@BDJohns
Give it up bro...people are presenting you with facts, common sense, and the statistical fact that there is not even a minority of cases of these infections in beer...your hijacking this thread.
I want to pull the trigger in the next two weeks on a kettle, any good stout reviews out there? Thanks for the info so far
Ok, so I apologize for the hijacking. But, like I said, I work in cheese. Still a fermentation process, only with milk and bacterial fermentation as opposed to wort and yeast. When you work with a process that deals with millions of pounds of ingredients daily, the rules are tougher. At work, we have to design for systems that make it as difficult as possible to screw things up.
I still stand by the following points:
1) Wort is not a high-acid product, therefore any time the product is between 45F and 145F, you provide an environment conducive to growth of pathogens. Doesn't matter if you're under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. There are pathogens that can grow in one, the other, or both.
2) Anything with threads and/or other crevices needs to be removed and manually cleaned to ensure that it is free of residues that can harbor growth of pathogens.
If you're brewing just for yourself, the risk is probably acceptable. Like I said, the rules are different in a world where you make and sell millions of pounds of stuff.
Megapots are Update International SPS line pots. For example:
http://www.waresdirect.com/products/Restaurant-Supply/Update-International-/60-Qt168824. To be fair: you should add this pot to your review because then the brewer can decide on weldless or welded, and placement of fittings. And: I got three 80qt pots and had fittings welded on way cheaper than I could have bought three megapots for that I would have had to have more welding work done anyway.
Getting back on topic - if I weren't taking the DIY approach, I would get Stout's tanks. I've looked at Blichman stuff over at Northern Brewer, and I can't justify paying more money for a 15-gallon mash tun with false bottom ($461 at NB's price), versus $449 for Stout's 15-gallon which comes with all-welded tri-clamp fittings and already has an additional top fitting for RIMS/HERMS recirculation return. Only thing Stout's lack at that price point is the sight glass.
My HLT and BK are the same pot jcaudill references above (10 gal HLT, 15 gal BK), with sanitary fittings silver-soldered on and the joints buffed smooth. Nice and heavy-duty. I'm going electric, so the triple-ply bottom is overkill, but it's a good pot.
Even if you are going to go with weldless fittings, you could still do a DIY with the Update pot for a far better price than Blichmann (using an MLT as the example):
$120 for the pot (if you've got Amazon Prime, you can get an equivalent one from them for a slightly better price after you figure shipping/tax)
$40 for SS weldless bulkhead with ball valve and hose barb
$36 for 2 more weldless bulkheads (RIMS/HERMS return, thermometer)
$30 for a weldless sight glass kit from Bobby_M
$110 for NB's false bottom (might be able to do cheaper elsewhere)
$30 for a 1/2 NPT thermometer
That's $366, plus a drill bit if you don't have the right one.
