Minimum pot size for 5 gallon AG batch?

I just purchased all the equipment needed to build a 10 gallon Gott-style mash tun for batch sparging (using FlyGuy's great instructions in this thread.

The last piece of equipment I need to go AG is a burner and pot; I have been seriously considering a Bayou Classic turkey fryer for $50; comes with the burner and a 30 quart aluminum pot (which I am planning on boiling first per Palmer to generate the appropriate layer of oxidized metal).

My one concern is that in reading other threads here, it sounds like a 7.5 gallon pot (at least in many people's opinions) is too small to get a good rolling boil on 6.5 gallons of wort (to boil down to between 5 and 5.5 gallons). I don't have any $$ in the budget right now for a larger SS or aluminum pot, so the turkey fryer solution is extremely attractive - but I don't want to regret it later. I have a 5.5 gallon pot that I've been using for partial-boil extract that I am planning on using for an HLT.

So I guess my question is - am I screwed if I go with the 7.5 gallon pot? Should I even bother building the MLT or is all-grain just out of my reach right now?

It CAN be done. Just keep a spray bottle with a mister IN YOUR HAND for the hot break. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE POT FOR ANY REASON IF THE FLAME IS STILL ON! After the hot break, just watch it when you add hops.

I've been using a turkey fryer pot for 5 Gal AG for a month or so now. It works very nicely. If you need more boiling space, just split your wort into two pots and boil them both down until you're around 6 gallons total, then combine in the turkey fryer pot and boil as normal.

Drunkensatyr said:

It CAN be done. Just keep a spray bottle with a mister IN YOUR HAND for the hot break. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE POT FOR ANY REASON IF THE FLAME IS STILL ON! After the hot break, just watch it when you add hops.

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That's great to hear, thank you! Just water in the spray bottle, or is there some kind of special anti-foam product I should use? Water would be best (I'm a cheap bastard), but I'm willing to buy something extra (within reason) if it gets me into AG faster.

Just plain old tap water set to mist. It will kill the surface tension on the foam. You may still have to hit the gas a bit, but once you dial it in you are home free.

The spray bottle works awesome. Used it last week.

I have a 9 gallon boil kettle and even that seems too small at times but if you pay
close attention as stated you should be fine with your setup. Have fun with the AG!

30 qt pots are fine, you just have to watch them like a hawk, which can be annoying.

If you can't get a decent boil in a pot this big, you may be boiling too hard.

Having said that, I sure like my keggle -- hard to go back to the turkey fryer pot...

I use a 7.5 gallon pot, and as long as you set the heat right, you can boil right up near the top. When I did my barley wine, I had to fill a couple other pots also, so the boil took near 5 hours.

You can do it. I dont know if metal matters, but I was able to get a stainless pot, and burner from academy sports store for 49.99 last week. They had some aluminum ones that were even cheaper.

I have both 30 qt AL and 34 qt SS pots. Even my 34 qt will boil over every time if I don't hit the gas in time. I thought that I was home free two weeks ago when I tried out my keggle on my first 10 gallon batch. Guess what? Yep, boil over.

I just station my wife on the gas valve and say, "Honey, don't let it boil over". She's a ninja with the gas control and whenever she's driving we do great. 32qt pot and it does fine. I did a 5 gallon batch (7 gallon boil) in a converted keg last weekend and managed to boil it over thinking eh it'll never boil over! Just don't walk away from it while it's boiling until after the hot break or when adding hops.

I have a 30 qt. and have had it inch's from the top with no boil overs. As long as you watch it you need not to worry. Would it be nice to have a bigger pot yes. But im not going to spend 200 bucks on one any time soon.

i use 30 quart aluminum almost to the top, i dont misteither i just really watch the gas

30 qt will work but you really need to hover, especially when the wort's just beginning to boil. I haven't tried the spray bottle trick yet, I just ride the gas and stir. After the hot break you need very little flame to maintain a nice boil.

I've been brewing all grain for a year. I think a significant amount of grain and appropriate, quality liquid yeast make worlds of difference in the outcome. You don't need anything too fancy. I brewed on Sunday with the following equipment :

Mash Tun :
4x ~3.5 lbs of grain in homemade cheese cloth bags (1 sq yd each) tied off with cotton string ($4)
a former bottling bucket with a spigot ($6)
a zero degree sleeping bag as insulation (appropriated from camping supplies)
vinyl tubing to move hot water/wort and avoid the dreaded Hot Side Aeration (and minimize splashing) (~$5, depending on length)
thermometer ($12)
small tables and stools for gravity assistance (appropriated apartment furniture)

Boil/sparge :
22 qt (that's 5.5 gallons) SS Tramontina pot from Wal-Mart (~$55)
12 qt (that's 3 gallons) SS Tramontina pot from Wal-Mart (bought for sake brewing and cooking 5 years ago, ~$35)
12 qt (see above) SS pot (temporarily appropriated from roommate)
3 burners from gas stove in student apartment

Wort Chiller
50' 1/2" OD copper tubing ($45)
very improvised PVC tubing and fittings to neck down water from sink ($10)


I designed the wort chiller to fit in either size pot. With 3 pots, I boil faster and evaporate more.

I pulled about 8 gallons of wort off the grain (it stopped tasting good & sweet at that point), and boiled it down to about 5.5 gallons. So long as the grain bags aren't packed too tightly (the grain has space to move) I have never had a problem with mashing.

It works great for the price. I've been at least partial mashing on incredibly old, dirty, poorly repaired, low output college student stoves for 2 years without problems, and the boil never gets so vigorous that the pot boils over if I split the batch, even with high gravity batches. It did take me rather a long time to get from mash out to boil, but my equipment is cheap, and I have wireless internet, books, a stereo and a tv nearby...

I would sat that if you are really pinched for boiling equipment, you could even split your batch and half at a time, so long as you had something to rest the remainder of the batch in.


That said, I would ideally own a 5.1 kW single hob induction heating unit with automatic temperature control and two 15 gallon stainless polarware pots with spigots and one false bottom, but I'm lacking the ~$2000 to do that right now...

Hey Oznozz -- I think you would make Charlie Papazian very proud if he knew you were making great beer with that setup! Seriously, you bring up a very good point that is worth reiterating now and then -- great beers are made by good brewers, and not by fancy equipment. The fancy equipment just makes the process a bit easier, and for some, more enjoyable. (Of course, making and assembling your brewery equipment can be a whole hobby unto itself, but that's another topic.)

Anyways, I'll tip my glass to your brewery and your future brewery to come!

Cheers!

Cheers!

I've been obsessed with induction cooking hobs since I used them in Europe while visiting an X-girlfriend (man was I proud when that girl brought a gueze to a party and then started explaining what it was to her friends...) Imagine the ability to dial in a temp for your mash and walk away...

I try to keep it so my equipment is mobile and fits in a closet because I live in a ~600 sq ft townhouse that I share with a roommate. This engenders creativity, and I think I inherited cheapness and ingenuity from my folks. I also have a lot of friends that live in cities, so I've been trying to figure out how to make a gravity fed brew tree with induction hobs, since they are small and indoor friendly.

Time for a goblet of AG Trouble with Trippels from the kegs in the brew closet...

I bought a 33 qt. enamel canner pot from Fred Meyer for $ 29.99 and that seems to work just fine, havn't tried the spray bottle yet .But I will!

oznozz said:

Mash Tun :
4x ~3.5 lbs of grain in homemade cheese cloth bags (1 sq yd each) tied off with cotton string ($4)
a former bottling bucket with a spigot ($6)
a zero degree sleeping bag as insulation (appropriated from camping supplies)
vinyl tubing to move hot water/wort and avoid the dreaded Hot Side Aeration (and minimize splashing) (~$5, depending on length)
thermometer ($12)
small tables and stools for gravity assistance (appropriated apartment furniture)

Boil/sparge :
22 qt (that's 5.5 gallons) SS Tramontina pot from Wal-Mart (~$55)
12 qt (that's 3 gallons) SS Tramontina pot from Wal-Mart (bought for sake brewing and cooking 5 years ago, ~$35)
12 qt (see above) SS pot (temporarily appropriated from roommate)
3 burners from gas stove in student apartment

Wort Chiller
50' 1/2" OD copper tubing ($45)
very improvised PVC tubing and fittings to neck down water from sink ($10)

Click to expand...

And making great beer..... PRICELESS!

Sorry, I couldn't resist! Please don't kill me!:rockin:

Willy Boner said:

I bought a 33 qt. enamel canner pot from Fred Meyer for $ 29.99 and that seems to work just fine, havn't tried the spray bottle yet .But I will!

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Sorry to threadjack a bit, but tell me more about enamel pots. Drawbacks? I'm limited to apartment stovetops for at least anopther 1.5 yrs. and would like to get a second pot so I can do full boils (split between two pots).

A bit more on topic: I have bioled 3.5 gal in a 4 gal pot and - like everyone else has said - it is possible with close supervision. I do usually hold off on the hops until I get the first bit of foaming to subside. Seems a bit safer that way.

The only problem with enamel pots is if they chip, supposedly, the iron underneath can leach off flavors into your beer. And iron is bad for yeast, or so I hear.

I have boiled 30 qts in a 32 qt pot. You just have to be super-skippy on the gas throttle. Go for it!