79.99 good price for a brew kettle?

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chemman14

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I am going to get started home brewing with a kit from a local home brew shop for around 100 (80 with a plastic carboy) and they sell a 7.5 gallon brew pot for 79.99. The price on the kit seemed reasonable but the pot seems a little expensive. Does 79.99 sound about right?
 
chemman14 said:
I am going to get started home brewing with a kit from a local home brew shop for around 100 (80 with a plastic carboy) and they sell a 7.5 gallon brew pot for 79.99. The price on the kit seemed reasonable but the pot seems a little expensive. Does 79.99 sound about right?
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Depends - what kind of pot is it?
 
Is that stainless? I think I paid less than $80 or about that much for a 60qt ALuminum heavy stock pot from a restaurant supply store. At first you think its big, but I collect about 8 gallon for all grain. And its perfect for 10 gallon brews.
 
Any fittings on it or is it just the pot? I would try to find a restaurant supply store and look for something in the 10gal range. I got a 10gal aluminum pot for $60
 
Are you sure you need a pot that size? If you are just starting out and doing some extract recipe's you could get something a little smaller. I picked up a 17 quart stainless steel pot from Big Lot's for $12.
 
I just called a local resturaunt supply place and they have a 32 quart pot for 56.50. Seems alot more reasonable. I am not sure how a 17 quart would work? I plan on doing 5 gallon batches
 
If there is any chance of you doing all grain, get a 10 gallon. If you know you will be doing all grain for sure, then get a 15 gallon pot. No smaller than 10 for sure. I have an 8 gallon pot and doing full boils is close.
 
All grain uses no extract, simply all grain, requires more equipment for mashing and require syou to boil more than the expected final volume. So if you are doing 5.5 gallon final volume, you would have to boil somewhere around 6.5-7.5 gallons. So you can see where a 7.5 gallon pot would really be cutting it close.
 
Before everyone gets carried away and sells you on a 15 gallon pot... how are you going to heat this thing? If you are just starting, I'm going to assume you will boiling on your stove top, at least for a while. Which might well mean partial boils (boiling a smaller volume, then adding cold water to top up in the fermentor). In which case, a 7.5 or even a 5 gallon pot would be fine. A 15 gallon pot might not fit on your stove... do you have a turkey fryer?
 
BioBeing said:
Before everyone gets carried away and sells you on a 15 gallon pot... how are you going to heat this thing? If you are just starting, I'm going to assume you will boiling on your stove top, at least for a while. Which might well mean partial boils (boiling a smaller volume, then adding cold water to top up in the fermentor). In which case, a 7.5 or even a 5 gallon pot would be fine. A 15 gallon pot might not fit on your stove... do you have a turkey fryer?
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My parents recently got one of those oil less fryers so I am going to take their old turkey fryer, worked out nicely actually :D
 
BioBeing said:
Before everyone gets carried away and sells you on a 15 gallon pot... how are you going to heat this thing? If you are just starting, I'm going to assume you will boiling on your stove top, at least for a while. Which might well mean partial boils (boiling a smaller volume, then adding cold water to top up in the fermentor). In which case, a 7.5 or even a 5 gallon pot would be fine. A 15 gallon pot might not fit on your stove... do you have a turkey fryer?
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Yup you're right. Do some more reading before you jump in. All grain most of the time require a turkey burner or similair setup.
 
chemman14 said:
My parents recently got one of those oil less fryers so I am going to take their old turkey fryer, worked out nicely actually :D
Click to expand...
Cool. Just know then that a full boil for a 5 gallon batch actually starts out with close to 7 gallons of wort. When you start the boil, you get a "hot break", which means that the wort rapidly comes to a very violent boil, and climbs the side of your pot. So, a 7 gallon pot is cutting it tight: you'll have to watch it like a hawk and kill the flame or spray the top with cold water as it starts to boil over. You can also use drops to prevent boil over though, and so it can be done. But a bigger pot is easier, and it allows you to do bigger batches too. And more beer is always better! I use a 15 gallon aluminum pot I got from a local restaurant supply store for about $60. I can do 5 and 10 gallon batches in it.
 
BioBeing said:
Cool. Just know then that a full boil for a 5 gallon batch actually starts out with close to 7 gallons of wort. When you start the boil, you get a "hot break", which means that the wort rapidly comes to a very violent boil, and climbs the side of your pot. So, a 7 gallon pot is cutting it tight: you'll have to watch it like a hawk and kill the flame or spray the top with cold water as it starts to boil over. You can also use drops to prevent boil over though, and so it can be done. But a bigger pot is easier, and it allows you to do bigger batches too. And more beer is always better! I use a 15 gallon aluminum pot I got from a local restaurant supply store for about $60. I can do 5 and 10 gallon batches in it.
Click to expand...

well that's exactly my point 10 gallon is perfect for ALL grain, and not too big for doing full boil extract or partial mash
 
I know there is a big debate about Aluminum and Stainless, I prefer stainless just becasue it will last a lifetime, and you don't have to be concerned about the passive oxide layer. Discount Restaurant Supplies, Janitorial Supplies and Office Supplies at Wares Direct., has some SS pots that look like MegaPots for about $129. Again, buy smart buy once. If you are going to be stovetop brewing, which is what I do right now, don't get a pot too large or you will have problems boiling. I have a 20qt clad bottom stainless pot and it takes damn near 30 minutes to get 3.5-4 gallons boiling on my gas range.
 
dude get a 60 quart (15 gallon) pot. Its more expensive but when you get into all grain which you probably will soon. You don't want to be spending another hundred on a bigger pot. Do it once and do it right! That way you can do 10 gallons batches in it down the road!
 
that's what I'm saying. Go atleast 10g. 15g looks big, but about the only caveat I see is having to tip it to one side to get all the wort out. Other than thatn 10 gallons batches is great and with 5 gallon batches I can walk away and never worry about boil over. Good luck though, have fun.
 
I got a 10 gallon stainless steel pot for $78 at Wasserstrom. I felt it was alot, but it has magnetic stainless on the bottom which I need for my induction stovetop and has an encapsulated aluminum layer which distributes the heat better to prevent scorching.
 

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