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BIAB 2.5 Gallon Batches - Brew Pot Size

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I like the DS burner for pots up to 10-11 gallons. Please let us know what you think of the 5 gallon pot comimg with your order.

I got the burner and pot in the mail today. The burner seems pretty nice but the pot seems very cheap but for free I can't complain too much. I'm sure it will work fine but it's even thinner than the 2.5 gallon stock pot I got from Walmart.
 
7.5 gal SS pot (turkey fryer kit from Academy / $30) w/ lid and thermometer = perfect for my 3 gallon stove top batches.

Once mash temp is reached, I drop my pot down into a 10 gallon cooler which holds my temp within a degree or two over an hour.

I use second colander / pot combo for draining my bag, heating sparge water and "sparging" about 1/2 gal of water over the draining bag while starting the boil.

My pot fits in my sink for an initial ice bath cooling then down to the basement mop sink I go for the rest of my chilling with an immersion chiller.

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I recently bought a 22 qt heavy ss triclad pot with glass top from WalMart. Very reasonable. Handles a 4g boil very well. Quite happy with it. I think the line is called something like Tramentina or similar. Perfect for up to a 3 gallon batch as long as you keep your eye on it before the hot break settles..

The nice thing is that the diameter to height ratio is very similar to a turkey fryer or Blichmann/Bayou Classic. In other words.. perfect :)
 
I brewed my first BIAB batch today, I started with 4 gallons in my 5 gallon pot, 6lbs of grain, and I ended up with 3 gallons in the fermenter.
 
I did a boil test yesterday and it was pretty hard to get a consistent flame because of the wind. It took about 20-25m to bring 4 gallons to boil. The bottom of the pot had some dark ash from the flame and some paint that melted from the metal. I think it will take a few more boils to get my full impression and hopefully it won't be so windy when I brew my first BIAB batch in a few weeks.
 
A 5-6 gallon stock pot should suit your needs fine. Keep in mind that minimal empty space in the pot means better temperature retention during the mash.

This, and it's pretty huge. I mashed a 2.5 (ended up being almost 3) gallon batch in a 5 gallon pot, and it was a perfect fit (target OG was 1.069 with a 6.75lb grain bill). It was filled nearly to the brim with the grains in there, but I didn't even need to insulate / cover the pot during the mash. After 1 hour, the temperature only changed by 1 degree. If you have a pot with minimal empty space, you don't need to bother with covering the pot with insulation.

edit: Just noticed you were doing the brewing outside, that might change things. What I said applies to stovetop brewing with a 75 degree room temp. If it's cold outside that might change things.
 
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