Jarhill Stainless Steel Kettles

[WildernessBrewing]

Tired of doing partial boils for 5 gallon batches and have been looking to upgrade my kettle. I recently ran across this listing on ebay and the prices seem way too good to be true. Comes with ball valve and thermometer for that price listed. Thoughts? Does anyone have one of these kettles?

From the listing:

New Jarhill 18/0 Stainless Steel Brewing Kettles with Jarhill Thermometer, Valve and Lid in 4 Sizes.

96 qt (height = 20 inches, Diameter = 20 inches), Free shipping, $150.
70 qt (height = 18 inches, Diameter = 18 inches), Free shipping, $130
49 qt (height = 16 inches, Diameter = 16 inches), Free shipping, $110
33 qt (height = 14 inches, Diameter = 14 inches), Free shipping, $90

Thickness = 1 mm.
18/0 Stainless Steel. Can be used on induction top.
Free Shipping.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Hmm, that seems really really cheap to me. The welds on the handles look pretty suspect, especially since it is all scratched up there too.

 

[Hello]

Look up Concord pots on eBay. I have one and its been great.

 

[WildernessBrewing]

Hmm, that seems really really cheap to me. The welds on the handles look pretty suspect, especially since it is all scratched up there too.

Yeah I noticed that, too. With the ball valve I wouldn't really anticipate having to use the handles when it's full of wort, though. Although if I ever did, a failed handle with 8 gallons of boiling liquid would be... unpleasant..

 

[WildernessBrewing]

Look up Concord pots on eBay. I have one and its been great.

Yeah I love the price and quality of Concord kettles. Ideally, I would want the pre-installed valve and thermo and the 3-ply bottom in a 60qt. Looks like that would run close to $250. Do you use the single or tri-ply bottoms? I was thinking the triple would be a better choice for brewing on a propane burner.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Those Jarhill pots were selling dirt cheap a hear or two ago without any fittings, search the forum for a bit more info.

I'm sure it will work, but at the end of the day it's a $50 kettle, with maybe $30 of hardware and $30 shipping.

A 15 gallon concord kettle is 80-90 shipped, and if your handy you could add a valve. I prefer using a digital handheld thermo and wouldn't bother with an analog kettle mounted thermo, jmo.

Good luck in your search.

 

[govner1]

There's a reason they're cheap- THEY ARE!!!
Take a look at Update International for a quality product.

 

[WildernessBrewing]

Good points, all. Thanks. I'm sold on the Concord. Worth the extra for the sandwiched bottom?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Good points, all. Thanks. I'm sold on the Concord. Worth the extra for the sandwiched bottom?

You just went from a Kia to a Lexus haha....
Not sure the clad bottom is needed, JMO
Maybe for a direct fire MT idk.

 

[augiedoggy]

They are both 1 mm thick and both are made in china... What makes the Concord better exactly?

 

[AknotOtoads]

I have Jarhill pots; I paid $110 bucks for the 3pc set (96/70/49 QT) back in 2013.. They are not awesome or even great but they work. I have used them several times and just recently converted one into a EHERMS HLT.
I also have been using a propane burner for the boil kettle without any issues. Of course a tri clad bottom would be nice, maybe then I wouldnt feel the need to stir so often!
Would I like to upgrade to some blichmann or something else really stout, of course, but I dont have to...

Picture is of my leak test...

 

[wilserbrewer]

Good points, all. Thanks. I'm sold on the Concord. Worth the extra for the sandwiched bottom?

You just went from a Kia to a Lexus haha....
Not sure the clad bottom is needed, JMO
Maybe for a direct fire MT idk.

 

[Dfitz]

There's a reason they're cheap- THEY ARE!!!
Take a look at Update International for a quality product.

Same pot $11 cheaper
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/100...s-steel-stock-pot-with-cover/922SSPOT100.html

 

[wilserbrewer]

They are both 1 mm thick and both are made in china... What makes the Concord better exactly?

Good point! I thought incorrectly that the Jarhill was much thinner than the Concord, .95 vs 1 mm?
I guess riveted handles and no leaks, 18-8 vs 18-0, quality?

This thread has info on the Jarhill pots...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=414533

This is the concord I was referring to above 60 qt $84 shipped
http://www.staples.com/Concord-Stock-Pot-with-Lid-60-Quart/product_WYF078277943066

 

[augiedoggy]

Good point! I thought incorrectly that the Jarhill was much thinner than the Concord, .95 vs 1 mm?
I guess riveted handles and no leaks, 18-8 vs 18-0, quality?

This thread has info on the Jarhill pots...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=414533

This is the concord I was referring to above 60 qt $84 shipped
http://www.staples.com/Concord-Stock-Pot-with-Lid-60-Quart/product_WYF078277943066

Yeah I believe for electric brewing the handles arent really a concern but they could be if one is moving around full kettles... also I have examples of ballington (made by the people who make concord) with riveted handles which leak and also welded handles on my bayou (very thin and cheap compared to my ballington) and I prefer the welded handles that dont leak... I brew with electric though...

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the jarhill and concord pots were from the same manufacturer in china..

I paid $125 for my 62 quart bayou classic kettles with ball valve and no thermometer and those were open box deals so I do thing theses are a good value ..especially for a 24 gallon kettle. I prefer narrow tall kettles myself since they are more efficient and easier to brew smaller batches with on electric.

 

[brew703]

Tired of doing partial boils for 5 gallon batches and have been looking to upgrade my kettle. I recently ran across this listing on ebay and the prices seem way too good to be true. Comes with ball valve and thermometer for that price listed. Thoughts? Does anyone have one of these kettles?

From the listing:

You may want to check out Colorado Brew Systems and Spike Brewing. I think Spike is running a 25% discount.
I have a Colorado Brew System 10 gal pot and paid a little more than the Jarhill pot you referenced.
Colorado Brew Systems offers a 10% disc to HBT members (I think they still do).

 

[WildernessBrewing]

You may want to check out Colorado Brew Systems and Spike Brewing. I think Spike is running a 25% discount.
I have a Colorado Brew System 10 gal pot and paid a little more than the Jarhill pot you referenced.
Colorado Brew Systems offers a 10% disc to HBT members (I think they still do).

Thanks, I'll check out Colorado Brew Systems.

From what I've heard regarding Spike Brewing, the consensus seems to be that they use re-branded Concord kettles.

 

[wilserbrewer]

From what I've heard regarding Spike Brewing, the consensus seems to be that they use re-branded Concord kettles.

That's an old truth, they used to w/ the V1 kettles. Spike has a nice product, IMO their main value selling point is the welded fittings.

Their new V3 kettles to be released soon seem to be quite nice aka Blingmann clone of sorts.

 

[cubalz]

I have a Spike Brewing kettle that I use the heck out of for all of my pilot batches. It is a great deal and sure it is a Concord pot but having the ability to customize the number and placement of the bungs makes them totally worth it. The welds are amazing. I highly recommend them and I am the type of guy that recommends very little in life.....

 

[DarkStarNJ]

Can anyone speak to the construction type of the different pots?

I have Jarhill (shut it!) and they are 2 piece construction with a bottom weld and a side weld. I'm pretty sure your taking your life in your hands moving the larger ones by the handles with hot wort. Smaller units are fine. The handle welds are pretty terrible and i had to attack the area with BKF to get the rust streaking to stop. (They seem fine now though)


I picked up the 4 pack on ebay for dirt cheap. Figured if I don't know what size I want or where I want my holes punched I should start with crap and replace it if needed eventually. This worked for me because I wanted to do the customization's myself anyway.

Jarhill: 2 piece /2 weld
Blichmann: 1 piece drawn (Highly superior)

Concord?
Bayou?
Others?

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Thanks, I'll check out Colorado Brew Systems.



From what I've heard regarding Spike Brewing, the consensus seems to be that they use re-branded Concord kettles.

Nope we haven't used Concord pots for about 2 years due to quality issues.

Can anyone speak to the construction type of the different pots?

I have Jarhill (shut it!) and they are 2 piece construction with a bottom weld and a side weld. I'm pretty sure your taking your life in your hands moving the larger ones by the handles with hot wort. Smaller units are fine. The handle welds are pretty terrible and i had to attack the area with BKF to get the rust streaking to stop. (They seem fine now though)


I picked up the 4 pack on ebay for dirt cheap. Figured if I don't know what size I want or where I want my holes punched I should start with crap and replace it if needed eventually. This worked for me because I wanted to do the customization's myself anyway.

Jarhill: 2 piece /2 weld
Blichmann: 1 piece drawn (Highly superior)

Concord?
Bayou?
Others?

Almost all kettles are going to be two piece as there are limitations on deep drawing capabilities. If done properly there are no downsides to a two-piece design. Now if corners are cut then yes you can have major rust, pitting, cracking issues down the line. There's a reason why those eBay kettles are much cheaper than legitimate companies...

 

[Spellman]

I am a jarhill user and I never regretted getting them. I got mine back when they came in a set and I bought 3 sets, which they stupidly combined shipping on (now they are slightly more expensive with free shipping, mine were closer to $130 for a 4 set with shipping). I ended up selling the extra sizes to friends in our local club for dirt cheap, and I came out even with 3 free 17g pots for my eherms build. Couldn't argue with that. They have held up very nicely in the last couple of years and I've run probably over 30-40 batches through them. The kettle I use for my hlt gets a touch of orange around the handle rivets every few months, but a small wipe of bkf takes it right off. When I got them I filled one of the 24g kettles with water and was able to lift it a few inches off the ground (don't worry I lifted with my legs!) and they seemed to hold fine. Lets be honest though, when you can get a 12v pump for about $25, you shouldn't have to worry about lifting 10-15 gallons of liquid. They only time I use my handles is to either hold the lid when it isn't on or when I move them for cleaning.

If you are looking at these, that means they are probably closer to your price range that you want to spend than the higher quality ones. I still think the 4 set that they have for $180 would be the way to go, then craigslist the sizes you don't want.

 

[Spellman]

I should also mention, the new Spike kettles look very nice btw!

 

[WildernessBrewing]

Nope we haven't used Concord pots for about 2 years due to quality issues.

Thanks for the info! I had only found threads discussing this dating back to early 2013 and earlier, so that makes sense.

I may have to hold out for mid November for your new V3 kettles, they're looking awesome.

 

[DarkStarNJ]

Almost all kettles are going to be two piece as there are limitations on deep drawing capabilities. If done properly there are no downsides to a two-piece design. Now if corners are cut then yes you can have major rust, pitting, cracking issues down the line. There's a reason why those eBay kettles are much cheaper than legitimate companies...

I'm ok with my decision(crosses fingers) but the welds/handles are definitely sub-par. I still dream of awesome kit(like yours!) and will likely eventually replace the kettle. But for how cheap they were they are serving their purpose well. Happy to make my learning mistakes on the cheap crap

At what point size wize would you say it becomes more practical to weld vs press?

Thanks!!

 

[augiedoggy]

I'm ok with my decision(crosses fingers) but the welds/handles are definitely sub-par. I still dream of awesome kit(like yours!) and will likely eventually replace the kettle. But for how cheap they were they are serving their purpose well. Happy to make my learning mistakes on the cheap crap

At what point size wize would you say it becomes more practical to weld vs press?

Thanks!!

they are a perfect excuse to upgrade to electric brewing where the handles arent important Besides until someone actually reports a problem with a handle I would say we are all just being critcle over of theory that hasnt been an issue in the real world yet and my not. (pretty common practice here)

 

[SpikeBrewing]

I'm ok with my decision(crosses fingers) but the welds/handles are definitely sub-par. I still dream of awesome kit(like yours!) and will likely eventually replace the kettle. But for how cheap they were they are serving their purpose well. Happy to make my learning mistakes on the cheap crap



At what point size wize would you say it becomes more practical to weld vs press?



Thanks!!

Blichmann presses theirs up to 20 gallons. The larger sizes are 2 piece made over seas. I'm surprised they are even able to do the 15 and 20 gallon kettles. We've looked into deep drawing them here but most factories don't have the capabilities and the ones that do charge over $100 for just the kettle drawing; no lid, handles, polishing, logo, volume, tori-clad bottom, etc.

 

[DarkStormBrewing]

The Concords 2x15G and a 20G I bought direct last October had no leaks but welds were not great. Had ring of rust after water test. Had to passify and this mostly fixed it. Bk gets orangeish, just in area touched by wort, after every few batches. This may be a temp/ph issue with the steel used. Not noticed any off flavors though. Overall very solid, but looking for a welded solution soon.