32 Qt or 40 Qt SS for 5 Gallon Batches?

[Kuhndog]

Okay...so I've decided on SS for a brewpot...here is the dilema - 32 qt or 40 qt. The prices are $93 for the 32 qt and $111 for the 40 qt. The heavy duty pots are NSF certified, 18/8 stainless steel, nice riveted handles, have the aluminum clad bottom and come with a lid.

I'm going to do extract batches for the time being until I know what I am doing and then probably BIAB. Will the 32 qt be enough for 5 gallon batches which would be what volume...6-6.5 gallons?

They are wide pots though....only 12" high and 14" wide for the 32 qt...16 5/8" wide for the 40 qt pot. Hopefully that is not an issue for my wort chiller...but it would be if I'm not going full boils wouldn't it? The wort chiller is 9" high or so to the top coil. If I do partials, then there are going to be coils sticking out.

I'm so confused and indecisive right now

 

[Mumbly]

When i stepped up from my 5 gallon pot, i went with the 32qt SS pot with ball valve. It's doable, until you get your process figured out watch for boil overs.

 

[BryceL]

I do full boil BIAB in a 32qt pot, same dimensions as you listed. It works fine...I usually have a pre-boil volume of 6.6 gallons. You just have to be really careful starting the boil for boil overs. For that little price difference I might suggest going with the 40qt to get yourself some extra room.

Edit: For that price I'm assuming that it doesn't have a ball valve? I would definitely look into getting a ball valve for it.

 

[terrapinj]

go 40

you can get by with a 32 but will need to watch your boil carefully to avoid boilovers and if you ever do a high gravity brew that you need to boil lots of water off or do a longer boil you'll be much happier with the 40

farmhouse has a great deal on the economy 42qt Polarware pots
http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=141

 

[danorocks17]

i use the 32 qt pot that came w/ my turkey fryer. It works, but if you are choosing between the two, get the 40. I'm probably going to buy a 40 or 50 qt pot pretty soon

 

[seabass07]

Definitely the 40.

 

[Jaysus]

Definitely the 40.

yeah, it is not that big of a price difference... absolutley go with the bigger one if you can swing it financially.

If not, the 32qt pot will work for you just fine.

 

[seabass07]

yeah, it is not that big of a price difference... absolutley go with the bigger one if you can swing it financially.

If not, the 32qt pot will work for you just fine.

Yea. I have a 32qt as well. It works ok, but I wish it was bigger. There's about half an inch of headspace at the beginning of the boil.

 

[Kuhndog]

Thank you all!

If I do go 40 qt...I'll have to do full boils of everthing won't I? Just because the wort chiller would be a waste otherwise. Using kits with full boil would only be 5.5/6 gallons right? That's only 50-55% of the pot used after the boil. That means that with a 12 in high pot...only 6-7 inches of it will be filled with liquid...the wort chiller's coils reach 9" high...do I need to look for a 40 qt pot that is more narrow and not as wide so the liquid is held more vertical and the WC is better used?

 

[TyTanium]

The WC will still work. Perhaps not as efficiently, but it'll still work.
If you have the capacity for a full boil every time, do you really think you'd go back to partials?

 

[stevo155]

If you are doing partial boils and adding water to bring it up to volume, do you really need the wort chiller?

I had the 32 qt and was kicking myself for not going bigger. Now I have the 10 gallon pot and I'm starting to wonder if I should have gone 15 gallon...never satisfied.

 

[Piratwolf]

If you are doing partial boils and adding water to bring it up to volume, do you really need the wort chiller?

I had the 32 qt and was kicking myself for not going bigger. Now I have the 10 gallon pot and I'm starting to wonder if I should have gone 15 gallon...never satisfied.

Reading threads like this made me go for a 60qt pot . I want to be able to do full 10 gal boils and it wasn't much more expensive!

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

 

[Spartan1979]

Go 40. I'm often starting out with almost 8 gallons in the kettle. 32 wouldn't leave much room.

 

[LVBen]

40.

 

[jaginger]

get the 40, especially for BIAB.

 

[Kuhndog]

Just posted this in another thread but here's a 10gal kettle with one welded coupler for $95.

http://spikebrewing.com/product_info.php?cPath=17_19&products_id=51

No offense but those walls on that kettle are waaay too thin. If people think the Bayou Classics are thin walled...they need to look at this one. 0.6 mm? The Bayou Classic ones that people say are too thin are 0.8 mm.

I don't know if I would trust going that thin...

 

[LedZeppelin]

No offense but those walls on that kettle are waaay too thin. If people think the Bayou Classics are thin walled...they need to look at this one. 0.6 mm? The Bayou Classic ones that people say are too thin are 0.8 mm.

I don't know if I would trust going that thin...

I haven't ever taken a micrometer to a Bayou kettle but I wouldn't be surprised if it is actually .8mm. I've taken a micrometer to quite a few kettles that suppliers advertise as 1mm and they end up coming up close to .7-.8mm. They must be shrinking on the boat ride over from China!

What are you concerns with the thinner walls? All the kettles with walls <.8mm are all starter kettles; they aren't going to last for decades. Stainless is stainless. It's tough as nails. Yeah .6mm will dent easier than 1mm but it'll hold up just fine. By the time your .6mm 10gal kettle starts to show it's age you'll be ready to upgrade to a nice 15gal kettle anyways.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Kuhndog]

I haven't ever taken a micrometer to a Bayou kettle but I wouldn't be surprised if it is actually .8mm. I've taken a micrometer to quite a few kettles that suppliers advertise as 1mm and they end up coming up close to .7-.8mm. They must be shrinking on the boat ride over from China!

What are you concerns with the thinner walls? All the kettles with walls <.8mm are all starter kettles; they aren't going to last for decades. Stainless is stainless. It's tough as nails. Yeah .6mm will dent easier than 1mm but it'll hold up just fine. By the time your .6mm 10gal kettle starts to show it's age you'll be ready to upgrade to a nice 15gal kettle anyways.

Just my 2 cents

My only concern with thinner walls would be the ability to put a spigot on it - that and the fact that heat will transferred out faster...good for cooling...bad for retaining heat. I'm just like most beginners on here...looking for a decent value deal....knowing that I'm not going to get a great pot for less than $100 but in the chance that I don't fully commit to this hobby....I don't want to fork out $150+ for a decent kettle and then turn around and have to get rid of it.

Personally for the money - I see good value in morebeer's 8 gallon kettle with the two ports and a ball valve for $159. It may be double the thickness of many kettles out there but the tri-clad bottom. I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. I've been looking at 36 qt and 44 qt Bayou Classic stainless steel pots....morebeer.com 8 gallon pot with valve....and a couple others. I wish there was no chance of off tasting beer with aluminum but the slight chance still bugs me eventhough it's a heck of a lot cheaper compared to SS. I have everything but the kettle....

there is a cheap brewpot I can get for $15 or so....it's only a 5 gallon though. I was thinking of getting it and then play with some kits and then see if I like brewing. The problem is I'm not doing full boils...etc. plus there is a higher risk of contamination by adding water to the wort in the fermenter...even if the water was initially boiled.

 

[jfowler1]

The short answer is 10 gallon kettle for 5 gallon batches.

If you want the long answer I just typed out, click here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/4-popular-brew-kettles-compared-281309/#post3488243