Bayou Classic Electric Kettles

Hey guys,
I am looking to start acquiring my new kettles for my electric set-up and have been doing some research on here. It seems the majority of people use either keggles or Blichmanns for their setups. I am looking to comfortably make 10 gallon (and occasionally 15g too) batches without fermcaps, so the keggles are out of the questions. Blichmanns are very nice, but come with a very nice price tag too. I currently use a 11 gallon Bayou Classic kettle for 5 gallon BIAB batches, but have seemed to only come across 1 electric Bayou Classic build. Is there any reason why people are forgoing these cheaper (in price) stainless kettles? Am I missing something?

The kettles I am looking at for my HLT, MLT, BK are the 20 gallon Bayou Classics. Figured I would do a HERMS in the HLT and 5500w elements in both the HLT and BK. A $135 kettle and the parts a la carte seem much cheaper then buying a fully geared Blichmann, but correct me if I'm wrong.

Please chime in and leave pictures if you have a Bayou Classic or if you have any other recommendations for kettles.

I have a bayou classic 62 quart (15.5 gallon) stainless kettle and I opted not to use it for my electric setup. I just picked up a few kegs from the scrapyard and cut them up for use. The real thin wall of the bayou classic made me a little nervous to cut it up, and the kegs are a good bit sturdier. Also a LOT cheaper from the scrapyard. I think the thin thin walls are one of the primary reasons people go with kegs as opposed to stock pots for builds, but thats my opinion.

I've got 3-62 qt. Bayou Classics for my all electric(Kal clone)rig. Have had no problems with the thinner walls. In fact, made it real easy to drill and install the bulkheads, elements, HERMS coil, weldless sight valves, etc. They are still holding up well and if I had to do it over again I would.

tmcmaster - do you have pictures you could post or email me? Is everything installed weldless? I was looking to weld or silver solder, was worried about the thing metal with welding.

I don't know how to weld and my soldering in not so good. There are plenty of good weldless stuff out there and I did it all that way. I'm at work right now so don't have any pics, but I could send them along when I get home.

That would be awesome if you could! Are you worried about harboring of bacteria with weldless?

I use a 11 gallon Bayou Classic kettle for 5gal BIAB batches. Traded a six pack for tig welding 2 fittings, element and ball valve. Welder said he was suprised with the pots quality. Works great, no pics yet.

Nice! I currently have the same kettle, but just normal fire BIAB. I have been doing some research. The stout tanks are 1.2 mm thickness and the bayou classic are 1.0. Not sure the gauge of stout's tanks, but they can't be to different.

Hey guys, to all you Bayou brewers out there, found a set-up that I really like a while ago and "subscribed". He hasn't updated it in a while, but it is pretty much spitting image of what I am looking to do with 20 gallon kettles.

Pretty much what I have going. My MLT is not a cooler, but otherwise almost the same. Two pumps, single tier. Only differences I see is mostly panel. I have 3 PID's and a timer. Also volt and amp meters. Looks like he's using the same TV mount I use for my panel too. Still not home yet, but will try to post up some pics later.

Not worried about bacteria (maybe I should be). Guess I figure everything is getting bolied in the end anyways. As long as I'm chilling as quickly as I can and am good about the cold side sanitization, I should be OK.

Chris7687 said:

Are you worried about harboring of bacteria with weldless?

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Everything before the fermenter is pre-boil or boiled...so there's not much that'll survive 212*F. The beauty is that if you're that worried about it, you can take them apart, clean, and reassemble.

Hey guys, sorry I was misinformed on the bacteria part. Please post the pictures when you get home, would love to see your setup.

Never posted any pics before. Here is the set-up. Not great photography, but gets the message across hopefully.

I got this off of eBay and I love them. They're 80 qt (20 gal). He has 100 qt (25 gal) ones as well. After you purchase the hole punch and/or step drill and ss ball valves and sight glasses you're still way cheaper.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-80-QT-Quart-Polished-Stainless-Steel-Stock-Pot-Brewing-Kettle-Large-w-Lid-/190740709861?pt=Cookware&hash=item2c690841e5

Side note, even though it says 20 gal it really is only about 17.5 usable, but plenty for a 10 gallon batch, even a strong belgian.

Both of those set ups are amazing!!!

Tmcmaster - That is exactly what I was imagining how I'd build mine, just don't know if I could pull off Kal's electric system! Don't think I'm that electrical savvy. Do you by any chance have a parts list, excluding the panel setup? In the picture going left to right is BK, MT, and MLT (above the plate chiller), correct?

Francus - Why do you say the actual batch size is 17.5 gallons? Is that because the room taken up by parts inside or the specs of the kettle are off? Nice looking pots. What size elements do you use?

My experience with electrical before the panel was limited to changing a lightbulb. Kal does a really nice job explaining what to do from start to finish and does it in a way that someone with no experience can understand. As far as the parts are concerend I pretty much just followed what Kal recommended. Got all my bulkheads and valves from Bargainfittings and sightglass from Bobby M. Used a 50 ft. stainless chiller for HERMS coil. Check theelectricbrewery.com for the full parts list.

Yes on the order of the kettles. I've since added an unused domed false bottom in BK for an extra hop filter. I also use a hopspider in the BK for hop filtration.

Chris7687 said:

Both of those set ups are amazing!!!

Francus - Why do you say the actual batch size is 17.5 gallons? Is that because the room taken up by parts inside or the specs of the kettle are off? Nice looking pots. What size elements do you use?

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I really don't think it has much to do with the stuff in them. The HLT has the most and I barely see a .5 gallon difference. I just think they measured the volume when the lid is on (lid is domed somewhat). If you top it off to the rim you get maybe 18.5 to 19 gallons, but you certainly can't boil with it full.

That said, a 10 gallon batch with 25 pounds of grain is no problem. My next brew will probably be a Belgian Strong Ale and using an old recipe I'll have 32 pounds of grain plus Belgian rock candy. Even with all that I think I'll have plenty of room.

So, 17.5 gal is a good size for 10 gallon batches. If you do 15 gallon batches I'd go with a 25 gal pot. I did 10 gallon batches in a keggle for 20 years and usually had no problem at all unless it was a barley wine or very heavy beer. A keggle is 15.5 gallons and you probably can't really use the top gallon and a half.

Plus with electric, you can control the boil better so you chance of a boil over because the wind suddenly died is much less

(FYI...I went with a BCS on mine, that's why there are no buttons/switches on the front. I control the whole thing from my iPhone.)

tmcmaster - Yea Kal does do a good job at explaining everything. I have read through his tutorial a few times and priced everything out on an excel sheet. I am going to compile a listing of the hardware, not including the electircal, this weekend and throw it up here.

Francus - Controlled with your iPhone! Wow! What does BCS stand for? Is that a phone app?

tmcmaster - Did you use a wort chiller or a jockey box chiller? Kinda looks more like a jockey box chiller. Does this work? Also, do you use a pump to recirculate the water in the HLT to make sure the temp. distribution across the HERMS is even throughout the pot?

nope, just a regular immersion chiller.http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004D4WH5A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. No reason why that Jockey box won't work, might even be better because of the design. Just slap some compression fittings on and GTG.

Edit: Saw this in vendor links too..Has more options and about same price and would be 1.2"ID vs. 3/8. I end up having to throttle my pump anyways, but might help with priming?? http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Coiled-to-customers-request-035-304304L-Coiled-Tubing_p_30.html

I've got a 62 qt Bayou Classic with 5500 watt element for my boil kettle. I love it - so much lighter and easier to clean than a keggle. I use my old keggle for an HLT since you never have to move or clean a HLT. No problem with drilling holes - I did all weldless. See my signature for more info.

Forgot to answer your element question: I use Camco #02963 5500W 240VAC ultra low watt density (ULWD) RIPP element as Kal recommends.

Chris7687 said:

Controlled with your iPhone! Wow! What does BCS stand for? Is that a phone app?

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BCS stands for Brewery Control System. It's a little box and you wire in all your outputs to control SSRs which control things like elements and pumps. You also wire in your temp probes, and you can wire in float switches and other things (I didn't). It acts like a PID, but you can have 5 temp probes so technically it replaces 5 PIDs. You can control it from any browser. I guess technically you could automate the whole thing and start the brew process from work and have wort ready to chill when you get home. That would take more automation than I did. I control mine from the Safari browser on my iPhone. No need to buy any special phone app. I didn't tell my friends and when I started turning on pumps while sitting down sucking suds they were amazed. It definitely has geek factor.

http://www.embeddedcontrolconcepts.com/ makes the BCS, but they just got bought out. But that should point you down the rabbit hole and get you started!

tmcmaster - what are the ball valves are the top of each kettle used for? I would assume the on the MT would be used in part with a sparge arm recirculating from the HERMS (correct me if I am wrong), but not so sure why the need on the HLT and BK.

bigljd - Very nice set up. I am in awe of the control panel and wiring everyone has! Thanks for the price list you provided on your thread. Was there a specific reason you went with a LWD for the BK and a HWD for the HLT

Francus - Got your PM, will definitely use your assistance if I hit a wall during my build. That BCS is hands down the coolest thing I've ever seen. I would need a week tutorial on understanding how to run that thing! I will definitely have to look into this more, as I would definitely like the possibility to run an automated system on certain days (when the football game is to close of a nail bitter to leave the TV!)

The ball valves on the HLT are just so I can recirculate water or fill up the HLT without worrying about a hose falling out and making a pool in my basement. On the MT it is where I fill from, where I recirculate from HERMS coil, and where I recirculate to remove the bits of grain before the boil. On the BK I added a small piece of stainless tubing that goes to about the bottom of the kettle. This is used to introduce the wort to the BK and for a minute or two after the boil is over and wort is moving through the plate chiller before I add to carboy.

tmcmaster - Can you put up a picture of the BK with the tube that does down to about the bottom? I am not fully understanding the concept, but you use the bottom ball valve to introduce the wort to the BK and you use the top valve to suck the wort off of the bed of trub and into the chiller?

Chris7687 said:

bigljd - Very nice set up. I am in awe of the control panel and wiring everyone has! Thanks for the price list you provided on your thread. Was there a specific reason you went with a LWD for the BK and a HWD for the HLT

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No reason for the HWD in the HLT and ULWD in the kettle other than it was a couple dollars cheaper. If I was to do it again I'd probably use ULWD in both. The ULWD is more apt to survive a dry firing than a HWD, so it's better to have ULWD in both IMO.

How often would the possibility of dry firing occur? Isn't the definition of dry firing just the element on with no water making contact with the kettle?

Yes. You are correct.

Check out my link bellow. I use two 20 gallon Bayou Classics one for HLT and one for boil and a 15 gallon Mash tun. Same setup as Kal's but different kettles and table. I never tried 15 gallon batch but it would be cutting close in the boil kettle. I do 10 gallons with no problem at all. hope this helps, Castermmt

castermmt - Very nice build! Thanks for the note on trying to squeeze in 15 gallon batches. I like the refurbs of stir plate. I need to look into yeast quality/condition improvements (stir plate starters, o2 additions, and fermentation tamp control), but I want to focus on new a new brewing style transition first. I'll just stick with shaking the heck out of my carboys and double pitching for now. Also, very nice wooden stand! Does it get to be a mess when you are finished with your brew day? I was thinking of just buying a 7ft restaraunt quality SS table. I feel I tend to make a mess.

How is the clean up for everyone with these larger kettles and intricate systems? Do you just fill up the HLT with hot water and CBW/Oxyclean and just run it through the whole system? Or do you use a little elbow grease too?

I clean the boil kettle in place using a garden hose and shop vac, pretty simple. The Mash tun I put on the floor and scoop out the grain and clean the rest in a sink. The table is very easy to keep clean, The pumps I run star-san through then after each batch.

What pumps did you all go with? The ones on Kal's website are a little pricey, especially if I am going to need 2 of them.

Also, for the 10/3 wiring for the elements, would this suffice?

For the elements, you actually only need 3 wires total - 2 hot and 1 ground, so the 4 wire cabling is kind of a waste to pay for. Here

You don't need the SS pumps, if you really want SS heads, check out Chugger pumps. I have a center inlet SS Chugger and it works just fine. Just keep in mind that even SS pump heads still have a poly impeller - no such thing as a 100% SS pump head, but I do like having the more durable SS body and threads. But poly pumps heads work just as well.

I went with the "standard" March pumps with the poly pump heads. I already had one anyway and I wanted them to match. And then there's the price issue. Bottom line, is do they pump hot liquids, not leak, and last a long time? The poly ones do fine, and once you have them set up you won't be screwing and unscrewing things onto the head so they won't be wearing out. The poly ones should last a lifetime if you care for them. But I must admit the SS ones do look cool!

My Bayou Classic kettle has been great. I don't think the SS is too thin at all.
It's taken a tumble off a table onto its valve on concrete while cleaning, and came out unscathed (and that is why I prefer to brew alone )

Is this GFCI circuit as the spa panel enough to power a setup I am invisioning? Also, will this power outlet restrict what I am looking to do? Or should I go for this 50A outlet?

Chris7687 said:

Is this GFCI circuit as the spa panel enough to power a setup I am invisioning? Also, will this power outlet restrict what I am looking to do? Or should I go for this 50A outlet?

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The spa panel is the one used by many to get GFCI protection. Do you need more than a 30A service? With that you can run one 240V 5500W heating element at a time along with a pump at 120V. You would want to put a 30A breaker in your main panel, run 10/3 + ground to a 30A outlet. Then wire a plug from that outlet to the spa panel, then into your control panel. 10/3 + ground allows you to use one hot leg in the control panel to power 120V circuits. Now, if you need a 50a service, then you need to run 6/3 + ground, with 50A rated outlets and plugs. And if you only have 3 wires, then you will need a separate circuit from the main panel to run 120V devices, as you should not run a 120V circuit in your control panel without a proper neutral and ground.

Love my 62 quart Bayou Classic also. I use it with BIAB. All electric, 5500 watt.

amelia - are you able to handle 10 gallon batches in there? If so, what is the biggest beer you've made? I was thinking the 82 quart as I tend to make a 9% every now and then. That would give me the extra space I need.

I am just about done compiling my parts list and then I will post them online. Please feel free to give me any advice.