Best bang for the buck kettle?

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evilhomer

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I've seen the threads talking about finding the cheapest pot possible. In other threads there's always someone who suggests getting a $300 one. I saw a boilermaker in person recently, they are pretty nice.

So what kettle get's you the most on a budget, maybe in the $50-150 range?

If I want to drive an hour, I got a guy who will sell me a uncut keg for $45. I'm sure if I wait long enough I could find one locally.
 
Best bang for the buck is a keggle. Even a cheap aluminum 15 gallon pot will run you 75 bucks.
 
To each they're own but I tried the keggle route and didn't like it. They are heavy - seem to take a while to heat up and harder to clean than a smooth pot. I recently got a 7.5 gallon SS pot with a valve and thermometer for $80 used. It works great and it much easier to set up and take down than the keggle. If you shop online you can find stuff in your price range. If you don't mind alluminium, you can get stuff much cheaper. You didn't say what size your looking for but if I had to do it over again I would get a 10 gallon pot for the 5 gallon batches I do. Check out tamale steamer pots (they are aluminium) as they have a built in false bottom. You can get weldless fitting kits for pretty cheap from bargain fittings so you only have to have a drill and file to add stuff to a regular pot.
 
I have been looking at austinhomebrew. They have a 61qt Premium Stock Pot that I have my eye on for $142.99. I already have the valve and sightglass so I'm looking at making one of these my own. I like them because they are short so it will take up less room vertically on my Top Tier. I am myself vertically challenged so this is a plus for me!
 
Yeah that penrose looks nice! It's probably a good thing they're out of stock ATM otherwise I'd be getting in trouble with my SWMBO... :D
 
If you are a sams club member I just ordered a 60qt aluminum for $53 total, tax and shipping included. I'll let you know how it is when I get it.
 
I have a great 40 qt ss brew pot. how difficult is it to cut holes for a valve and thermometer? Being that the vessel is round, seesm like it may not be something a simpleton like me can handle.
 
Check out the Bayou classic stainless on amazon. Pretty much any size you want come with a properly fitted lid and you can add the perforated basket for BIAB if you so choose. Then head over to bargainfittings.com and buy as many of the weldless fittings as you need for valve, sight glass, thermo, etc.
 
captainL said:
If you are a sams club member I just ordered a 60qt aluminum for $53 total, tax and shipping included. I'll let you know how it is when I get it.
Click to expand...

This is what I use. I think it's a great kettle, and a lot cheaper than SS.
 
Wow 57 gallon brewpot, thats pretty damn big. Must resist the urge to purchase. I imagine you can take that thing and modify it into a fermenter too if you want to.
 
sheeldon said:
I have a great 40 qt ss brew pot. how difficult is it to cut holes for a valve and thermometer? Being that the vessel is round, seesm like it may not be something a simpleton like me can handle.
Click to expand...

Invest in a good step drill. I got mine off of amazon and drilling is a breeze.
 
ImperialLover said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/DISCOUNTED-230q...=320647598626&ps=63&clkid=6877107396195495479

$150.00 shipped for a 230qt/57 gallon stainless steel pot. I bought x3 of the 180qt/45 gallon pot for $198 shipped. Lets be real, they are scratch and dent, from china, etc.. Take the stickers off of them, and you've got a 1-1.5BBL :rockin:brewery started for the price of a 10gallon... Hope it helps.:mug:
Click to expand...

I don't know if anyone has or knows what a 55 gal. drum looks like ... but that pot shown ain't even close to 57 gallons ... nor does that counter look bigger than the 28" diameter of the pot ...What am I missing????
 
FoReel said:
...What am I missing????
Click to expand...

I think what you are missing is that the retailer is Chinese and the photos don't match the descriptions...word i have heard is that the inexpensive pots are as "described", and a decent pot for the money??? That photo has been used for a variety of pots. You are correct, a small family could fit in a 57 gallon pot, that's gigantic.
 
The pots are chinese, and scratch and dent stock; whether they say they're new or not. However, the sizes are real. Like I said, i bought the 45 gal pot and it's damn huge. It also looks just like the one on the counter. I can get both of my kids (Sitting down) in that pot. It's not the prettiest, but it definitely gets the job done. And, I spent less on three pots than I did on one blichman of comparable size.. :mug:
 
Patirck said:
To each they're own but I tried the keggle route and didn't like it. They are heavy - seem to take a while to heat up and harder to clean than a smooth pot. I recently got a 7.5 gallon SS pot with a valve and thermometer for $80 used. It works great and it much easier to set up and take down than the keggle. If you shop online you can find stuff in your price range. If you don't mind alluminium, you can get stuff much cheaper. You didn't say what size your looking for but if I had to do it over again I would get a 10 gallon pot for the 5 gallon batches I do. Check out tamale steamer pots (they are aluminium) as they have a built in false bottom. You can get weldless fitting kits for pretty cheap from bargain fittings so you only have to have a drill and file to add stuff to a regular pot.
Click to expand...

Patrick - can i have your reason why you want a 10 gallon pot? I am going to buy a 7.5 gallon kettle for partial 5 gallon brewing too.
 
I do 5 gallon batches in a 7.5 and you have to watch it like a hawk the whole time with the spray bottle nearby. I plan on sticking with 5 gallon batches and think a 10 would work much better.

You could always boil less water in the 7.5 and plan to top off but I would prefer to not use any top off water.
 
thanks - the instructions from many brewing store use top off approach. do i get a significantly better beer if i don't top off? I can see why you prefer 10 gallon pot if you don't top off.
 
Yong said:
thanks - the instructions from many brewing store use top off approach. do i get a significantly better beer if i don't top off? I can see why you prefer 10 gallon pot if you don't top off.
Click to expand...

If you mean "full boil" then YES it is the biggest improvement you can make to extract and partials. However some people do not have the capabilities to bring 6-6.5 gallons to a rolling boil. Most stove tops are not capable.
 
alright - Sams club 40 qt alluminum stock pot worth a shot. This one is cheap enough (~ $33) to be a starter kettle. I may upgrade year later if the size works well.
 
Yong said:
Patrick - can i have your reason why you want a 10 gallon pot? I am going to buy a 7.5 gallon kettle for partial 5 gallon brewing too.
Click to expand...

I like to end up with 5.5 gallons in the fermenter so I end up with 5 gallons in the keg after angel loss and trub. This means that I need to start out with 7 gallons pre boil volume. That is just too close to the top of the kettle with a 7.5 gallon for me. I have recently (the last two batches) started using fermcap and it is amazing stuff - no foam or boil overs - you don't even really need to watch it. This fermcap stuff may end up being a saving grace for doing 5 gallon batches in a 7.5 gallon pot.

Getting back to the original reason for wanting a bigger kettle:

5 gallons in the keg=
5.5 gallons chilled in the fermenter (I lose 1/2 gallon to trub)
6 gallons (or a little less like 5.8) chilled in the kettle ( lose 1/3 - 1/2 gallon at the bottom of the kettle to stuff I don't want in the fermenter
6.25 gallons unchilled equals 6 gallon chilled (this is called wort shrinkage)
7 gallons preboil means I can only lose .75 gallons to boil off - this is tough to do with a 60 minute boil much less a 90 minute boil. I think most people figure they lose 1 gallon to boil off in a 60 minute boil.
 
Patirck said:
7 gallons preboil means I can only lose .75 gallons to boil off - this is tough to do with a 60 minute boil much less a 90 minute boil. I think most people figure they lose 1 gallon to boil off in a 60 minute boil.
Click to expand...

You can work around the minimal boil off by topping up the kettle near the end of the boil. IOW, go ahead and boil off the normal 1 to 1-1/2 gallons and top up at the last 10-15 minutes or so to get the desired end of boil volume.
 
Get an 'illegal' keg and braze (easy if you read about it a bit) a fitting or buy a weldless dealie. Done. My 12G setup had 'legal' sabco kegs. Sorry, I have no problems with using cheaper sources if I had to buy kegs again.
 
I just purchased a 32 quart aluminum off wares direct, and after another quick check, confirmed that they have a 40 quart stainless with lid for only $80 (+15 shipping). Seems like the best deal I've seen.
 

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