Aluminum brew pot?

[Golddiggie]

If you treat them with tender loving care. Kind of goes without saying, I guess - what homebrewer wouldn't?

It's not like you need to treat aluminum pots/kettles with kid gloves. Just don't go flinging it around like a wrecking ball. A robust aluminum kettle will last just as long as a good stainless one. Provided you don't have an accident with either.

 

[rodwha]

I have a 5 gal aluminum pot and want a larger capacity for larger boils, and I'll be looking for another aluminum pot as it's lighter and heats/cools faster.

As for cleaning it I use the kitchen sponge with the green scrubby side then run it through the short cycle in the dishwasher.

 

[jkendal]

It's not like you need to treat aluminum pots/kettles with kid gloves. Just don't go flinging it around like a wrecking ball. A robust aluminum kettle will last just as long as a good stainless one. Provided you don't have an accident with either.

That's what I meant. I guess it didn't come across....

 

[ResumeMan]

And, to the OP: if you're going to be doing 5 gallon batches with full boils I would get at least a 10 gallon pot. My preboil volume is 7.25 gallons for a 60 minute boil to leave 5.5 gallons in the kettle. I would definitely have uncontrollable and constant boilovers if I tried to do that in a 7.5 gallon pot.

Certainly the extra head space would be nice, but my boil kettle is a 7.75 gal quarter-keg, and that works fine for 5-gallon batches. My starting volume is around 6.75 gallons and I don't get boil overs (if i'm careful, plus I use anti-foam). If the 7.5 gallon is what you can afford it should work just fine.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I was all for Aluminum pots, i had the IMUSA 8 gallon pot from Walmart and it worked well for many months.

But this last weekend i went to heat up my strike water, and realized there was a god damn crack in the bottom of the thing...once it heated up the metal was expanding or something and there was a pinhole size hole leaking water out of the bottom!

I was super mad needless to say as it ruined the brew day, luckily before beer was actually being made though.
But it was only a $20 pot, so i dont know.

If you want to do it OP, get the IMUSA pot for $21 bucks from Walmart and get a good Bayou burner off Amazon for $40.

 

[logan3825]

I have an 8 gallon pot and that is plenty big for my boils. You just have to watch it.(or you don't if you use something like fermcap-s) You can boil over a 1 gallon starter in a 4 gallon pot if you don't watch it.

 

[Golddiggie]

I was all for Aluminum pots, i had the IMUSA 8 gallon pot from Walmart and it worked well for many months.

But this last weekend i went to heat up my strike water, and realized there was a god damn crack in the bottom of the thing...once it heated up the metal was expanding or something and there was a pinhole size hole leaking water out of the bottom!

I was super mad needless to say as it ruined the brew day, luckily before beer was actually being made though.
But it was only a $20 pot, so i dont know.

If you want to do it OP, get the IMUSA pot for $21 bucks from Walmart and get a good Bayou burner off Amazon for $40.

IMO, thin aluminum is the source, and cause, of all the issues people have using aluminum kettles/pots. Getting something 2mm thick, or thinner, is a BAD idea (IMO/IME). Get a Winware pot (4mm thick) and you won't have issues. Just be sure to also order the lid to go with it. At <$50 for a 40 qt (that's 10 gallons), it's a really good price. Plus, if you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can get it with free 2 day shipping. :rockin:

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

IMO, thin aluminum is the source, and cause, of all the issues people have using aluminum kettles/pots. Getting something 2mm thick, or thinner, is a BAD idea (IMO/IME). Get a Winware pot (4mm thick) and you won't have issues. Just be sure to also order the lid to go with it. At <$50 for a 40 qt (that's 10 gallons), it's a really good price. Plus, if you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can get it with free 2 day shipping. :rockin:

Ive been wanting a reason to just get a stainless pot anyways, so this was it. When AIHB has 9 gallon single welded port SS pots for $70, i didnt want to bother with aluminum again.
Even if i got a cheap winware for $50 its gonna cost me way more than $20 to port it after you get drill bits, compression fittings etc.

 

[Spintab]

Ive been wanting a reason to just get a stainless pot anyways, so this was it. When AIHB has 9 gallon single welded port SS pots for $70, i didnt want to bother with aluminum again.
Even if i got a cheap winware for $50 its gonna cost me way more than $20 to port it after you get drill bits, compression fittings etc.

I have one of those 9gal single welds. Great kettle, I love it. It's much higher quality than you'd expect considering most places call them "economy" kettles.

 

[mindcrime]

It's not like you need to treat aluminum pots/kettles with kid gloves. Just don't go flinging it around like a wrecking ball. A robust aluminum kettle will last just as long as a good stainless one. Provided you don't have an accident with either.

This.

I have a 10 gal tamale steamer I've been using as a BK for like... 5 years? It's beat to absolute hell, dented, bottom is scorched on the bottom and totally warped, lid only kinda fits at this point, has a beautiful oxide layer that stands up to washing no problem. Cost me 15 bucks new. I've lusted after a good SS BK for a long time, but keep finding things that would make better beer for less money, and until that's not the case, beat up tamale steamer soldiers on!

Baseline: I personally HIGHLY recommend a cheap aluminum BK for ALL beginning brewers, who should be spending their intro cash on more important things, like thermometers, temp control, starter prep gear, etc etc etc.

 

[Golddiggie]

This.

I have a 10 gal tamale steamer I've been using as a BK for like... 5 years? It's beat to absolute hell, dented, bottom is scorched on the bottom and totally warped, lid only kinda fits at this point, has a beautiful oxide layer that stands up to washing no problem. Cost me 15 bucks new. I've lusted after a good SS BK for a long time, but keep finding things that would make better beer for less money, and until that's not the case, beat up tamale steamer soldiers on!

Baseline: I personally HIGHLY recommend a cheap aluminum BK for ALL beginning brewers, who should be spending their intro cash on more important things, like thermometers, temp control, starter prep gear, etc etc etc.

The thicker aluminum pots (converted into kettles) won't have their bottoms warped from using on propane burners. The cheap ones will (as you have found out). IMO, pay ~$50 for a good 10 gallon aluminum pot, plus another ~$15 for the matching lid to start. You can add the ball valve later on if you're tight on funds. Also, you can use a cheap hole saw to go through aluminum, where good stainless will just laugh at your attempt (keggles).

 

[ncbrewer]

I use Barkeeper's Friend to get the stuck-on stuff off the bottom after brewing, but I don't think you can use that on aluminum. What can you use on aluminum for that?

 

[peterj]

I use Barkeeper's Friend to get the stuck-on stuff off the bottom after brewing, but I don't think you can use that on aluminum. What can you use on aluminum for that?

Hot water and a wash cloth.

 

[Golddiggie]

I use Barkeeper's Friend to get the stuck-on stuff off the bottom after brewing, but I don't think you can use that on aluminum. What can you use on aluminum for that?

You're doing something wrong if you have stuff stuck on the bottom so hard that you have to use BKF to clean it. I occasionally use it to give a more polished clean on the keggle, but it's not required by any stretch. Also, with the aluminum oxide layer, it should be difficult to get anything stuck on it.

 

[Gunpalmer45]

Marine Corps (and other services) have been using 10 gallon and 15 gallon aluminum pots (10 pots, 15 pots) since Vietnam era. Heated with M2 burner units (more BTU than your standard propane cooker) or Babington retrofit airtronic burners (enough to heat a 2000 sqft home). I don't ever recall anyone having any .... twitch....twitch...twitch... symptoms from eating food prepared in the ... twitch...twitch... aluminum pots. We made everything from starches to tomato based dishes. No worries about using aluminum. That's a bigger fallacy than Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". Just my $.02 (adjusted for inflation). Semper Fi Jarheads!

 

[Golddiggie]

Marine Corps (and other services) have been using 10 gallon and 15 gallon aluminum pots (10 pots, 15 pots) since Vietnam era. Heated with M2 burner units (more BTU than your standard propane cooker) or Babington retrofit airtronic burners (enough to heat a 2000 sqft home). I don't ever recall anyone having any .... twitch....twitch...twitch... symptoms from eating food prepared in the ... twitch...twitch... aluminum pots. We made everything from starches to tomato based dishes. No worries about using aluminum. That's a bigger fallacy than Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". Just my $.02 (adjusted for inflation). Semper Fi Jarheads!

Bet they weren't using the flimsy ones like those sold at wally mart.

 

[GrogNerd]

Semper Fi Jarheads!

thank you for your service, and, as a squid, I'm more than happy to give y'all a boat ride to whatever beach needs taking, even soften it up a bit, make you a cushy landing... but I'll ask ya to please don't call me "jarhead"

Bet they weren't using the flimsy ones like those sold at wally mart.

you've never had KP/cranked in a galley, have ya?

 

[kombat]

I use the 7.5 gallon aluminum pot that came with my burner (the WalMart turkey fryer kit) as my HLT, and I use a real stainless 15-gallon kettle as my boil kettle.

 

[GrogNerd]

I use the 7.5 gallon aluminum pot that came with my burner (the WalMart turkey fryer kit) as my HLT, and I use a real stainless 15-gallon kettle as my boil kettle.

have you added any hardware to 30qt, like a ball-valve? i have the same one, but I'm thinking it's too thin

 

[kombat]

have you added any hardware to 30qt, like a ball-valve? i have the same one, but I'm thinking it's too thin

Nope, I just use it as-is. I measure out the strike water I'll need (using a wooden dowel with notches cut into it indicating gallon measurements, calibrated for the aluminum pot), heat it up to 170° F or so, then pour it all into my mash tun. I stir it around until the temp drops to dough-in temp, then dough in the grist, stir more until it drops to my mash temp, and seal it up.

With 20 minutes to go in the mash, I measure out my sparge water in the same 7.5 gallon aluminum pot and begin heating it. I drain my first runnings into my boil kettle, then empty the aluminum pot into the mash tun and stir again. While waiting the 10 minutes for the batch sparge to settle a new grain bed, I start heating the first runnings over the burner in the boil kettle. At this point, I'm done with the aluminum pot, and don't even need to clean it (the only thing in it was water).

 

[philly224]

The thicker aluminum pots (converted into kettles) won't have their bottoms warped from using on propane burners. The cheap ones will (as you have found out). IMO, pay ~$50 for a good 10 gallon aluminum pot, plus another ~$15 for the matching lid to start. You can add the ball valve later on if you're tight on funds. Also, you can use a cheap hole saw to go through aluminum, where good stainless will just laugh at your attempt (keggles).

There is also this one too

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

$87 and comes with a lid. I got that pot for $68 a few weeks before Christmas so keep an eye on it, the price changes a lot.

 

[GrogNerd]

Nope, I just use it as-is. I measure out the strike water I'll need (using a wooden dowel with notches cut into it indicating gallon measurements, calibrated for the aluminum pot)

i went to do this until I discovered all I need is a ruler or tape measure

at least on mine, 1" = 2 quarts, all the way up to 15" for 7½ gallons

measure your dowel

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

The thicker aluminum pots (converted into kettles) won't have their bottoms warped from using on propane burners. The cheap ones will (as you have found out). IMO, pay ~$50 for a good 10 gallon aluminum pot, plus another ~$15 for the matching lid to start. You can add the ball valve later on if you're tight on funds. Also, you can use a cheap hole saw to go through aluminum, where good stainless will just laugh at your attempt (keggles).

Why bother with aluminum at that point? The entire point of aluminum is that it is cheap.

For $70(basically what your listing there) you can get a 9 gallon brew pot with 1 welded port from AIHB, would be way better pot and cheaper in the long run after buying drilling supplies + weldless kit.
http://www.homebrewing.org/One-Weld-9-Gallon-Stainless-Steel-Pot_p_1683.html

To me the entire point of aluminum is because it is significantly cheaper than Stainless, like you can get the 8 gallon pots at Walmart for 20 bucks. Once your at 60+ dollars for an aluminum pot you might as well just get stainless.