First Brew Kettle

I just started brewing and need a kettle so I can start to do 5 gallon batches. From what I could find on the interwebs I would be best to start off with a 10 gallon kettle for 5 gallon batches. From what I have found on the forum the Concords seem to be a well liked budget kettle, followed by the polar ware. Of course the Blichmans are the best but are out of my price range. What are your recommendations for a good first kettle that will last, in the 10 gallon range?

I have a MegaPot 2.1 and love it. I went with 10 gallons. I do BIAB and find it works great for me. With 10 gallons I sometimes run out of room for the mash and do a dunk sparge, but I find that works fine for me.

Update International has a good 10 gallon SS triclad bottom pot that will compete with any on price. The 40 quart is $98.00. I don't have one but I hear they are heavy and well built.

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/40-qt-heavy-duty-stainless-steel-stock-pot-with-cover/922SSPOT45.html

I would go with 10 gallons or more. I was sold a 5 gallon by my LHBS and they claimed I would not outgrow it within the first year. I outgrew it within the second batch when I learned of full boils and the likes.

I bought a 10 gallon bayou classic from Amazon with a spigot, which was a stop-gap towards buying a set of kettles when I went all electric. Turns out I love it so much, I just bought a 15 gallon one and I'll be outfitting it with a HERMs coil and heating element. I believe I'll be saving a fair amount as well, but we'll see. They're sturdy, my handles are welded and I've never felt like it was going to buckle under the weight, and I like the inside volume markings.

yeahfairly said:

Update International has a good 10 gallon SS triclad bottom pot that will compete with any on price. The 40 quart is $98.00. I don't have one but I hear they are heavy and well built.



http://www.webstaurantstore.com/40-...ss-steel-stock-pot-with-cover/922SSPOT45.html

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+++1 on the Update International. I have had several and as my brewing expanded I've stepped up in size. I currently use a 15 gal (60 qt) as my BK & have just upped my HLT from 8 gal to 10 gal. I really wish they made a 12 gal.
All in all great quality & they do t just make the pot taller to get more volume.

Wouldn't a taller kettle loose less to boil off? I noticed the taller 10 gallon kettles such as the tall boys and bayou are 16 h x 13 w. The shorter such as the international and megapot are 12 h x 16 wide.

I haven't compared the taller kettles as to boil off. My 15g Update averages about 1.5 g/hr boil off.

Nez02 said:

The shorter such as the international and megapot are 12 h x 16 wide.

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That's not quite right. I can't speak for the "international" pots, but the "1.2" in Megapot 1.2 represents the height to diameter ratio. A 10 gallon pot is roughly 16" tall and 14" wide - a 1.2 proportion (it's actually more like 1.15 or 1.16 but it's close enough). Different sized Megapots are slightly different ratios, but all very close to 1.2.

A Tall Boy, for example, is also designed off the 1.2 ratio, except all sizes are exactly a ratio of 1.2. It just doesn't have many of the features that a Megapot has.

I have a spike brewing 15 gallon kettle and it's pretty awesome. All the connectors are tig welded so you don't have to replace o-rings.

www.spikebrewing.com

NedStackey said:

I have a spike brewing 15 gallon kettle and it's pretty awesome. All the connectors are tig welded so you don't have to replace o-rings.

www.spikebrewing.com

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Spike certainly makes great kettles, but I've yet to have any problems with my Brewhardware weldless fittings.

Edit: OP if you want to do 5gal batches then 10gal kettles are the way to go. Some folks (myself included) have made due with 7.5gal but it's not the best way.

Go bigger than your batch size by 1.5-2x.

This is a pic of 4 gallons of foam riding on top of 14 gallons of wort just coming to a boil for a 10G batch in a 20G kettle. Turned my back for 15 seconds.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1423778888.030638.jpg

The Spikes are nice but pricey. I have my eye on the Colorado systems. And yea I would like to do 5 gallon batches. Thanks for all of the replies so far!