Stainless steel or aluminum kettle?

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Nike_Eayrs

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I'm taking the next step to all grain and full boil brewing. Home Depot has a couple different turkey fryer kits. One has a 30qt aluminum kettle and the other has a 30qt stainless steel kettle. The stainless one is roughly twice the cost. I've read a lot of conflicting information on this subject, stating aluminum is okay v.s. aluminum is aweful. Anybody with aluminum that hates/loves it? Thanks for the help. Cheers!
 
Aluminum pots seem fine by me. I got a heavy duty 60qt from the kitchen store. It's extremely effective at conducting heat.

Electrolysis might be a concern if you store dissimilar metals in contact for long periods. Found that out by leaving my spoon in my small stainless pot.

Sorry started early today
 
Aluminum hasn't caused any off-flavors for me. 30 qt size will cause more boilovers or smaller batches. I now use a 1/2 barrel keg for boiling and life is easier.
 
Aluminum pots are fine if you ensure that they have an oxidation layer is my understanding. I used to brew with an aluminum turkey fryer pot. it got pitted and I couldn't beleive that it was good for making beer. I upgraded to a stainless pot about 8 years ago and it is still in great shape. My opinion based on experience is that stainless will last longer. Also if you want to add a valve (which makes for a way easier time of filling your fermenters) I wouldn't personally ever drill an aluminum pot and install a stainless of brass valve due to the dissimiliar metal interaction.

Go Stainless for the long haul or aluminum to get started cheap. If i were starting out again I would probably go with the 30 qt aluminum turkey got and upgrade to a 10 - 15 gallon stainless down the line. (which is what I did to start but I got the aluminum pot for free.)
 
Aluminum pots are fine if you ensure that they have an oxidation layer is my understanding. I used to brew with an aluminum turkey fryer pot. it got pitted and I couldn't beleive that it was good for making beer. I upgraded to a stainless pot about 8 years ago and it is still in great shape. My opinion based on experience is that stainless will last longer. Also if you want to add a valve (which makes for a way easier time of filling your fermenters) I wouldn't personally ever drill an aluminum pot and install a stainless of brass valve due to the dissimiliar metal interaction.

Go Stainless for the long haul or aluminum to get started cheap. If i were starting out again I would probably go with the 30 qt aluminum turkey got and upgrade to a 10 - 15 gallon stainless down the line. (which is what I did to start but I got the aluminum pot for free.)

This is great advice :mug:
 
Aluminum pots will not be as pretty or shiny...but the beer will taste the same, depends on the thickness of your wallet and personal preference. I would not spend double on a stainless TF vs. an aluminum one.

"Go stainless for the long haul" ????

That implies that an aluminum pot will wear out quickly....what rubbish!
 
I had an aluminum pot and it got pitted and crappy. Maybe it was due to the care we gave it. I don't know I was 22 and brewing half assed (or was it half-cocked) at the time. The stainless pot that replaced the pitted one when I was 23 is still with me 8 years later and looks practically brand new.

You will note that I recommended getting the aluminum pot turkey fryer because he would probably want a 10-15 gallon pot and the stainless pot would end up retired after spending extra.

Edit: replacement pot was stainless
 
I had an aluminum pot and it got pitted and crappy. Maybe it was due to the care we gave it. I don't know I was 22 and brewing half assed (or was it half-cocked) at the time. The pot that replaced the pitted one when I was 23 is still with me 8 years later and looks practically brand new.

You will note that I recommended getting the aluminum pot turkey fryer because he would probably want a 10-15 gallon pot and the stainless pot would end up retired after spending extra.

;) Good points...agreed, cheers
 
Aluminum pots seem fine by me. I got a heavy duty 60qt from the kitchen store. It's extremely effective at conducting heat.

Electrolysis might be a concern if you store dissimilar metals in contact for long periods. Found that out by leaving my spoon in my small stainless pot.

Sorry started early today

+1 on leaving disimilar metals in contact. I made the mistake of leaving my coper imersion chiller in the pot for storage and found that the "seasoning" was ripped right off where it sat on the bottom. I had to reseason it all over. Easy enough but now i have a slight marking where the copper sat on the aluminum. Take care of the pot and it will be fine. I tend to air dry all my pots quickly with a air hose to avoid pitting... worked so far.
 
yea.. thats terrible... Thats why i use my air gun to dry it out as best i can. I'd love to go stainless but if i do i'm going to a 15 gal pot and those things are way too expensive. Worth it though.. it will probably be my last pot i buy.
 
I have 2 aluminim pots that I have used for 4 years of brewing. I also have stainless steel pots. Both are fine and will hold up well if you take care of them. If money is an issue I would go with aluminum and save the extra money for something else related to your brewing like buying beersmith, promash, mashtun or perhaps a grain crusher. You can make very good beer with aluminum cookware as long as you do a full boil with water for the first trial to oxidize the surface. Aluminum is a better conductor of heat that steel so if this is a lower output burner (like many turkey burners are) then aluminum would give you a shorter boil time.
 
yea.. thats terrible... Thats why i use my air gun to dry it out as best i can. I'd love to go stainless but if i do i'm going to a 15 gal pot and those things are way too expensive. Worth it though.. it will probably be my last pot i buy.

My stainless pot was on sale so it was only $15 more to go from 10 gal to 15 gal. Now I at least have the option of brewing 10 gallons.
 
went from an aluminum turkey pot and fryer to a keggle. I am now using a 120gt aluminum pot thats from the 40's It super thick heats evenly, fast and is lighter than the keggle. So I think longevity is relative to care
 
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