Kettle question.

[ajohnson153]

Ok, so I have a chance to get a 20 gal Blichmann Boilermaker kettle. I do 5 gal partial mash (will make the move to all grain when I can). I was wondering if this was too big a kettle to do full boil 5 gal batches on. I know I will have to install another thermometer because they are mounted high on the kettle. I was worried more about boil off. I know that with the increased surface area in contact with the heat my wort will boil faster but I was wondering if I would end up with more boil off using such a large kettle for such a small volume of liquid. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

 

[Kayos]

That's true but it's no big deal - just plan for it. After your first batch you'll see what to plan for. Your first batch, just calc another 5 % or so. Go for it! I do 5g batches in my keggle (15.5 g) all the time!

 

[IslandLizard]

You really don't need a thermometer in a boil kettle. It boils or it doesn't. If you're chilling in the kettle, just hang one in there toward the end.
The only thing is when using a regular immersion chiller, there is not much height to the wort in the kettle, so you may want to find better chilling solutions.

I don't think your boil-off is going to be all that much more. Just throttle down the burner to keep a rolling boil. Any extra BTUs added past that point only increase evaporation rate.