Cheap Brew Pot?

I am looking to upgrade to 10 gallon brews and want a pot that has a ball valve fit in the bottom and I am trying to figure out the most economical solution. Kegs seem to be reasonable cheap but when modified are much more costly and finding them locally has been a hassel.

Anyways I was thinking of purchasing this pot:
http://www.waresdirect.com/products/Restaurant-Supply/Update-International/Stock-Pot167557

And having a welder install a ball valve at the bottom. Any idea what kind of ball valve I should have installed 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch...and how much can I anticipate the welder charging to install this?

Any information would be really helpful. I live in CT and am having trouble finding a reasonably priced modified brew kettle.

WilliamsBrewing.com has some pretty good ones.

Search around the forum, this hasn't been the first time this question has come up. Im sure there lots of info on this topic.

Yeah I have been doing some looking around the classified section but am finding it increasingly hard to find equipment around the CT area...

Thanks for the suggestions though guys.

I just purchased the 40Q stock pot on this site. http://kitchenfantasy.com/shopping_cart/stockpots.html
It is currently on sale. Still fairly expensive and if you need a ball valve that will be extra of course but it looks like a good peice of hardware to me.

The weldless fittings work pretty well. I have a similar pot to the one in the original link and I have yet to leak a single drop from the weldless.

40 Quarts wouldn't cut it for a 10 Gallon brew. I think you'd be looking for at least 60 quarts. If you have a membership at Sam's Club you can pick one up for $45.88...

EDIT: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=102996.

Jawbox0 said:

40 Quarts wouldn't cut it for a 10 Gallon brew. I think you'd be looking for at least 60 quarts. If you have a membership at Sam's Club you can pick one up for $45.88...

60qt

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fixed it for ya.

I think the OP post was for 80qt at $56.25. I would go for that over saving $11. I do 10 gallon batches. After bumping up to 11 gallons to account for racking loss, bumping for temperature volume loss, bumping for hop absorption, and bumping for evaporation over 90 minutes, I am boiling 14.4 gallons this Saturday. That is very tight in my 60qt Sam's Club special. Don't get me wrong, I really like my kettle, but it could be 5 gallons bigger and I would like it more.

Oops, you are absolutely correct. Somehow I missed the link in the OP and only saw the 40qt links. That is a great price for 80qts.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't skimp on the boil kettle too much. If you are trying to save a little money, I would recommend something along the lines of a bayou classic stainless steel kettle. They're pretty thin-walled, but if you're AG, you don't have to worry. I would also go with a weldless fitting valve. I picked up my 60 qt with 1/2" valve installed for around $130 from my LHBS. I could have found it cheaper prob, but like to buy local. It's a beautiful pot! I use a 60 qt pot for my HLT, but prefer to boil in SS.

Grizzlybrew said:

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't skimp on the boil kettle too much. If you are trying to save a little money, I would recommend something along the lines of a bayou classic stainless steel kettle. They're pretty thin-walled, but if you're AG, you don't have to worry. I would also go with a weldless fitting valve. I picked up my 60 qt with 1/2" valve installed for around $130 from my LHBS. I could have found it cheaper prob, but like to buy local. It's a beautiful pot! I use a 60 qt pot for my HLT, but prefer to boil in SS.

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If you don't mind aluminum then the pot he linked isn't cheap its inexpensive. Looks like a nice pot @ 4 mm thick .

The estimated shipping cost is over $50 to Idaho!! Unreal

Screw that, I paid $11 to ship a kettle from CA to NM

rcm_rx7 said:

The estimated shipping cost is over $50 to Idaho!! Unreal

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for which pot and retailer?

steinsato said:

Screw that, I paid $11 to ship a kettle from CA to NM

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When you get into larger items the size of the item often becomes the driving factor in shipping price. If the box is large they have surcharges for the space it eats up on their planes/trucks.

springer said:

for which pot and retailer?

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The pot linked in the op

springer said:

If you don't mind aluminum then the pot he linked isn't cheap its inexpensive. Looks like a nice pot @ 4 mm thick .

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I just realized I left something out of my previous post. I meant to say I use a 60 qt ALUMINUM pot for my HLT. There's nothing but plain water in this vessel at any given time, but when it comes to the boil kettle, I prefer to use stainless steel.

I hope I didn't imply he was looking at a "cheap" pot. I really didn't pay much attention beyond the fact it was aluminum.

I say post on Craigslist or similar site for a keg. I'm lucky and an in-law is the dock manager at a Miller distributor and I got my pick of 50 empty kegs for $40, even came with a receipt so I got a warm fuzzy feeling from it. Just polished it for $30 worth of supplies and added a bargainfittings.com stainless valve/barb for $39 and a brewmometer for $33. $142 for a kettle that looks and performs like a Blichmann for a bit more than a third of the cost. Something cool about brewing beer in something that used to serve beer, plus the handles are the best.

Don't give up on doing the whole "Keggle" thing. Have you tried approaching a local craft brewery for kegs. I did that and the owner sold me 2 old kegs (15 Gallons each) for $50 each. The weldless stainless valve kit from Bargain Fittings was $25. Now I also had to spend $15 on a step drill bit to drill the hole in the keg, but I was able to use it for all the holes in my kettle and HLT. But basically the kettle cost me $90. All Stainless. Can't beat that. I used a 1/2" valve.

Now the aluminum pot you mentioned. I'm no expert, but from reading some of the other threads here, welding aluminum is a pain. Not that your doing it, but it maybe more expensive to have it done. Just something to look into.

If you are serious about getting it welded get the Brown-Halco 1 gauge (1/4") thick pot It's $145 but it'll out last you and your grand kids will fight over it.

zanemoseley said:

I say post on Craigslist or similar site for a keg. I'm lucky and an in-law is the dock manager at a Miller distributor and I got my pick of 50 empty kegs for $40, even came with a receipt so I got a warm fuzzy feeling from it. Just polished it for $30 worth of supplies and added a bargainfittings.com stainless valve/barb for $39 and a brewmometer for $33. $142 for a kettle that looks and performs like a Blichmann for a bit more than a third of the cost. Something cool about brewing beer in something that used to serve beer, plus the handles are the best.

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You inspired me to post to craigslist wanted ads for a keg. I have been looking for months and hadn't found anything. But I just got a reply a few hours afterwards and I'll b picking up a keg in the morning! I'm really excited. I think kegs really are the best option in my opinion.