Burner and Kettle Advice...

[Jekster]

Well, I just ordered all my gear and am satisfied with all my choices. Now, I need to make a selection of a propane burner / kettle to use on full boil 5 gallon batches.

The two options I have right now are to combo this burner and pot to make a setup

Bayou Burner

30 Quart Pot


That would total around $90 shipped, but is only a 30 quart pot (cheapest I have found that is stainless).

My other option is to just purchase this combo:

Ebay Combo

That will run around 85, get a larger 34 quart pot, but what I assume is not as good of a burner. I am leaning towards the first option because I have heard that that particular Bayou burner will be much more efficient in heating the wort as well as maintaining a boil. This will therefore save me in propane cost in the long run.

The other option would be this kit, but I am not sure about the quality of the burner:

Bayou Classic Combo

Which rings in at $100

Anyone else have other solutions, options, or opinions? All feedback is appreciated!

Thanks.

-Jek

 

[Evan!]

Um, if money is a concern, then don't worry about SS. Go aluminum. My friend owns a restaurant and got me a 32qt aluminum pot from Sysco for like $50. And it's thick-walled. I'll eventually get a bigger one, but...yeah, I don't have money to burn, so I'll stick with aluminum.

Don't skimp on the burner!

 

[Blender]

I have the Bayou Classic SQ14 and I am very satisfied with it. It's sturdy and efficient. My kettle is 32 quarts and I sure wish it was bigger because I have to fill it up to reach 5.5 gallons.

 

[Brewer3401]

Academy Sporting Goods: S/S 32 qt pot (with basket & other useless stuff), and the burner. $ 39.95

NEVER use that POS thermometer that comes with the kit. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I always run dual thermometers. Frying turkeys one day, and one read 190 F, while the other read 360 F. Glad I didn't wait until the 190 F got to my target of 375 F. (get a good digital thermometer).

I started out with the 32 qt system and used for over 2 years.

 

[Beerrific]

I bought the standard turkey fryer from Wal Mart, 30 qt. pot. It works well, I can get the wort boiling in the time that I would expect and can safely fit 6.5g in the pot which works out perfect for me. It will run you less than $50.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I agree with Brewer 3401 and Beerrific, you can get a turkey fryer setup for less than those you linked there. Don't worry about an aluminum pot. It'll be fine. And the burner you don't think is as good will be more than enough. I've got 3 like that mounted on my brew stand and they work great on 10 gal batches.

 

[Jekster]

Academy Sporting Goods: S/S 32 qt pot (with basket & other useless stuff), and the burner. $ 39.95

NEVER use that POS thermometer that comes with the kit. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I always run dual thermometers. Frying turkeys one day, and one read 190 F, while the other read 360 F. Glad I didn't wait until the 190 F got to my target of 375 F. (get a good digital thermometer).

I started out with the 32 qt system and used for over 2 years.

Wow! They really have some good prices on those systems! Only problem is they don't offer online shopping and the closest one to me is two states away. =( Anyone know an online retailer that offers similar prices on stainless steel fryers?

 

[FSR402]

I have that first cooker and love it.
As for the 30qt, I would go bigger then that if you can.

 

[Jekster]

Went ahead and made the purchase.

I got the SQ14 burner and a 44 quart stainless steel pot. Both bought separately, but seemed to fulfill my needs the best. I don't plan on doing 10 gallon batches anytime soon so the 44 quarter should be more than enough to handle my 5 gallon batches without me having to swarm over the kettle 24/7 during the brew. Furthermore, if I did want to toss down on a larger batch of say 8 gallons I'm sure the pot could handle that as well.

All in all it was $80 for the pot and $40 for the burner. Lots of money, but it's my reward for busting my butt moving into a new place rather than hiring movers.

Plus, I'm sure both these purchases will last long into my brewing career.

 

[Beerrific]

I have that first cooker and love it.
As for the 30qt, I would go bigger then that if you can.

Yeah no joke I have to RDWHAHB about 4 times before I stop worry about my boil in the 30qt pot. It will work but if money is no object or you have the opportunity, get bigger.

 

[FSR402]

Yeah no joke I have to RDWHAHB about 4 times before I stop worry about my boil in the 30qt pot. It will work but if money is no object or you have the opportunity, get bigger.

Yeah I was using one but when I was doing a big beer (OG=1.079) I had to boil down for an hour just so I could get all the stuff in there then start the one hour boil. I think I had maybe 4 boil overs on that one.
The next day I ordered a 60qt pot. I love that thing. :rockin:

Went ahead and made the purchase.

I got the SQ14 burner and a 44 quart stainless steel pot. Both bought separately, but seemed to fulfill my needs the best. I don't plan on doing 10 gallon batches anytime soon so the 44 quarter should be more than enough to handle my 5 gallon batches without me having to swarm over the kettle 24/7 during the brew. Furthermore, if I did want to toss down on a larger batch of say 8 gallons I'm sure the pot could handle that as well.

All in all it was $80 for the pot and $40 for the burner. Lots of money, but it's my reward for busting my butt moving into a new place rather than hiring movers.

Plus, I'm sure both these purchases will last long into my brewing career.

Sweet, you should be all set. You still need to watch the boil. No matter how big the pot is it can still boil over. Just the bigger pots are easier to catch them in time.

 

[Jekster]

Yeah I was using one but when I was doing a big beer (OG=1.079) I had to boil down for an hour just so I could get all the stuff in there then start the one hour boil. I think I had maybe 4 boil overs on that one.
The next day I ordered a 60qt pot. I love that thing. :rockin:




Sweet, you should be all set. You still need to watch the boil. No matter how big the pot is it can still boil over. Just the bigger pots are easier to catch them in time.

Yeah, I'm very happy with my choice to go large and can't wait for the pot to arrive. I almost bought a 50 quart kettle, but it was around $40 more and I thought the 44 quart would fulfill my needs for quite a while. Plus, whenever I move all grain this can still be used as my boil kettle, or be converted into a HLT if I want something larger to boil in. =D

BTW, I ordered the pot through Divine Mercantile

I saw the company on Ebay first and then went through their actual site because it offered cheaper shipping ($9.97 for the 44 quart pot). Overall, I thought it was a pretty nice deal.

 

[Grimsawyer]

I have that burner and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! It fits my KEGGLE on it and it DOES NOT wobble at all!!! GREAT BUY!!! but...(yeah yeah, there's always one of those!! HAHA) the first time you use it you will wish you had gotten a SS burner.... All the paint comes off where the flame hits it and it stinks... ugh... I've done many brews on mine, don't stink after the 2nd batch, and that one was tolerable, and it would take someone prying it from my dead cold fingers to get it away from me(unless someone was to give me a SS version of the same thing) GRATS and hoppy brewing!!:rockin: :rockin: :rockin: Killer buy man!