning, and the remainder with about 10min left in the boil when I've done extracts.

any thoughts on picking up 3 and doing an all grain setup with them?

If I was doing a setup I'd go with Stainless as opposed to aluminum. but that's just me

In for one - thanks!

Brek81 said:

any thoughts on picking up 3 and doing an all grain setup with them?

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I don't see why not. I'm doing mostly AG, though i have a cooler MLT and my turkey fryer for a HLT, but i don't see why it wouldn't work just as well with 3 of these.

NorCalAngler said:

...If I have to replace this every year then I lose money after three years. I plan on brewing for longer than three years.

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hold the phones! you mean you don't plan on only brewing for 2 years!?!?!?! well, me either! and good point on the lifespan, thats why i bought all stainless equipment. sanitation ability and it'll NEVER wear out. my grandkids will get my brewery.

This is the pot I have, except I got it a little bigger, at K-Mart, on clearance. Love it.

Now, that being said, I AM looking to get a keg and make a keggle, but that is because I ant to get bigger and badder, not due to the pot. It is serviceable, cheap, and for my extract brewing it is WONDERFUL to drop in a sink of ice and cool quickly...

guys it's a pot. how in the world do you break a pot? seriously

i have both the 8 and 5 gallon versions of this pot and they are both great for the money!

A lotta Alaskan's in this thread...I'm thinking about taking my PFD and going all Grain. It's great we live in a state that pays us

sportscrazed2 said:

guys it's a pot. how in the world do you break a pot? seriously

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This is exactly what I was thinking.

Thanks for linking this! Absolutely going to be my go-to recommendation for "wat should i buy for my first pot" buddies Wish I had known about this when I started out.

About 6 months ago (maybe longer) this same pot was on sale for $20 shipped and I bought one. I'm using it for my HLT and it works great.

Even better with Amazon Prime free 2nd day shipping. Mine will be here on Friday.

Docjowles said:

Thanks for linking this! Absolutely going to be my go-to recommendation for "wat should i buy for my first pot" buddies Wish I had known about this when I started out.

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My pleasure! I am always thankful when someone passes a good deal onto me, so I'm paying it forward

TonyR said:

Even better with Amazon Prime free 2nd day shipping. Mine will be here on Friday.

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Thats what i did. Make sure you opt out before the 1 month trial is up! Unless you want to continue it of course.

impur said:

Thats what i did. Make sure you opt out before the 1 month trial is up! Unless you want to continue it of course.

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As a student, I have 1 year free Prime. Best deal ever - I've been getting tons of stuff through them.

Dang you got the hookup. I love amazon.

Got mine in today. It's nice and lightweight and fits perfectly on my stove. handles are made of heat resistant material it appears so that is a definite plus. everybody else wants $40 for a smaller pot so I think this is a pretty good deal.

impur said:

My pleasure! I am always thankful when someone passes a good deal onto me, so I'm paying it forward

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Well making the money off the referral code in the link sure helps, eh?

The pot now says ships in 3-5 weeks.

I got this same pot at Target for $20. Check there too. I mash in a 10 gal Rubbermaid and use this to boil. It's pretty dent resistant because of the indent. I've done 50 gallons with it so far and have never worried about the handles, which are heat resistant, but I'd still use potholders after an hour boil.

NorCalAngler said:

Well making the money off the referral code in the link sure helps, eh?

The pot now says ships in 3-5 weeks.

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Huh, you can do that??? Crap i didn't know that!

I'm looking all over the site i can't figure it out? Would you mind shooting me a link to how to do it for future use?