Winware vs. Super Mega Pot V.s Bayou

[CidahMastah]

I am considering getting a 60qt ish brew pot. I almost bought the bayou classic, but now I am shying due to the wall thickness and lack of three ply plate. I bought the SP10 buring with 20 PSI for 185K BTUs, I am afraid if I am doing extract late additions I could scorch LME or DME. Here are my considerations since I plan to do brewing, canning, random outdoor cooking with it.

Winware 60qt (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AS81CA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20)
SuperMega Pot 60qt (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_33_463&products_id=10461)

If you have some wisdom to pass along – please do. I may go to BIAB or AG in the future, but for now I am an extract with specialty grains guy.

Since the winware is NSF certified, I have been leaning towards that.

EDIT:
I even have been considering the commercial aluminum volrath 60qt pots.

 

[weirdboy]

I have one of those megapots and use the same burner as you. Granted I don't do a ton of extract brewing but when I do add extract, I just turn off the burner for a minute while I'm stirring it in. Haven't really encountered any problems with it yet, although it's big enough that it's kind of hard to dump out at the end of a brewday.

 

[Catt22]

I would choose the Megapot. It has the clad bottom and a full width false bottom is available to match. There would be no question which to buy in my mind.

 

[CidahMastah]

I was thinking about how much fun it will be to wrestle a double batch off. Any regrets with your super pot?

 

[weirdboy]

It is not easy to manhandle that thing onto or off a burner when it's super hot. It is heavy and bulky when full, and very hard to keep it from touching your body when carrying it. I keep welding gloves around on brewday for moving stuff around, but most of time I use a pump to move things around just so I don't have to worry about it.

 

[sco999]

I have 2 Winware pots, 1 for my BK and 1 for my HLT, and I love them. These are heavy duty pots and you can pickup a 60qt polarware false bottom for $80.00 shipped from KaTom which will fit in these pots.

 

[Catt22]

I would not even think about moving that or any other large kettle when full and particularly if it were full of hot liquid. That's what drain ports are for. I pump everything and never lift heavy kettles.

 

[CidahMastah]

I am still a blood sweat and tears beer brewer. One day it would be great to automate. When I rack my 15 gallon glass carboys that really sucks. But for now those are the breaks.

Sco999 - do you have any idea the diameter of the pot? That is, if you have an 60qt.... I notice they list 22.5 x 18.5 x 16.8 inches for dimensions, but don't indicate which dimension is for what.

 

[sco999]

Sco999 - do you have any idea the diameter of the pot? That is, if you have an 60qt.... I notice they list 22.5 x 18.5 x 16.8 inches for dimensions, but don't indicate which dimension is for what.

Yeah the 60qt winware diameter is a hair over 17.625".

 

[CidahMastah]

sco999 - Thanks!

It sucks because I can't hold them in my hand to compare. Would make this a hell of a lot easier. Or like many things, I am probably over thinking it....

 

[ScubaSteve]

Instawares sells the Supersteel pots, which are the same as Megapots. You should be able to still fit the FB in there, plus you could modify the kettle however you want.

 

[CidahMastah]

Thanks scubasteve - since it would be larger batches, might be a good idea to get a drain spout

 

[CidahMastah]

Just curious if anybody has or have used the premium 60 qt pot from Austin Home Brew Supply http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...12458&osCsid=1c3ce0b2a900363c0b9d8abf038ae7fd

I sort of like the size of this because of the possibility of using it for canning too. with a 20 inch diameter I could crank out a canning session from our garden pretty fast I would think. I assume brewing would work well too, but the spread of the sp10 burner flame is pretty small maybe 5-6 inches. Was concerned that a rolling boil might be harder with a wide diameter? Usually that isn't true in my experience, the wider the pot the faster the boil for the same volume of water (all other things equal).

I just can't seem to make a decision on this darn pot!!

Thanks for any thoughts you guys have

 

[weirdboy]

I think for canning that AHS pot would be fine, since pint mason jars are a bit over 5 inches tall and you've still got plenty of clearance. However, I think the difference in actual usable surface area between the megapot and the AHS pot is only the equivalent of 1-2 jars, so it's not getting you much in that respect.

For brewing you'd definitely be evaporating a bit faster so you'll need a larger boil volume if you use that one. I don't think you should have any problem maintaining a rolling boil, though. The other thing to think about is moving that pot around. Already the 60qt megapot I have is near the limits of what I'm willing to haul back and forth to storage. It's not just that it's heavy, but it's also really bulky, which makes it unwieldy. It's like moving furniture every time I want to brew.

 

[CidahMastah]

Ha - good point about bulky. I made a template of the I.D. of the pot at only 19.5 inches - I could fit 11 CDs (about the size of a canning jar), maybe 12. versus the 8 I could fit in the megapot, so that is a lot of jars at once. Usually we don't have 12 at once, because the crops come in ebs and flows. So I am not sure I would "need" that larger capacity unless I canned my pears, which we get an onslaught of.

You bring up a strong point about the evaporation though.

I like that the stock pot is 12inches tall - I could get it on two burners on my kitchen stove. I am not sure if I have the clearance for 18inches, but will measure that tonight. That 12 inches tall could screw me when I try to lift it though; the motion of the ocean just my cast off my wort.... ha 18 inches gives me some more "slosh" room.

I just wish I could see the thing before I bought it!

 

[CidahMastah]

I just saw one of the winware pots in a local store. I thought it was a decent pot, but didn't like the appearance of the tack welds. It had two through rivets though and great handles. At 40 quarts it was a pretty big sucker, and I think I am leaning towards the Mega pot or maybe even going with a Volrath aluminim heavy weight pot.

One question for those of you who own the mega pots, or those with advice based on their experience. I have heard both sides of the coin for going with a heavier stainless pot. Some say they are harder to cool, some say thin is better. Is the general consensus that heavier gauge pots are an advantage or disadvantage?

I have been brewing in a nice medium weight 22qt aluminum pressure cooker, and have had no issues with aluminum. Guess I am still cautious to go with stainless based on perceived heating and cooling difficulties.

Any help is appreciated. Who knows, I might actually buy a pot before SWMBO changes her mind.

I am between BE115 from morebeer and the Megapot from AHS

Edit: pulled the trigger on a megapot 60qt yesterday