initial gear purchase..

[waskelton4]

i'm getting quite close to my initial gear purchase and I"d like to make the most of the investment.

It looks like i'm going to get a turkey fryer this afternoon (and will be frying a turkey in it tomorrow). Would It be a bad thing to use the turkey fried aluminium kettle for boiling my wort? (i'm gonna use extracts to start off with)

also.. when i get my kit I can't decided if i should get the basic kit with a plastic primary and add a SS kettle to the order or if the aluminum one will work

or..

if i should just use the largest SS stockpot i have at home now for partial boils ( I think it's around 3 gal.. maybe more) and upgrade the kit to include a glass primary..

i guess it might "boil" down to weather or not doing a partial boil in my smaller stock pot will be any worse than doing a partial boil in a 5 gal kettle.

should I wait and get a kettle when I can spluge for one where I can do full boils on 5 gal batches??

Or mabye a wort chiller would be the best first upgrade..
I'm in need of a little guidance..

what are everyone's thoughts?

thanks
will

 

[El Pistolero]

It looks like i'm going to get a turkey fryer this afternoon (and will be frying a turkey in it tomorrow). Would It be a bad thing to use the turkey fried aluminium kettle for boiling my wort? (i'm gonna use extracts to start off with)

Why are you frying a turkey on Mar 25th? Doesn't it have to be a holiday? That said, as long as you get it clean, it won't be a problem using it for brewing.

also.. when i get my kit I can't decided if i should get the basic kit with a plastic primary and add a SS kettle to the order or if the aluminum one will work

If you're already getting a turkey fryer, why do you need another kettle? If you are gonna get another kettle...go ahead and get SS.

if i should just use the largest SS stockpot i have at home now for partial boils ( I think it's around 3 gal.. maybe more)

3 gallons isn't big enough for anything...you need at least 5 gal, IMHO.

upgrade the kit to include a glass primary..

A glass primary is very nice...you'll probably end up getting one anyway, but there's nothing wrong with a plastic one either, if that's what you can afford.

i guess it might "boil" down to weather or not doing a partial boil in my smaller stock pot will be any worse than doing a partial boil in a 5 gal kettle.

should I wait and get a kettle when I can spluge for one where I can do full boils on 5 gal batches??

Or mabye a wort chiller would be the best first upgrade..

As I said, a 5 gallon kettle is pretty much a minimum, but if you've got a 5 gallon kettle then a wort chiller really isn't necessary yet...chilling in an ice water bath will work just fine. Get you a 5 gallon kettle (or use the turkey fryer), and spend your money on other stuff until you're ready to do full boils (which is more like 7-8 gallons), IMHO.

 

[Beer Snob]

By "Initial Gear Purchase", do you mean you have absolutly nothing now? If this is the case you should really be buying an equipment kit. It usually comes with just about everything you need with the exception of the brewpot. It sounds as if you want to go to AG/PG to begin with and not go the extract route. Try Northern Brewers at http://www.northernbrewer.com/ . If you wanted to go AG they even have an AG kit using rubbermaid water coolers.

 

[waskelton4]

Why are you frying a turkey on Mar 25th? Doesn't it have to be a holiday? That said, as long as you get it clean, it won't be a problem using it for brewing.

We can fry any day we want in mississippi

If you're already getting a turkey fryer, why do you need another kettle? If you are gonna get another kettle...go ahead and get SS.

I guess this part of my question was only valid if I can't use the aluminum turkey pot.

3 gallons isn't big enough for anything...you need at least 5 gal, IMHO.

That's what i was thinking also.. just needed some confirmation..

As I said, a 5 gallon kettle is pretty much a minimum, but if you've got a 5 gallon kettle then a wort chiller really isn't necessary yet...chilling in an ice water bath will work just fine. Get you a 5 gallon kettle (or use the turkey fryer), and spend your money on other stuff until you're ready to do full boils (which is more like 7-8 gallons), IMHO.

I guess the size and quality of the turkey fryer kit will help determine some of this.. I'd like to go ahead and get a nice big SS kettle but those things get expensive.. I guess thats why everyone is using old beer kegs with the tops cut off of them in their photo galleries.. hrmmm..

Thanks for the replies..
I'll let you know how teh turkey comes out


Will

 

[Bernie Brewer]

as long as you get it clean, it won't be a problem using it for brewing.

I disagree. once you put oil in it, it's never the same. I have no scientific knowledge to back this up, only personal experience. Like Pistolero said, if you're getting a different pot, go SS. Best case scenario, get a converted sankey keg if you can.

 

[waskelton4]

as long as you get it clean, it won't be a problem using it for brewing.

I disagree. once you put oil in it, it's never the same. I have no scientific knowledge to back this up, only personal experience. Like Pistolero said, if you're getting a different pot, go SS. Best case scenario, get a converted sankey keg if you can.

where do you get a converted sankey keg?

FWIW..
We did fry the turkeys this weekend ( 4 of them) and they were pretty freaking good)

The pot/kettle has a few stains on it from where the top of the oil was but it isn't really dirty. Would a good hot 30 min boil with just water in it help the situation.. maybe coax out any nasties that might be lurking before the wort gets made?

I'll be in search of a good beer makin' kettle in the mean time..

has anyone made wort in a previously fried in Aluminum turkey pot and gotten good results??

many thanks..

ws

 

[El Pistolero]

where do you get a converted sankey keg?

I got mine from Sabco.

The pot/kettle has a few stains on it from where the top of the oil was but it isn't really dirty. Would a good hot 30 min boil with just water in it help the situation.

I don't know about that, but IMHO a good soak in PBW will pretty much remove any kind of organic residue, without scrubbing.