Kettle Capacity?

How do you determine your kettle size? Is it by pure capacity, or how much it will hold for use? If I fill mine with 4 gallons, it's about 1.5 inches from the rim. So, is it considered a 4 or 5 gallon?

Also, for someone who's doing extract for the time being, what size/make kettle would you guys recommend? Thanks!

I think kettle size is how much it will hold up to (or almost to) the rim. I would assume yours is a 4 gallon pot. I bought what was sold as a 7.5 gallon pot, and the top marking is like 2 inches from the rim and it says 30qt (7.5 gallons). I can barely get away with 5 gallon boils.

Are you brewing inside on the stove or outside on a cooker? Full or partial boil? Ideally, I'd say go with a pot you can use when you upgrade to bigger and better brewing.

So, since mine will hold 5 gallons up to the rim, it's a 4 gallon kettle then? I do my boils in the house right now, but I have the setup for outside boiling, so I can do either. I'm still doing extracts, I started with a full LME kit and then moved to a LME/DME batch.

I'm not sure what the difference between full or partial boil is, can you elaborate? I'm a noob, for sure!

Partial is you are boiling 2-3gal, then topping up in the fermenter with water. Full boil means you brew what you've boiled, so you boil ~6gal

Eskimo Spy said:

So, since mine will hold 5 gallons up to the rim, it's a 4 gallon kettle then?

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No, I must have misunderstood. I thought you said right up to the rim was 4 gallons. If it will hold 5 gallons then chances are that's what it's capacity is rated at. Of course you wouldn't want to boil 5 gallons of wort in there (or even 4 gallons).

damrass said:

No, I must have misunderstood. I thought you said right up to the rim was 4 gallons. If it will hold 5 gallons then chances are that's what it's capacity is rated at. Of course you wouldn't want to boil 5 gallons of wort in there (or even 4 gallons).

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lol, yeah, that would be a mess. I am doing a partial boil. With the LME I was doing a 2 gallon boil, then topping off to 5 gallons. With the LME/DME, I was doing a 2.5 gallon boil, then topping off. So, since I eventually want to move on to bigger and better brewing, I should go with a 7.5 gallon kettle? And is there a certain make or material that is superior? It seems that stainless steel is the way to go, but is an enameled brewpot good too? Thanks!

Not sure about the enameled pots, but I wouldn't think so. Maybe someone else can answer that for us.

If I were going to do it all over again, I'd go for a 10 gallon at least. A full boil in a 7.5 gallon is a tight squeeze when you factor in fermentables, hops, and the extra bit of water you lose from evaporation. More than brand, I would shop for the most heavy dutiest and thickest. IMHO, I wouldn't get anything other than stainless.

BTW, if you get a bigger pot you may not even be able to do inside boils with it. I tried that with my 7.5 pot, and it took like 2 hours to bring the water to boil... and I got scorch marks on the stove.

I figured as much about the outside boils. I have a two burner setup, so I should be good there. So, a 10 gallon will allow me to do a full boil now, and give me the room I need in the future. Stainless steel and thick is the way. Thanks a bunch!

I used an enamel canning pot on the stove when I was doing extract batches. Works just fine for a partial boil. Big thing is to make sure that the enamel isn't chipped or cracked, that can provide off flavors.

Aluminum is also a way to go for the boil kettle. Better heat distribution than stainless and a lower price for a larger pot.