Aluminum pot has pock marks

[whoneedsabeer]

I bought a used 30qt turkey fryer today. When I picked it up, it was really dirty. I went through almost a whole box of SOS pads to clean off all the grime and oil.

At the bottom of the pot, what I originally thought to be dirt spots, are actually pitted indentations, and the exposed metal in the holes is visibly darker.

Should I not use this? I was hoping to be able to brew my first extract kit, but would rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks in advance!
Jay

 

[Grizzlybrew]

It's funny (well, not really) that you say this...

First, check out this : https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/bayou-classic-80-qt-aluminum-stockpot-31-a-153616/

I am not a big fan of aluminum (blame it on unconfirmed rumors of aluminum absorbtion and related diseases), but I picked up two of these aluminum kettles at the HD to use only as HLT's.

I was talking to my LHBS guy (who is very knowledgable) and he went into why using Al pots as HLT tank is fine and while boiling (sugars, acid not so much) strip away metals from these pots...

Anyway, at one point he said - when the pot starts to turn dark and get almost a coating on it, do not attempt to clean it off; that "coating" will help protect/seal the pot (I am assuming it's almost like annodization in a way) - do not use SOS pads on Al pots or you will scratch the metal and allow metals to leech into whatever is in the pot.

So, long story short - imo - I would probably not use it at this point.

Side note - if you are doing partial boil, extract kits, Wally World has a good 22 qt. SS Tramontina pot (nice, thick bottom) relatively inexpensive.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5902722

 

[whoneedsabeer]

I was slightly concerned about the SOS pads, but my plan was to only use this pot once or twice before finding a keggle. Plus, the damn thing was so dirty, I'd still be scrubbing grunge or needing to use oven cleaner. That's ok though, I only paid $25, and to me that was worth it for the tripod, banjo and reg, which are all in great shape. (At least that's what i'm telling myself)

I saw that link previously, and I did go to my local HD, actually, went to two of them, but no dice.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. My kit calls for a partial boil, but I'd rather do the full. Looks like I'll be putting this off until I find my keggle.

Cheers!
Jay

 

[sea2summit3]

Check out John Palmer's book "How to brew" He has an entire section dedicated to metal and how to care for, or restore it.