Biggest kettle for 5-gallon batches

[thb]

I am looking to purchase a brew kettle that I am planning to (eventually) use for a single-vessel e-BIAB system. Right now I pretty much only do 5 gallon batches, but I could see myself doing the odd 10 gallon batch here and there. It seems to me that the general consensus is that a 15 gallon kettle is a bit on the small side for a 10 gallon batch, especially for bigger beers (and I do brew some bigger stouts) and a 20 gallon kettle is a better option.

My question is, once I put a heating element in the kettle, would I still be able to do a 5 gallon batch in a 20 gallon kettle? I'm looking at the Winware Winco SST-80 or the Bayou Classic 1082. It seems like the Winware is a little bit better made, but the Bayou Classic is narrower (Although in that model, only an inch or so).

If I did my math correctly, if I am making a lower-gravity 5 gallon batch with a full-volume mash I'll have somewhere around 7-8 gallons of total volume, which is only going to be about 5-6 inches deep in the Winware, and only a hair deeper in the Bayou Classic. Once I take into account the clearance for the element, I'll maybe only have 3-4" of water to mash in. Is that enough? Or would I end up with more total volume due to the higher boil-off rate from the wider kettle?

I know that they sell narrower, taller kettles, but they all seem to be quite a bit more expensive than those two. The Winware I can get shipped from Instawares for about $153 and the Bayou Classic from Amazon for about $143. I'd prefer sticking with stainless steel over aluminum just because it will last longer and is easier to clean, and money isn't a huge factor for me (as in, I want to spend as little as I can, but it's more important to me that I end up with something that I will be happy with for years).

So, essentially, can I get a recommendation for a pot that I can turn into a single-vessel e-BIAB system that will handle everything from a low-gravity 5-gallon batch to a high-gravity 10-gallon batch?

I've done quite a bit of looking around the forums (been lurking for months) and gotten a bunch of great tips from here, but couldn't quite find someone asking this exact question.

 

[pvtschultz]

I made an 11 gallon 1.050 beer in my BIAB eKeggle with some fuss, but not too much. The biggest issue was full-volume mashing (not going to happen). I mashed a bit thicker and assumed a bit lower efficiency to compensate. I then topped up to the required pre-boil volume and brewed the rest as usual. The smallest batch that I can do is right around 3 gallons and keggles are quite tall compared to their diameter so a "fatter" pot might hinder smaller volume brews.

 

[thb]

All right, a Keggle is 15.75" inside diameter, so by my math the pots I am looking at have about 1.4-1.6 times the surface area of a keggle. If you can do 3 gallons I'd have the same depth right around 4.5 gallons, so it sounds like I would be able to do a 5 gallon batch easily enough. Is anyone using these pots in this kind of set-up to confirm?

Also, what do people typically use to keep the bag off the element (besides the steamer baskets)? I'm envisioning something like a false bottom, but if I built something more like a cage around the element I'd have more water in contact with the grain during the mash. Any thoughts?

 

[pvtschultz]

My keggle is insulated but I let the bag rest right on the element. I almost never fire the element while mashing (mostly due to temperature control reasons), but haven't had any negative experiences while doing so.

You might be able to get the element closer to the bottom of the pot than I could with the keg due to the way the keg is made. That is going to be the limiting factor.

 

[thb]

Yeah, I am planning on recirculating with a pump and using a PID temperature controller to maintain mash temperature (mostly because I like fun little electronics projects), so I definitely will be firing the element. I am planning on using an ultra-low watt density element, and I have seen some people say it doesn't cause any difficulties putting the bag on the element in that case, so maybe I am worrying about it too much. Just wondering what other peoples experiences are with small batches in big pots.

 

[wilserbrewer]

So, essentially, can I get a recommendation for a pot that I can turn into a single-vessel e-BIAB system that will handle everything from a low-gravity 5-gallon batch to a high-gravity 10-gallon batch?

I understand what you are trying to do, but I would liken it to someone choosing a pot that can heat up a can of soup, and also cook a turkey.

Based on the parameters above, you will need a 20 gallon kettle, BUT, if the majority of your brewing will be five gallon batches, get a 15 gallon kettle, the added inconvenience of a larger kettle is not worth the trouble if you are not using it, and don't need it 90% of the time.

 

[thb]

That's kind of what I was afraid of. Maybe I'll just go with the 15 gallon kettle (and a bottle of fermcap ), then get a 20-25 gallon kettle down the road if I end up doing a lot more 10+ gallon batches.

 

[lotbfan]

I imagine many of the pieces would work with either kettle, so in theory you could eventually upgrade kettles and keep the small one so you could brew either size... pumps, controller, etc seem to add up pretty fast, and those would be easy to swap out. i haven't made my esystem yet, but that was the theory i was selling myself on at any rate.