Trouble Picking a new brew pot

I recently tried my firsts all grain batch in a 7.5 gallon kettle with somewhere around 8 gallons of wort, needless to say it got messy. So Im in the market for a new bigger better brew pot. I would like to stay on the cheaper cost side but not end up with a tin foil cup. Ive been debating between a few options and would like to here everyone's expert opinion or let me know of other options in the similar value range.

Option 1: is find a keg for cheap and cut it up and make a keggle, however im in a small town and I dont know how easy that is going to be.

Option 2: 60qt Aluminum Winco Heavy Duty 6mm for $100 shipped

Option 3: CONCORD 60 QT Stainless Steel Stockpot Brew Cookware w/ Steamer Heavy Duty Grade 18/10 Gauge 110 shipped

And Option 4: Concord 60 QT Stainless Steel Stockpot with Lid. Heavy Duty 18/8 Gauge for $100 shipped.

Once again any thoughts or other suggestions that anyone has I would love to hear.

Thanks.

 

I have the winco 60 qt. got it for 75$ on amazon. Have had it for two months. Loving it so far.

 

Do you think a 40 qt (10 gal) would be sufficient? Have seen great things about this one and should be receiving it in the mail in the next few days. Spigot would be nice to have. Runs $150 with no shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bayou-Classic-Stainless-Steel-10-Gallon-Spigot-Pot/6660146/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&[email protected]:20130404180700:s

 

40 qt is plenty for 5 - 6 gallon batches. Just a matter if you think you will be wanting to be doing bigger batches soon or not.

 

I have been extraordinarily happy with this pot.. I have the 80qt.... http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Group-Quart-Aluminum-Stock/dp/B001PZ7K7A/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1365099416&sr=1-7&keywords=aluminum+pot

 

I don't think I want to go over 5 gallon full boils so in theory 40qt / 10g should be fine but... everyone always says that if you can buy a 15 do it because you will want to make a 10 gallon batch at some point, so I'm leaning toward a 60qt set-up just to "future proof" a little.

 

I should also note that the 80qt and 60qt are actually cheaper than the 40qt... You do need to buy the lid separate if you need one.

 

Those pots are a super good deal, do you think they would hold up to me drilling holes for thermo and spigot etc?

 

Yes but, the 40 qt is SS, not Aluminum.

 

60 quart stainless steel pot for less than $100

I bought the 100 quart version of this from this vendor, and it's a quality pot.

 

I went keggle. I'm still doing only 5 gallon batches but I just built a brew rig and when I decide to do ten gallon batches I can. Cost me $60 for a keg and roughly $120 for the fittings which included a sight gauge and thermometer.

 

I'd rather have a good 10gallon pot with fittings for a 5 gallon batch now than a bigger pot for the possibility of 10 gallons later.

 

Sold on this one I think, 18/10 60qt and under 100 shipped. Time to go to bargain fittings and pimp my pot as the cool kids say.

 

Just be aware that I had one HECK of a time drilling holes into this thing. I also own some keggles and I had little problem drilling holes into those things, but this pot was a super tough challenge. It's like the whole pot is pre-hardened. Or actually made of adamantium or something like that.

 

+1 for the Wolverine reference.

I have the 60qt Aluminum Winco Heavy Duty pot. I like it, but it's a little big for 5-gallon batches.

 

Great kettle, same ones we use but just wanted to say they are not 18/10 they are 18/8. 18/10 is 316 stainless and 18/8 is 304. Not that it really makes a difference but just so you know what you're buying

Take this to heart. Cheapo Harbor Freight drill bits can be worn out in less than a hole. Slow, lots of pressure and cutting oil will be your best friend! Or spend some $$$ and get a Cobalt step bit and/or knockout punch.

 

Shaa, right. My pot just laughed at the cobalt bits I bought. Once I finally managed to get a pilot hole drilled the (non-cobalt) step bit I bought worked fine. But getting that first hole drilled...oh, lordy. I used enough pressure to snap a few bits, went sloooow and used cutting oil the whole time.

 

Ahh yes people have asked us about this before. You don't want to start the hole with the step bit. Use a good 1/8" drill bit.

 

Good information on all levels, Thanks.

 

Spikebrewing

Do you have any plans to sell those awesome looking armored pyrex sight glass assemblies seperately?

sorry to side track the thread.

 

Honestly they would be very hard to implement onto a kettle with our tooling. There are a lot of alignment issues and tolerance issues that come up

 

I drilled a hole in mine for the weldless spigot. No problems cranking that bad boy down.

No, it's aluminum.

 

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Hey Poptarts, nice job on the kettle. Do you mind sharing the website(s) you used to get the kettle, valve, and thermometer setup? What was the total cost? I love the setup so I am trying to price it out myself. Is this the 18/10 or 18/8 kettle? Did you do the drilling yourself? How difficult was it?
Thanks in advance!

 

18/10 means 316 and 18/8 is 304. Many people don't know the difference and a lot of times kettles are labeled as 18/10. You will not find a standard kettle that is 18/10 (316).

 

Is that thermometer a little below the bottom of the pot? Or if you put it on a flat table, is it even with the bottom? When I put mine in, i plan on it going higher, so that the heat doesn't hurt the thermometer. You may need a heat shield with it that low.