Need help on pot size

Hey lookin to do my first all grain as soon as i get all the stuff i need together. I was wondering if a 50 quart pot would be too big for a 5 gal batch, I'm looking at the 50 so that ill have room to move to 10 gal batches if i decide to in the future.

OK for 5 gallons
Too small for 10

is there a size i can use for 5 and 10?

Look for a 60 quart that is taller than it is wide. If the diameter is too large, you'll get too much boil-off with the smaller batch sizes.

+1 thanks for the help

If you're on a tight budget, consider this.

15 gallon works good for both 5 and 10 gallon batch.

best bang for your buck seems to be this pot on ebay. Yeah its aluminum but it also 20 gallon sized pot for $65 shipped!

http://cgi.ebay.com/80-QT-COOKING-POT-W-STRAINER-/130484708721?pt=Cookware&hash=item1e617ea571

definitely on a tight budget, like college student kind of tight budget

Bachhus said:

best bang for your buck seems to be this pot on ebay. Yeah its aluminum but it also 20 gallon sized pot for $65 shipped!

http://cgi.ebay.com/80-QT-COOKING-POT-W-STRAINER-/130484708721?pt=Cookware&hash=item1e617ea571

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is a 20 gallon pot not too big for 5 gallon batches? i feel like i would get a good bit of boil off

That's what I had been debating but the problem is a pot that can do both 5 and 10 gallon batches for the best price. You can go with a 15.5 keggle but some report problems with boil over on 10 gallon batches. If you can find a keg to convert near you that seems to be the cheapest option if you have the tools or friends that do to cut the top off.

I decided on the ebay aluminum pots because they were the cheapest I could find, they come with a full sized steemer basket and a lid. I plan to do mostly 5 gallon batches but will do 10 gallon also. Boil off is something you can calculate by doing a 60-90 boil with water at first and see where your at when done. With that size of a pot boil over is not something I'm figuring will be much of an problem. The steemer basket I have visions of a grain basket with some stainless mesh.

I also do not have kegs availble to convert around me for anything close to a good price so 65 or 70 shipped for the 100qt was a no brainer for me.

Hope that all made sense
Mark

I debated the keggle option too, but after i thought about it and realized i would have to shell out 35-45 bucks on a decent angle grinder plus 30 or 35 dollar deposit i would lose on a keg (i know its illegal, i dont have a problems 'stealing' from Coors though, judge me if you want) It would end up costing about the same to get a good sized aluminum pot, thanks for the help on sizing bachus +1

I own a 42qt stainless steel polar-ware pot which I love beyond words (for 5g) and a 30qt aluminium pot which I can't really stand. I find that the aluminium gets really dingy after only having water in it due to oxidation which goes straight into the wort if I decide to boil with it. My huge recommendation is to NEVER use enamel and whatever pot you get make sure it has a lid (reason #2 I dislike my aluminium pot, it didn't come with one online).

Are you going to be using a stove top or a propane tank outdoors since I will tell you, my 42qt pot barely boils when it has about 38qt of liquid in it which is fine since it needed to steam off a lot and making 10g of beer in a go on a stove top I don't think would work too well due to the volume of wort and temperature output of a stove but I could be mistaken.

Basically I would say that any pot that can handle 10g of wort well will easily handle 5g of wort but will be much harder to manage. I would look for the 50-60qt capacity like mentioned earlier but you are talking about a massive pot, unwieldy and heavy, 10g of wort plus aluminium pot would weigh close to 80 pounds of sloshing scalding hot pot and liquid.

Basically, if you can find a used large stainless steal pot I would highly recommend it for a brew pot over aluminium. If you go with aluminium make sure to use an acid sanitizer to get the oxidized gunk off of the pot before boil.

15 gallons is perfect for 5 and 10 gallon batches. Can you you boil over when doing a ten gallon batch in a 15 gallon pot? sure ....... but you can boil over doing a 7 gallon boil in a 15 gallon pot.

Keep in eye on your boil for the first 5 minutes (regardless of pot size IMO) and after that you are set and pretty much worry free.

15.5 gallon keggle leaves sufficient space to do a 12 gallon boil (10 gallon batch).

I found that using starsan works quite well to very quickly remove any oxidised stuff (like copper for the immersion chillier) or aluminium oxide. I also found that if I don't do that, my pot gets very shiny and new looking (as what happens when I make chilli with large amounts of tomato stuff) due to the ph level being slightly acidic. It might not affect the beer too much, if at all, but something about putting that stuff into my wort doesn't sit right.

asterix404 said:

I found that using starsan works quite well to very quickly remove any oxidised stuff . . .

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I repeat!



We are talking aluminum here?

AnOldUR said:

I repeat!



We are talking aluminum here?

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I agree with you here...

You WANT the aluminum oxide layer ON the pot... It's specifically in the sticky on aluminum pots use... You build up a good layer to PROTECT the pot and to prevent anything from getting into the brew (chances are slim to nil if you condition the pot first, which is a snap)... You want that layer on the pot to prevent low PH from getting to the aluminum of the pot itself... So unless your wort is super acidic (like a PH below 4) you won't have an issue.

I just picked up a 60 quart aluminum stock pot, with steamer basket insert from a restaurant supplier last week. I've installed a ball valve in it, and will be conditioning it as soon as my propane burner arrives (Tuesday).. I've been using a 32 quart aluminum stock pot to brew in for the last 4 batches... Zero oxidation in any of them. Of course, I did build up the aluminum oxide layer on the pot BEFORE I used it the first time. I've also made sure to maintain it (not scrubbing, or scrubbing hard enough to remove any of it).

There are plenty of home brewers that have been using aluminum pots for years without any issue. IF there was an issue, you wouldn't have people saying they work, they'd be saying to avoid them at all costs... Sure, LHBS want you to buy the stainless steel pots they SELL... It's in their better interest to do that. But take one aside and ask what they really think of using aluminum pots, and chances are you'll hear that they're just fine...

BTW, aluminum pots have been used in the restaurant business for many, many years... IF there was ANY risk of off flavors, or harm, they would not be allowed/used by any restaurant at all. How many times have you seen a cooking show, where they're in a restaurant's kitchen, and they're using [basically] all aluminum pots and pans? More times than you can count...

Alright, I concede the point. It was just very disconcerting to see the oxidation occurring so fast and I went online to find out why and it turns out it does that when it was just sitting in water. I was also told that I should remove the copper oxidation before I put my wort chillier into the wort and I figured it was about the same thing with my pot. I am actually glad I am corrected and won't worry so much next time.

BTW, on almost all of the cooking shows I see, I see bright and shiny pots and pans and I have no idea what they are made out of, I have almost always used either stainless or cast iron for all of my cooking, and as I said before, I made chilly and it took off all of the oxidation and I highly doubt (but it is possible) that the tomatoes get to a ph of 4.

I don't mind admitting I am totally wrong on stuff but saying things like ::GASP:: NO! doesn't really help explain why I am wrong... and I did read quite a lot on which pots to buy from a lot of sites and didn't see anything about building up a level of oxidation or even that it occurs and was quite surprised to see that it did. After searching about why it did explicitly, I am no longer surprised, however it didn't say anything about it being a benefit, so if I am mistaken please at least do me the favour and the favour to the poster asking the initial question to at least link to the site explaining why I am totally off base.

Still though @the original poster, if you buy from online make sure that it comes with a lid since mine didn't and I had to get a lid that sort of fits but doesn't really, or buy from a professional kitchen supply store, like one that sells to restaurants. Around where I live it's called china fair (google it to get an idea of what I mean if you need to), and they would sell huge pots (like 8qt to 100qt) for short money and they come with a lid.

asterix404 said:

. . . make sure that it comes with a lid since mine didn't . . .

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j/k

But I hope you're not boiling with the lid on . . .

asterix404 said:

. . . saying things like ::GASP:: NO! doesn't really help explain why I am wrong . . .

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Sorry. Just giving you a heads up and an opportunity to do more research and make corrections on your own.

bamabrewin said:

definitely on a tight budget, like college student kind of tight budget

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Question is; how tall of a plant plus how many buds does it have? JK.

I would check into commercial restaurant supplies for a minimum of 60 QT. in size
they may have large thick walled pots available at a major savings.
Check into used supplies also besides used restaurant equipment scrap yards.

bamabrewin said:

Hey lookin to do my first all grain as soon as i get all the stuff i need together. I was wondering if a 50 quart pot would be too big for a 5 gal batch, I'm looking at the 50 so that ill have room to move to 10 gal batches if i decide to in the future.

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Go 100 quart! eBay has them for $70

BrewBeemer said:

Question is; how tall of a plant plus how many buds does it have? JK.

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haha its like you knew I was at school in Boulder

A few days ago on TV they had small pot farms getting destroyed by DEA deep in the Kentucky hills, what the heck big money wasted on egg beaters for a couple plants randomly placed in the woods. I'm not a supporter, look around in Mexifornia the biggest producing state. Bier's my choice for recreational fun plus brewing it.