Keggle or Stainless Brew Pot

[mmckee83]

I am making the jump from extract to all grain for this upcoming summer, so I am slowly getting all the equipment that I need. I have my 2 - 10 gallon igloo coolers converted over. My next purchase is a larger brew kettle. Not having any all grain experience under my belt I would prefer to buy everything that I need once and not continually have to upgrade.

My question is my friend has a 15 gallon keggle that he said that I could have for $50 or possibly I could barter some woodworking for it so it would cost less. Should I jump on that or get a 15 gallon Stainless Steel pot (I think around $75 - $85) and a stainless ball valve for $30 bucks or so and have work attach it for me? For myself it is just not feasible to spend $200-$400 on a really nice one for what I will be doing. Like I mentioned I just want to spend the money once and be satisfied with it.

As a side not I plan on doing mostly 5 gallon batches but want the flexibility of being able to do 10 gallon if I want to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[wilserbrewer]

I like pots over keggles, just my opinion, but I feel kegs are heavy, cumbersome, oddly shaped, etc.
A predrilled kettle will cost you $46 more but comes with a lid, money well spent IMHO.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Stainle...16972824?pt=Cookware&var=&hash=item20db3a1f18

 

[acidrain]

I like keggels. You'll want a sight glass to complete the set up.

 

[reelmower]

Pro: Concave bottom of Sanke keg .. with dip tube and false bottom .. kettle will drain almost completely.

Con: Boil overs .. through side hand holes.

 

[ChocolateMaltyBalls]

Another pro: you can flip over the keg and use it as a bottom drain vessel...but it looks like the OP's vessel has already been cut.

 

[jflongo]

I love my Keggle as a BK. I know a pot would have cost me a ton more. If you are going to use this as a BK, I strongly recommend a dip tube, false bottom, valve, sightglass, and temp gauge. I'm about to turn another one in a HLT as well.

http://brewhardware.com/conversionkits/138-kegkitbk

http://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/store/Conversion_15.5Gal_Straight_Wall_Keg.html

 

[augiedoggy]

I use a keggle as a HLT and a pot for the Boil kettle....I think they both shine respectively for each application...
Its easy to make a jig to cut any size hole you want in the top that will fit whatever extra pot lid you have laying around fyi... keggles work better for electric setups it seems because of the shape of the bottom and how they sit on many burners.
they sell weldless stainles ballvalves with bulkhead fitting and seal for $20 BTW...
and yes sight glasses are easy to install and work well too.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I use keggle HLT and 25 gal BK. I like the pots more because of ease of moving them. Kegs are heavy, but I have to put my rig up and break it down every brew. They both make beer and I would use what ever was available for the least amount of cash.