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5DollsBrewery
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We live in Creve Coeur area. I see your in Webster. Good to know there are locals on here!
Are the Blichmann Boilermaker pots worth it?
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We live in Creve Coeur area. I see your in Webster. Good to know there are locals on here!
ArcaneXor
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1.27 mm for Blichmann vs. 1 mm for Spike.
SpikeBrewing
Well-Known Member
Correct, we use a 1mm (roughly 19 gauge) and Blichmann advertises 18 gauge.
SpikeBrewing
Well-Known Member
As you can see our welding has improved since your 13.5gal kettle was made. I always give big props to the Penrose. They found a way to make a kettle here in the US at a competitive price. It's a little rough but some would call that unique
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
SpikeBrewing said:It's a little rough but some would call that unique
Just googled it. Butt ugly is what I'm calling it but the free ship and USA made is definitely praiseworthy
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
Crito said:
Who are you talking to exactly?
HoppyMcHopster
Well-Known Member
If you are truly only doing 5 gallon batches then the 10G Blichmann should be more than enough, assuming you aren't planning to do no-sparge BIAB. If you are thinking about doing 10G batches then go with the 15. It should be noted that the taller thinner Blichmann pots will have a lower boil off rate than the shorter wider pots so you don't need a crazy excess of space to prevent boil overs. Also, as someone else mentioned the thermometer will be a bit too high if you decide to go with the 15G. Having said that, a thermometer isn't that useful in a BK... possibly only to tell when you are done chilling via an immersion chiller. Either way, I decided against getting the 15G and went with the 10G and couldn't be happier. If I decide I need something bigger I could easily sell my used 10G on CL for a small loss. Cheers
Blichmann kettles are great. Heavy duty, includes sight glass and decent thermometer and 3-piece ball valve. Stepped bottom and their great false bottom make for a killer mash tun. I do 5 gallon batches and use the 10 gallon, plenty of room.
HoppyMcHopster
Well-Known Member
kevin509 said:
Do you have all blichmanns for your setup? All 10g? If so what's the biggest 5G brew were you able to make in terms of ABV or lbs of grain?
I was knocking around stores today.. Went to a local restaurant n supply store and my eyes fixed on a couple of stainless pots with lids.. Now, these were the heavy duty kind with the triple clad.. very thick aluminum/stainless bottoms.. Great handles and thick stainless body.. On sale.. 40 Qt.. $108.. I forget what the 60 Qt was.. but it was about $150... AWESOME.
On the way home, I stopped at Wal-Mart and saw a heavy duty stainless pot with triple clad bottom. I think it was 22 Qt.. about $56 if I remember correctly.. Perfect for Partial/Mini Mash.
There you have it.. awesome prices for awesome pots. Some argue that the thick triple clad bottoms aren't necessary. Maybe not.. one can get by with the cheap thin ones.. but, if scorching may be a problem for those doing extract or mini-mash which uses extract.. I, me, this guy believes in them.. especially for those prices.
I'm picking up the 60 and 40 for the future and will probably have s spigot put in each for when I up to 10-15 gallon batches.
On the way home, I stopped at Wal-Mart and saw a heavy duty stainless pot with triple clad bottom. I think it was 22 Qt.. about $56 if I remember correctly.. Perfect for Partial/Mini Mash.
There you have it.. awesome prices for awesome pots. Some argue that the thick triple clad bottoms aren't necessary. Maybe not.. one can get by with the cheap thin ones.. but, if scorching may be a problem for those doing extract or mini-mash which uses extract.. I, me, this guy believes in them.. especially for those prices.
I'm picking up the 60 and 40 for the future and will probably have s spigot put in each for when I up to 10-15 gallon batches.
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
Where did you see those big pots, Bill?
Is this true?
I know my better homes and garden one is made in china. Pretty sure that is the same place bill got his and I got mine from. I picked might up around the turn of the year and Wal-Mart has now dropped the line for a different vendor. Not sure what the new company's name is, but looked at one the other day and still a pretty HD Pot.
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I have the stout 20/20/20 with their 15 gallon fermenter.
I chose them because I could customize my setup. I added a ferrule here and there As well as a tasting port for the fermenter.
John has been great to work with. I had a couple manufacturing problems as well as some shipping damage and John was quick to work it out with me. Given how he responded when I had an issue I won't hesitate to buy from again.
I chose them because I could customize my setup. I added a ferrule here and there As well as a tasting port for the fermenter.
John has been great to work with. I had a couple manufacturing problems as well as some shipping damage and John was quick to work it out with me. Given how he responded when I had an issue I won't hesitate to buy from again.
If you're looking for a straight-forward answer - you'll never get one. This is one of those things that will be debated to Ad nauseam. My opinion: there's nothing special about Blichmann. That is to say: there is nothing about the pot that is special and warrants the cost over another pot. I love the Update International SPS series pots and here's why:
1) They're inexpensive.
2) The clad bottom is beautiful and will prevent wort from scorching as well as ensure an even heating. I would never own another pot without one unless it was a steam jacketed pot.
3) When it gets scratched up, or when you have to make a customization you're not going to have as much heartache on a pot that costs 150 bucks versus something that costs 300-500. And believe me - both scenarios will happen whether you like it or not.
Unless you have the opportunity to get Blichmann pots cheap, I'd really think twice.
1) They're inexpensive.
2) The clad bottom is beautiful and will prevent wort from scorching as well as ensure an even heating. I would never own another pot without one unless it was a steam jacketed pot.
3) When it gets scratched up, or when you have to make a customization you're not going to have as much heartache on a pot that costs 150 bucks versus something that costs 300-500. And believe me - both scenarios will happen whether you like it or not.
Unless you have the opportunity to get Blichmann pots cheap, I'd really think twice.
Hey Andrew.. forgot about this thread. The pots I was talking about were at Meyers on Cleveland Ave.. South of Coddingtown.. same side.
Pretty much everything stainless is made in China or India. Vollrath and Polar Ware may be exceptions. Pretty much everything home brewers are using that are made of stainless came from China. Nothing wrong with that in general as we are seeing some high quality stainless.
BrewThruYou
Well-Known Member
Clad bottoms are necessary for soups, stews and gravies. It's not necessary for wort unless you put 1.21 jigaBTUs under it.
We'll agree to disagree. Clad bottoms help prevent scorched wort.
jcaudill said:
I've never scorched my wort in a 15g Blichmann even with my blichmann burner running wide open.
bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
HbgBill said:
Thanks Bill, I'll check them out next I'm down there. I looked them up online and noticed they are a restaurant supply. I assume you don't need a business account or anything to buy from them?
AnchorBock
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I was debating between the Boilermaker and a Megapot, but just ordered a 15 gallon Megapot from Morebeer - clad bottom, welded ports (ball valve and cap included) with female ports on the inside that don't protrude into the kettle. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's wider then tall, but that's not the end of the world. I like the fact that I'll basically never have to worry about leaks/replacing o-rings. I didn't have much need for a sight glass since I BIAB and I don't plan to use a thermometer on the kettle for now so the $135 I saved can go towards something else (maybe a Blichmann burner/legs).
Ok so to sum up this thread. You're not going to get a kettle with dip tube, 3 piece ball valve, adjustable angle thermometer, and sight glass direct from a manufacturer other than blichmann. Hence there is not equal product on the market at any price. If you want all of the features of the blichmann you are going to have to build. (in my research buying a competitive or and adding sight glass and dip tube would cost about the same and not be as good as the blichmann solution)
So the question a buyer must ask is do I want a sight glass and dip tube? I did and I bought the blichmann my lovely bride agreed to the purchase aft she spent way too much on a pair of Kate spade shoes. I personally like the dip tube because it allows all but 1/2 quart of liquid to drain from the kettle (pending hop load if course) it also prevents me from having to tip the kettle to get the last bit if wort and disturbing the hops/break material. It would be nice if there was a no thermometer and no sigh glass option for the budget minded brewer looking for a Boile kettle, but the sit glass is super useful for sparging and guaging boil off and the thermometer can't add more than $50 to the price. It would also be nice if blichmann sold their dip tube and ball valve set up to install on competitive kettles. If they did I might have a different kettle, perhaps e LHBS could have sourced them as replacement parts. All in all though blichmann makes a kettle that is ready to go out of the box and I find a lot of value in that. I would love for it to cost less but buying a competitors cheaper kettle would have left me doing DIY for an inferior dip tube set up and and inferior sight glass. For probably the same cost.
So the question a buyer must ask is do I want a sight glass and dip tube? I did and I bought the blichmann my lovely bride agreed to the purchase aft she spent way too much on a pair of Kate spade shoes. I personally like the dip tube because it allows all but 1/2 quart of liquid to drain from the kettle (pending hop load if course) it also prevents me from having to tip the kettle to get the last bit if wort and disturbing the hops/break material. It would be nice if there was a no thermometer and no sigh glass option for the budget minded brewer looking for a Boile kettle, but the sit glass is super useful for sparging and guaging boil off and the thermometer can't add more than $50 to the price. It would also be nice if blichmann sold their dip tube and ball valve set up to install on competitive kettles. If they did I might have a different kettle, perhaps e LHBS could have sourced them as replacement parts. All in all though blichmann makes a kettle that is ready to go out of the box and I find a lot of value in that. I would love for it to cost less but buying a competitors cheaper kettle would have left me doing DIY for an inferior dip tube set up and and inferior sight glass. For probably the same cost.
bdjohns1
Well-Known Member
Gartywood said:
That's only true because you're arbitrarily restricting the market to what you can buy off the shelf with the specific add-ons you want. False choice.
And, putting my 3A sanitary design hat on, I'll still argue that any kettle using weldless fittings will be inferior to a design using sanitary fittings, whether tri-clamp, DIN beveled fittings, etc. By that logic, Stout offers the only off-the-shelf option.
SpikeBrewing
Well-Known Member
I agree. It's like saying Chevy is the best choice for car because they have OnStar.
I would also agree the Stout has the best 'off the shelf' kettles. The sanitary is not necessarily needed but makes cleaning very easy but the price is a little steep for most peoples budget.
