Do you guy like Blichman kettles?

[vanwolfhausen]

I want to upgrade to a 30gallon BK. What do you guys think of the Blichman kettles?

 

[SwampassJ]

I've heard nothing but good things about them but holy **** are they expensive. I think the 30 gallon costs as much as a studio apartment for a month.

ps. They are also called Blingmann.

 

[Mpez]

No doubt they are nice. But $$$, and in mine opinion very thin. I would be afraid of dinging it up.

I went with the 26 gallon heavy duty brew kettle from more beer. It's over $200 less than the blichmann and I could not be happier.

 

[Navy_Chief]

I love my 10 gal Blichmann kettle, enough so that I am considering building the rest of my system with two more of them for the HLT and Mashtun.

 

[dfess1]

I like my 15 gal blingman, but could not justify that price for a HLT and another Brew Kettle. Instead I went with the Brewhemoth pots. Both of them were less than the one Blichmann. Obviously not the same quality.

 

[Seven]

They are great kettles. They might be thinner than other kettles but I think this is a non-issue. They are plenty tough enough for everyday use.

 

[bighand]

I absolutely love my 20 gallon boilermaker boil kettle. I will be upgrading my HLT and MLT as soon as I can afford it.

 

[Rev2010]

I just got a Blichmann 10 gallon recently to do 5 gallon full boils. I went with it because they are known to be top notch, all the ratings are excellent, and the price is 1/3 more which to me isn't a world of difference - but then again I'm not in a money tight situation.

The pots are thinner in build, my economy 5 gallon pot is heavier and thicker, but I can't see how the Blichmann won't last unless someone seriously abuses it... and if you're spending this kind of cash I don't know how would be abusing it anyway. And the thinner build may help achieve temps quicker - but I can't assert that scientifically so take that with a grain of salt.

That aside, I said it's 1/3 more expensive and I was merely referencing another popular brand - Megapot. I'm sure there are others that are even less expensive so it might be a moot point. And not to mention the Megapot at $220 doesn't have the level gauge so it's still not fair to say the Blichmann is 1/3 more in price.

Basically, if you have the extra cash and it's not an issue go for it. It's also nicely expandable. If you want to save a few bucks you will be way more than happy still with many of the other options out there.


Rev.

 

[Catt22]

No

 

[kds1398]

I have a 10 & 20 gallon. Love them both. The only thing I can say, and it would be applicable to all kettles with ball valves, would be to be careful when positioning the heat shield if you brew with propane. I melted the plastic ball valve handle cover on mine.

 

[cmuench]

I have 2 x 20 gal and the 30 gal on my brew rig. I like them a lot.

I'm sure you can find cheaper kettles that'll do the job. But once you get past the sticker shock and buyers remorse, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I wouldn't personally spend that kind of money for a kettle that didn't have a sanwiched bottom. IMO the Mega Pot style kettle is a better buy. You can customize it the way you want. Not saying anything against Blingman because I see a lot of them being used, I just think there are better options. I too am upgrading to a 30 gallon HLT. I haven't found the supplier yet though. Just my $.02

 

[hinke]

I like my 3x20 gallon BoilerMakers That's all I can say. They also look and perform nice on my TopTier system.

 

[enohcs]

I just used my 20 gal boil kettle for the first time this week and could not be happier with it. The sight glass is great for accurate pre and post boil volumes (useless during boil), the brewmometor is great, I have them on both my keggle hlt and mash tun too, and the dip tube drains the wort very well, even with lots of pellet hops (see photo...let settle for 30 min after whirlpool). Wall thickness is a non issue.

 

[Rundownhouse]

No

C'mon, you're normally much more helpful than this.

 

[EdWort]

I like mine, but Blichmann sold a defective design in their hop screen. Break material will clog it immediately. I used it once. When they came out with the Hop Blocker, I wrote them, asking to exchange it, they told me to pound sand (so to speak).

They know they have a defective design in the hop screen as it will clog with only break material.

While I like the kettle, I won't be buying any more Blichmann products because of their customer service sucks.

 

[Lechien]

I had a 10 gallon boilermaker, did about 4 batches in it before I started wishing i had gone with the 15 gallon. I sold it and bought a Brewhemoth, decided I didn't really need a thermometer on a boil kettle and instead of the sightglass I just marked my big spoon at 1 gallon increments.

I was put off by the sticker on the Blichmann telling me not to carry it by the handles with liquid in it and having to put a piece of metal under it to protect the valve from heat.

They are nice I just didn't need shiny and all the gadgets.

 

[Demon]

I just used my 20 gal boil kettle for the first time this week and could not be happier with it. The sight glass is great for accurate pre and post boil volumes (useless during boil), the brewmometor is great, I have them on both my keggle hlt and mash tun too, and the dip tube drains the wort very well, even with lots of pellet hops (see photo...let settle for 30 min after whirlpool). Wall thickness is a non issue.

For the sight glass during boil, there is a small piece of sheet metal that goes under the kettle to shield the valve and sight glass from heat. This will prevent the sight glass liquid from boiling.

 

[vanwolfhausen]

Ok so I know what I want for my bday this year.haha My wife surprised me and got me the dry erase tap handles for all 6 of my beers which is nice early bday present.

 

[fh1]

For the sight glass during boil, there is a small piece of sheet metal that goes under the kettle to shield the valve and sight glass from heat. This will prevent the sight glass liquid from boiling.

I used the heat shield supplied with my 20 gal Blichmann Boilermaker and didn't realize one side had a clear plastic peel off protective covering. Boy was I surprised when it started to smoke and melt.................

 

[mattldm]

ONE blichmann 15g kettle with false bottom ($450)
or
THREE Keggles, converted with welded fittings, sightglass, thermometers, ballvalves, false bottom.. ($450)

Im sure the Blichmanns are nice but not very cost effective

 

[Seven]

ONE blichmann 15g kettle with false bottom ($450)
or
THREE Keggles, converted with welded fittings, sightglass, thermometers, ballvalves, false bottom.. ($450)

Im sure the Blichmanns are nice but not very cost effective

A rough estimate for one sankey keg is somewhere around $200 to $300. Unless you're very lucky and find the score of the century on Craigslist - how does one acquire three sankey kegs and everything else you mentioned for $450?

 

[mattldm]

A rough estimate for one sankey keg is somewhere around $200 to $300. Unless you're very lucky and find the score of the century on Craigslist - how does one acquire three sankey kegs and everything else you mentioned for $450?

Just buy them used on CL, I see them listed in my arrea all the time for anywhere from $25-50. I just bought three kegs from a guy last week for $40 each.
One of our finished Keggles

 

[mtnbikerbrewer]

As a dealer and user of Blichmann kettles, I will say they are worth the price. Are they the best, that is debatable. I have been using a 20 gal kettle for almost three years with the Top Tier burner (which is absolutely worth it) usually brewing half barrel batches. The kettle has held up well and with at least a hundred brews under its belt I just decided to replace the seals out of precaution... However, though I have yet to contact Blichmann directly about this, finding new seals for the 3-piece valve doesn't seem easy. The thinner steel hasn't appeared to be an issue, for there are no dings in the kettle and I lift 18 or 19 gallons of hot wort in that kettle almost every time I brew with no issue. I wouldn't want to carry it far since it is hot liquid but I have experienced no fatigue or any other issue with handles when moving the kettle around.

 

[BrewThruYou]

ONE blichmann 15g kettle with false bottom ($450)
or
THREE Keggles, converted with welded fittings, sightglass, thermometers, ballvalves, false bottom.. ($450)

Im sure the Blichmanns are nice but not very cost effective

Like comparing a off the lot corvette to a car someone suped up in their garage. You are substituting labor, tools and know-how for price. If someone can't weld or install all that stuff or even find totally pimped out keggles, the comparison isn't that relevant.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using HB Talk

 

[Navy_Chief]

ONE blichmann 15g kettle with false bottom ($450)
or
THREE Keggles, converted with welded fittings, sightglass, thermometers, ballvalves, false bottom.. ($450)

Im sure the Blichmanns are nice but not very cost effective

Which would be true if I could buy them for less than $100 each, plus fittings, plus welding, plus time to polish it to make it look decent....

Keggles are heavier and harder to clean also.

Yep I am sticking with Blichmann.

 

[EdWort]

One of our finished Keggles

That's one fricking beeeuuuuutiful keggle. Awesome job!

How many days did it take to get that shine?

 

[mattldm]

That's one fricking beeeuuuuutiful keggle. Awesome job!

How many days did it take to get that shine?

Thank you!
Automotive buffer, gator grit pads, buffing wheel and rouge, and Lots of elbow grease. Not sure how long it took, but it was a lot of work!