Pot for Glass top range

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Neurot

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Hey I'm shopping for my first brewpot and I can't seem to decide what to buy.

First off how likly will it be that I will be able to do a full boil on my glass top range? I'm tempted to buy a 28qt pot so I can boil the full 5 gallons.

If not whats the maximum size pot I'll be able to boil with my stove? I'm tempted to buy this 20qt pot on amazon as its so cheap, except that it gets a poor review:

Amazon.com: Imusa Stainless Steel Stock Pot, 20 Quart: Home & Garden

This pot seems to get good reviews from home brewers but its only 16qts:

Amazon.com: Imusa Stainless Steel Stock Pot, 16 Quart: Home & Garden

I'm a cheap ass but I *HATE* buying cheap products that I just have to replace soon after I buy them. I'll spend more but I just want to get a pot I'll be able to use for years to come.
 
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Then get a 7.5 gallon (30 qt) so you can do a full boil. Your beer will turn out better. I have been brewing for a month. My first day, I bought a 20 quart. 3 days later, I bought a 30 qt. For now, the 20 qt. was a waste of money because I don't do all grain. When I start, I'll be glad I did because I'll need both.
 
IIRC someone else on these forums was talking about having trouble getting a good roiling boil on a glass top range. Before you jump in to larger boils you might want to consider looking up the max output of your range top and make sure it's going to be efficient enough to bring large volumes to boil.
 
IIRC someone else on these forums was talking about having trouble getting a good roiling boil on a glass top range. Before you jump in to larger boils you might want to consider looking up the max output of your range top and make sure it's going to be efficient enough to bring large volumes to boil.

Yeah, that's why I'm posting this question. I'm not sure about the output of my range but i'll look it up when i get home. I assume if i get some massive pot i can just do 3 gallons on my range until I get a burner setup for outside correct? I dont see any downside to starting out with a larger pot.
 
I agree with Korn but I'd go for at least a 9 gal that would be 36 qts.

Here's why:
you can do it in a 7.5 gal pot but you'll have to watch it like a hawk and stand over it the entire time. With a 9 gallon pot if you collect 7 gallons to boil that only gives you a 2 gallon window when you first start the boil and that is not much you'll still have to watch it like a hawk at first but as the liquid boils off you will be able to eventually relax for a portion of your boil.

Go big you won't reget a decision to get the bigget best pot you can afford
 
In the meantime, what's the biggest pot you have handy? I'd go ahead and see how long it takes you to get a good volume of water up to a boil. Even if you don't have a pot that can hold over 5 gallons, if it takes a long time to get 4 gallons up to a boil, that might tell you you're going to be SOL doing full boils on your stove.

Another thing to consider is the bottom of the pot. Try to get one that's flat so there is more contact with the heating surface.
 
You are not going to be happy with your glass top. And if you happen to be married your wife is not gonna be thrilled with you making a mess in the kitchen either.

If you are serious about brewing you'll need a gas burner here again the biggest you can afford.

With brewing the saying goes go big or go home. One of my favorite saying is: Buy cheap and buy twice.

I am not your typical american that thinks bigger is better, in most cases I think just the opposite is true however there are 3 things I can think of right off hand were bigger is better NFL linemen, Subwoofers and Brewing equipment.

If you want to save money buy used. watch this site, ebay, craigs list, other sites like this you'll see people getting out of the hobby and you can pick up good equipment for less money than retail. But good equipment retains a lot of it's value so don't expect to get it at a steal unless you are willing to but in a lot of time and effort shopping around
 
I am married and I'm sure my wife will kill me here pretty soon. I still haven't even brewed my first batch yet and I'd like to try it out at least before I go and buy a gas burner. I just wanna buy a pot that I'll be happy with down the road.
 
If this is your first batch, just get a decent sized pot that you'll be able to use later if you don't stick with brewing. A 3 gallon pot should be plenty to get your feet wet, as it were.

The largest volume I could get on my glasstop range was almost 4 gallons using an enamel canning pot. Of course, that was 6-7 years ago.

And the wife was never happy with me brewing indoors and the inevitable boilover burning on the glasstop. :(

Go 7.5G in a turkey frying burner kit. Makes everyone happy and you can do your full boil extract batches with some foam control drops. Around this time of year the turkey kits pop up all over the place at very reasonable pricing. Aluminum makes a great pot for brewing as long as you take a little more care with your pot.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=49449
 
I have a glass top range and can barely boil 3 gallons with the lid off. It boils but is far from a violent boil. If you go with the big pot you better get propane.
 
To say you won't be happy with your glasstop is a little dramatic, but it does depend on how you will be brewing.
I brew with an Update SP-20 stock pot on a glass top range and it works great with 3 gal boils. This is all you should need for Extract steeping. I get the 3 gals up to boiling in a decent amount of time and can keep a roll going on "6". It is even easier if when I leave my mesh strainer in the pot and put the lid on top of that. It leaves a nice gap around for the steam to escape and traps some heat in as well.
You will want a pot close to the diameter of your burner or at least the ability to center the pot on the burner.
I haven't tried 5 gal boils, it might do it, but any bigger than that you will have to find a better alternative.
 
if all you ever plan or want to do is extract brewing then you can get by with a glass top. To me extract brewing is about as much of a challenge as making instant potatoes but if that's what floats your boat more power to ya:mug:
 
my glass top can boil 4 gallons. I have never tried more cause I dont actually brew on my glass top and I dont think it would fit one of my keggles.
 
I can't get over 3 gallons to boil on my glass top. I tried 4 gallons, and could hold 209*F, no more. FWIW, I have a "power element" on my glass top that is 3000 watts, compared with the 2000 watts of the other burners.
 
Get a small pot that is barely big enough, and after the first boilover I'm pretty sure you'll have your wife's permission to go out and get a turkey fryer immediately afterward. The smoke and violent splattering associated with molten sugarwater (wort!) touching the glass cooktop is something I will never deal with again.

Outside, I have plenty of cooking power, boilovers are an annoyance instead of a possible range-damaging situation, and SWMBO is happy.

Other than that, the pot must be perfectly flat on the bottom in order to be effective on the range-top if you're going this route. A slight bend in the bottom can make the difference between boiling 2G or not boiling 2G. YMMV, but my range does a kind of auto-throttle thing based on temperature sensors in the burner areas, and 2G per pot is about as high as I could ever go. Even turning a burner to high isn't enough for one of my 2G pots. Did I mention that molten sugar burning on the glass can permanently damage the surface? I've got pitting around one of my glass burners when we had a jam boilover a year ago. At least it wasn't beer (that would've banned it from the house permanently).

It's turkey season- now or right after thanksgiving is the time to get a burner and a matching pot. $57 for me last year and it's been worth every penny.
 
I used to boil on my glasstop...and besides the LONG time to get 4g to boil (and that was the extreme max) I'd always get a boilover from boiling with the lid on

I used a 5g SS pot I got from Wallyworld that I still use for boiling sparge water on my propane burner...at least till I get me e-HLT/MLT built (POL design baby:rockin:)

But have you considered using a heatstick to assist the stove top brewing?

I'll see if I can get that heatstick link...
Here it is: http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm
 
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