does the pot really make a difference?

[MrBaloo]

Hi all,

Currently an extract brewer. Piecing together my plans to go all electric 2 vessel herms system. Seems lime I am taking forever to figure out what I want to build. I currently use a keggle and have 2 others waiting for conversion.

My question is... Do the pots really make a difference? Sure the are pretty and all... And I am sure the beer does not know the difference... But are they more efficient and easier to use than converted keggle? Will I spend as much converting these as buying new?

Thanks for your help.

Baloo

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Depends on the variety and the dealer.

Wait, what?

 

[Homercidal]

I have a keggle for my BK and a Keggle for my HLT. For my BK I wish I had a regular kettle. It's a small thing, but I'd like to get the element closer to the bottom than the keggle can allow with it's rounded bottom.

Also, a Kettle will have flat sides, which would seem to be more convenient for placement of things, and for cleaning.

However, other than thickness of the bottom and the capacity I don't think there are too many other differences. MANY people brew in keggles with no issues. I think it's mostly just preference.

 

[poptarts]

Keggles can be bottom drain for electric systems, and that is amazing. They also can be way cheaper than standard stock pots.

 

[feinbera]

A shorter, wider pot will increase your boil-off rate... although, not by much.

The keggle's inner radius is about 8"... 8" * 8" * 3.14 ≈ 201 square inches surface area.

A squat 60-quart pot's inner radius is about 9"... 9" * 9" * 3.14 ≈ 254 square inches.

Soooo... given boil-off scales with surface area (the wort-air interface is where the steam escapes), maybe you'll get ~20% more boil-off with the pot. Doesn't seem to be enough to worry about.

 

[blizz81]

Keggles can be bottom drain for electric systems, and that is amazing.

I would recommend this as well before you get too far into conversion on the other two keggles.

 

[MrBaloo]

I can see the benefits of a bottom drain in the HLT, but what benefits do you have in the BK, an offset drain and whirl-pooling, seem to be the way to go... just making sure I am not missing something.

Baloo