How full can i fill my kettle?

[cpbergie]

I think my SS Pot holds 5 Gallons. I currently do about 3.5 Gallon boils, and that leaves about 6 inches of empty space from the wort to the top of the pot (maybe my put holds more that 5 Gallons). I worry mostly about boil overs, but after looking at others' pictures, they seem to have their pots filled up almost to the top when they boil.

Is it just a matter of using less heat to gain boil or lots of stirring? I dont see how it doesn't boil over every time. (i do mostly extract and partial mashes at this point). Should I be filling my pot up as much as possible, i would like to get closer to full boils.

 

[vtfan99]

How much does the wort rise (its highest point) in your kettle during boiling? If you've got room available, use it. I had a 5 gallon pot and did 3.5 gallon boils. I found this to be a good balance between never having to worry about boil overs and only having to add 2 gallons of water to the primary to top things off. If I boiled more I was constantly watching for a boil over and I had to add 1.5 gallons, which left me with a half empty gallon jug taking up space in the fridge

 

[cpbergie]

How much does the wort rise (its highest point) in your kettle during boiling? If you've got room available, use it. I had a 5 gallon pot and did 3.5 gallon boils. I found this to be a good balance between never having to worry about boil overs and only having to add 2 gallons of water to the primary to top things off. If I boiled more I was constantly watching for a boil over and I had to add 1.5 gallons, which left me with a half empty gallon jug taking up space in the fridge

I come close to boiling over every time, at least once. I end up picking up the pot for a second and turning down the heat (turkey fryer), and stirring alot. I seem to have plenty of room during the rolling boil, and other than the boil over moments, there is about 6 inches to spare.

I guess i need to find out exactly what my pot holds, but then is there a general rule (say a 5 gallon pot boil 3.5 gallons)?

(BTW, Hokie '96)

 

[Lil' Sparky]

"how full can I fill my kettle?"

... up to the top. Well, almost. It depends on how vigilant you want to be about watching for boil overs. I used to fill up my 30 qt turkey pot very close to the top, and usually have very minor spillage if I was careful.

"I would like to get closer to full boils"

Easy, get a bigger pot. Made my life way easier. Now, with a big kettle, I never have to worry about it.

 

[vtfan99]

(BTW, Hokie '96)

Go Hokies :rockin: ('99 here)

 

[david_42]

If you are doing extract & steeped grains, there is very little to be gained by filling the pot fuller. You'd save a bit on your bittering hops, but that's it.

I like to keep my level below 75%.

 

[cpbergie]

If you are doing extract & steeped grains, there is very little to be gained by filling the pot fuller. You'd save a bit on your bittering hops, but that's it.

I like to keep my level below 75%.

Thanks, I am going to start partial mashing, and want to do about 6 lbs of grains, which makes me think i need to be ready to boil more than 3.5 gallons of wort.

 

[cpbergie]

My pot holds 6 Gallons, so i should be ok with boiling at least 4, until i can upgrade.

 

[EdWort]

I boil 7 gallons in an 8 gallon kettle and have yet to have a boil over. The key is to have a squirt bottle of water handy when the boil begins and when you add hops. Those are the boil over points. Check out the following video to see what I'm talking about.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoo5UvVr-AQ"]Preventing Wort Boilover (youtube)[/ame]

You should be able to boil at least 5 gallons in your 6 gallon pot this way.