15.5 qt pot for 3 gallon boil

[sdufford]

Hi guys, I'm brand new to homebrewing and I just purchased a 15.5 qt stock pot intending to do a 3 gallon boil. Is this pot large enough? I am worried I will not have enough headroom once I add the extract/hops and the boil gets going.

I was planning on getting a 5 gallon pot but the ones I saw at the store were incredibly wide in diameter...I feared too wide for my apartment stove top burners.

 

[hoppymonkey]

Take it back. They sell 40quart ones at sam's club for $32

NOt sure about the stove width thing. Some guys on here use two eyes with varying success.

 

[sdufford]

Yeah, price is not really what I'm worried about...it was the whole width thing.

Perhaps I'll just give it a shot and see what happens!

 

[osagedr]

You have some headspace, so perhaps will be okay.

The bajillion other threads with similar questions always suggest the use of fermcap to help prevent boilover.

I think the bottom line is that you will have to keep a close eye on things. Good luck!

 

[stageseven]

You can use the extra width to your advantage. Generally when brewing I straddle 2 burners, otherwise it takes me forever to get a boil going.

 

[bknifefight]

As long as you have at least 1.5 or 2 inches of headspace after all the water and extract is in the pot, you should be fine. Just be ready to adjust the heat and stir if it starts to rise!

 

[fatmoose]

Take it back. They sell 40quart ones at sam's club for $32

NOt sure about the stove width thing. Some guys on here use two eyes with varying success.

Really? Dangit! The biggest one they had at my Sam's was a 24qt, think I paid around $32 for that!

 

[LagerLover24]

Keep a spray bottle filled with water by the stove. If the foam starts to rise spray it with the water. It works really well. Once you get past the first hop addition it calms down.

 

[Zamial]

@ hoppymonkey and Fatmoose,

Are these Sam's club boil kettles Stainless steel or aluminum?

 

[fatmoose]

@ hoppymonkey and Fatmoose,

Are these Sam's club boil kettles Stainless steel or aluminum?

The one I procured was aluminum. Seems to be of rather good quality, certainly very sturdy. While I have no intention of re-igniting the aluminum vs stainless discussion I decided that it would work well enough for me to get started with. Based on some info I found in the forum I "pre-oxidized" the kettle by boiling plain water in it first off. As I understand it this is supposed to build up a layer of oxidation on the metal so that it doesn't cause oxidization in one's beer.

If I'm able to keep at this for awhile and make a decision to upgrade my kettle I'll probably look at stainless again.

 

[IrregularPulse]

you can use it with FermcapS drops

 

[hoppymonkey]

@ hoppymonkey and Fatmoose,

Are these Sam's club boil kettles Stainless steel or aluminum?

aluminum stock pots

 

[sdufford]

Thanks everyone for your help!

I will give this thing a whirl, wish me luck.

 

[hoppymonkey]

good luck and be careful, this hobby is addictive.