Cheapest SS Brew Pot?

[smata67]

I was browsing through my local dollar type store and there it was, a 4 gallon stainless steel pot with handles and top for $9.99. Yes, it was awfully flimsy, but I'm sure it would do the job. If you are really hard up (or want a cheap second pot for dual boils), this could be the ticket. I really like the aluminum sandwich bottom on the stainless pot (and glass top) I got from walmart, is there any way to modify this pot in some way to be similar?

Probably same pot as this one:

Sears Stainless Steel Stock Pot $14.99.

 

[Brew-boy]

Save up those bottle returns and get a decent pot whether you go with Alum or S.S.
A good pot is hard to live without no skimping here.

 

[cenla]

I was browsing through my local dollar type store and there it was, a 4 gallon stainless steel pot with handles and top for $9.99...

and you walked out of the store without it? You have more self control than me.

 

[ThirdGen]

How big of a partial boil are you planning on doing? If you want to do 3 or 3.25 gallons boiling, you'll need a 5 gallon pot (that's what I do) because once you add the hops, the boiling can overtake your pretty quick if you don't have enough leeway in the top of the pot.

I'm not sure if I'd go for a $9.99 stock pot, I'd save up a bit more for a S.S. 5 gallon one. The cheapest I could find that felt sturdy enough to last a good while was actually at my LHBS for $50.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

a SS pot for $10 bucks? is it made of stainless steel foil? I'd be too worried about scorching.

Get a heavy duty pot. You will thank yourself for the investment!!

 

[HarkinBanks]

This is the cheapest 5g SS pot I have seen:

http://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?type=Product&quantity=1&itemNumber=12585

They also have the 4g one for $10 bucks. I picked up a 5g one for small BIAB batches and it works fine. A 5g paint strainer lines it nicely so you can do BIAB. It is pretty flimsy, but for $12, what can you expect? It's not a bad place to start if you are trying to save some money when you first get into the hobby. As you guys mention, a good brew kettle is worth the investment in the long run though.

 

[MetallHed]

i bought one at a liquidation store like Big Lots for 11 bucks.. used it on two batches so far. works great! still looks great! I have a 30Qt alum turkey fryer kettle waiting for a burner though...

 

[RCCOLA]

I have used 2 cheap SS pots for heating my mash water on the stove for years. 1 was a family dollar 12qt $12, the other a 5gal. Garden Ridge Pottery clearance $2 (still kicking myself for not buying all of them)

SS is extremely tough. I worked in the trailer repair industry for 20 yrs. Just try drilling 1000 holes in thin SS, and then talk about its durability. Don't see too many threads about pots cracking, failing do ya? Nothing wrong with these pots.

 

[smata67]

I can picture four of these pots boiling away on my cooktop at that price! Scorching is a real concern, that's why I like my aluminum sandwiched pot from walmart, no fear of a boil over, but I'm not going to jinx myself here.

 

[abracadabra]

a SS pot for $10 bucks? is it made of stainless steel foil? I'd be too worried about scorching.

!!

Scorching is a completely overblown concern.

Plus from my perspective you can't have too many pots they have all kinds of uses from boiling wort to sanitizing various items to just being a useful place to hold your brewing tools.

 

[PintOfBitter]

use a trivet on top of the burner and you could get away with it. your time-to-boil will go up, however, which is already pretty lousy on a stovetop.

 

[smata67]

a SS pot for $10 bucks? is it made of stainless steel foil? I'd be too worried about scorching.

Get a heavy duty pot. You will thank yourself for the investment!!

It is not foil, but it certainly does not have a quality feel to it. It felt to be just the absolute minimum thickness to do the job with warping when carrying full. I might buy one just for the heck of it.