Kettles

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

batfishdog37

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Messages
187
Reaction score
1
Location
Menomonie, Wisconsin
So I need a better kettle. I have been thinking about either a 10 gallon mega-pot from Northern Brewer, or a Blichmann 10 gallon kettle. A keggle would be fine but I don't know much about cost and conversion/installation of ball valve, thermometer ect.... My question here is directed to those who would be so kind as to give opinions and hopefully advantages and disadvantages they may have run in to with their own kettles. Basically, I really only need a 10 gallon kettle. I would like to be able to draw from the ball valve because my pump is not self-priming so it would be great to simply gravity feed into the pump then let the pump do it's thing. Second, I would like to be able to leave all the hops and trub in the kettle(not the biggest deal I realize but it would be nice), so any advice about false bottoms for kettles or those screen/mesh tubes that screw into the inside of the ball valve, or any other methods(whirlpooling ect..) that work for you. Thanks for reading this long post:D and for your answers/advice.
 
I have used my Keggle a few times so far and like it better than the SS pot I was using before. Both had SS ball valves. Using a fine mesh hop stopper proved to be a big pain and clogged towards the end on trub. It is easier to let it go into the fermenter and dump via conical valve or siphon beer off the top if you don't have a conical. The break material has proteins that most likely help the yeast, or so I have read elsewhere.

If you go stainless stockpot check out instawares & waresdirect for pots that are exactly the same as the Mega pots, only cheaper. My Keggle cost me $30 + another $30 or so to cut the top and install coupler. Then $14 for a valve. The false bottom works well with leaf hops and I left just a small layer of wort at the bottom after draining the Keggle. You could use a false bottom with either style of BK. Having the extra space in a 15 gallon Keggle gives you plenty of extra room to avoid any boil over issues and saves you from having to say why didn't I buy a bigger BK to begin with.
 
Go to your local Asian store....they have huge pots for cheap. Last Asian store I went to, they had a 120 quart SS pot for $130. I know you don't want one that large, but that would be a price comparison to look at (i.e. anything smaller is cheaper at those stores). Drilling a hole and adding a valve is very simple....just like with a mash tun. You'd have to check the o-ring temperatures, though.
 
what about sight glasses, are they really all their cracked up to be? Seems to me like I can tell how much wort is in my kettle by putting in the correct amount in the first place. Do sight glasses help with evaluating color, making sure not to boil off too much(after accounting for heat expansion) ect.... Also, are they easy to clean, seems like they would collect crap in them?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top