10 gallon kettle decision

[kman42]

I brew all grain with an igloo cooler and a 7.5 gallon aluminum pot that came with my turkey fryer burner. I am looking to upgrade to a 10 gallon pot. I would like to have a ball valve, thermometer, and some way to determine volumes (since I only have one burner and use the same pot for heating my mash and sparge water as well as my boil). I am not afraid to spend money on a quality product, but I am not looking to spend more if I don't get some added functionality. I have been looking at the Polarware economy pot, the Megapot, the standard Polarware, and the Blichman, but can't decide.

I want something that works with my immersion chiller, that has a dip tube so that I can gravity feed into my fermetner after a whirlpool. I want something I can re-use when I expand my system to include an HLT, then a MT, pumps, etc. I don't know any welders, so I'm going with weldless.

I've heard the wider pots can boil over, which sort of defeats one of the reasons I'm upgrading, but not sure if this is a concern for 5 gallon batches in a ten gallon kettle even when I'm brewing my favorite IPAs.

I tend to think the Blichman sightglass is overkill and that gradations work just as well, but have no experience on this issue.

There are lots of reviews on the Blichman, but not so much on the others. Any helpful advice?

thanks,
kman

 

[stevehaun]

Don't buy anything smaller than 15 gallons - you will regret it.

 

[kman42]

Then the Blichman is out for doing 5 gallon batches due to the placement of the thermometer, right? Problems with the others in this regard?

I really don't see myself going beyond 5 gallon brews. I've been doing them for more than twenty years.

 

[exhumedatbirth]

I still boil in my old 7.5 gallon as well, so I don't know which brand you should go with, but I will say look into getting a 15 gallon rather than 10...seems to be the concensus around here that skipping over the 10 gallon is your best move.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Check out our kettles

www.spikebrewing.com

 

[stevehaun]

I will retract my comment if you have been brewing for 20 years. I always advise room to expand because I said I would never brew more than 5 gallon batches and now brew 35 gallon batches.

 

[Rbeckett]

Stay away from "Icydeals" on the interweb. I bought a really great priced 50 Qt but still dont have any ship info or any product. i ordered on the 15th and they claimed they shipped it on the 19th, but the tracking number is bogus, so.........
Bob

 

[jfowler1]

I wrote at length about this same exact decision here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/4-popular-brew-kettles-compared-281309/

Perhaps my thoughts could help you, as we seem to have similar needs.

 

[kman42]

jfowler--that's good stuff. Thanks for pointing out the thread.

How much would it cost me to get a step-drill and the appropriate bulkhead for the bayou classic? I don't mind a little DIY as long as it isn't too difficult and doesn't bring the cost up to just about the same as the polarware.

 

[Jdm5209]

FWIW, I got this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 with weldless fittings for bulkhead/ ball valve, sightglass/thermometer, and diptube from Bobby M and bargain fittings. Everything came out to right around $200 and seems to work great so far for 5 gal BIAB.

 

[kman42]

Check out our kettles

www.spikebrewing.com

Is it possible to attach a dip tube to your kettles with the ball valve?

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Is it possible to attach a dip tube to your kettles with the ball valve?

Yes, both couplers are full length and can have something screwed in from both sides.

 

[Calichusetts]

I found one on ebay the otherday from a company I have never heard of (victory or something like that). Pop in "brew Kettles" and it should come up right away. 10 gallon with a sight gauge, thermometer (far lower that blichmanns) and ball valve. I want to say it was $189. Sorry, at work and ebay is blocked and I only had a few minutes on it anyway. Good luck...I am in the same boat as you.

If you say money is no object...I would check out stout kettles, they are pricey but damn sexy