Prepping New Aluminum Pot

I boiled six gallons of water in a brand new aluminum pot for 30 minutes today—it’s a thin-walled pot that came with a turkey fryer kit. As bubbles started to form I was surprised by how many aluminum particles were floating in the water! After I emptied the pot several rags quickly turned grey as I cleaned it. It’s clean to the point that very little aluminum ends up on a rag when I wipe the inside.

I was wondering if anyone has some tips on cleaning this type of pot in preparation for brewing or if additional cleaning is even necessary?

I think maybe it's a bit greasy from manufacturing. Try wiping it down with a solvent like lacquer thinner. Let it dry completely, then wash it well with a tiny bit of dish detergent followed by a thorough rinse.

Don't wipe off all the gray stuff on the inside of the pot. That's a passive oxide layer and it helps protect both your pot and your brew. Just give it a very gentle wipe-down. You want the inside of the pot to have a slightly dark and discoloured look to it. If it is shiny, then you have removed the protective oxide layer.

Here is a good source for more info from an excellent authority on the subjecdt:
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter2-2-2.html

Thanks guys.

I boiled water in the pot to create the oxide layer--so I knew not to scrub the layer off.

I'll be sure to clean the immersion chiller as Palmer describes before I use it.