Which keg to use for boil pot

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starsman20

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I have three keggles in process. I am going to finish the boil pot first. 2 kegs are fairly straight sided, the other is a coors that has a big bulge in the center. I have searched but not found any recommendations on this. Should the bulging keg be better used for boil pot, mash tun, or hlt?

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I have the same set up and one HBT member gave me the advice to use the Coors keg (tappered sides) as the boil kettle because they thought the curved sides helped to prevent boil overs.
 
Maybe the Coors one for your HLT, since straight sides might be a little easier to clean?

Just a thought. I could be talking out my ass, though.
 
Hehe, three replies, three opinions.

I would think about using the fat boy keg for any part of your operation that does not need a site glass. You can put one on these, many have, but its a little more of a pain. I would use it as a mash tun.
 
Wow. Now I really don't know what to do. I get the problem with a sight glass hadn't considered that angle. Too bad it's the best looking one. Didn't really want to wrap it up.
 
I would make the far right or middle into the boil keggle. The other (of those two) into the mash tun keggle. Make the Coors keg into the HLT. With the straight side keg, you can easily install a sight tube for the boil keggle. It's also easy to get false bottoms (NorCal/Jaybird) for straight side kegs. You could get one for the Coors keg, if you wanted to.

I also don't see the point in having a sight glass in the mash tun. If you really want one on the HLT you can, but it's not needed. Just measure the water accurately before you pour it in (or as you do) and you'll be fine there.

BTW, the one on the far right should polish up real nice. :D Just polish before you put any holes in the sides.
 
Yes, you can put a site glass on (as I stated), but you need to get around the "bulge" by using a longer bulkead or additional fittings. Hence, it's more of a pain. Not exactly a huge pain, but all things are relative.
 
Yes, you can put a site glass on (as I stated), but you need to get around the "bulge" by using a longer bulkead or additional fittings. Hence, it's more of a pain. Not exactly a huge pain, but all things are relative.

As many of us know, Bobby_M makes/sells fittings that do just that. So, IF you want a sightglass on that keg, you can do it. I would just use it as is for a batch, or three, before going forward with installing one.
 
I should clarify... if making the coors keg the mash tun is primarily motivated by its inability to have a sight glass, I wanted to mention that a sight glass works just fine on the coors. I'd much rather use it as an HLT. For one thing, the shape is not ideal for a laminar flow down through the grain bed. It also requires a slightly different size false bottom. It would work fine for a boil kettle as well. This is not a sales pitch or endorsement for the benefits of a sight glass. You can brew without it obviously.

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I wasn't implying that you had ulterior motives earlier... Just that you know how to make the setups to allow people to have sight tubes on those kegs.

I've seen people use H&S kegs for the boil before. Not that I would do so, since you have to plug the side hole for one thing.

Personally, I like having all straight sided kegs. Makes things much easier.

Now, when is the OP going to polish those bad Larry's UP?!?!?!?!! :D

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Agreed... I'd head to the scrap yard to exchange the coors for another straight sided. I was going to say that originally but people get bent when the question isn't addressed as if in a vacuum.
 
Agreed... I'd head to the scrap yard to exchange the coors for another straight sided. I was going to say that originally but people get bent when the question isn't addressed as if in a vacuum.

If the top is still intact, I'd convert it into a fermenter and get another straight side for the brewing process. :rockin:
 
Thanks for all the input. My lhbs guy thinks the coors one is no good for mash tun. It's going to be the boil pot. The one on the other end will be the hlt. I may look for another one for mlt because it's in the worst shape. I probably won't polish any of them. I have a sandblaster and I like that look. As usual great help from the forums.
 
Agreed... I'd head to the scrap yard to exchange the coors for another straight sided. I was going to say that originally but people get bent when the question isn't addressed as if in a vacuum.

+1 to civility

/RANT/

There are a few people at HBT that jump all over others when they see something they disagree with, like beating the ugly step child. I've been on the receiving end of that in other threads. This is really bad for open and honest discussion, which is how people learn and grow. I hope I don't come across like that.

/RANTOFF/
 
Thanks for all the input. My lhbs guy thinks the coors one is no good for mash tun. It's going to be the boil pot. The one on the other end will be the hlt. I may look for another one for mlt because it's in the worst shape. I probably won't polish any of them. I have a sandblaster and I like that look. As usual great help from the forums.

I'd still make the Coors one the HLT. Why waste the nice one on the right for that? You can also wrap the MLT with some insulating material so that you have little (if any) temperature loss during the mash. I ended up using a carbon fiber welders blanket on mine. A single layer does a lot, when you're above about 40F for the ambient temperature.
 
Bargain fittings order arrived today. Made the order on the 2nd. Really fast delivery. These are for boil pot and hlt plus fittings for 4 hoses.

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I used a CNC plasma cutter. I'll try to get the video up on you tube this week. Took about 30 seconds to cut each one and they are perfectly round.
 
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