little help please

[Hojo3322]

First off this site has been an amazing wealth of information and has helped me make better beers with each batch :rockin:

I have a few questions that i was looking for a help with. I am doing some upgrades with the brewery first off I only do 5 gallon batches and cannot see my self doing 10 gallon batches in the future just too much beer and not enough time to drink it. With that said I am going to buy a new brew pot and am deciding between a 10 gallon and 15 gallon mega pot http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...apot-with-ball-valve-brewmometer/category/30/

I am eventually going to switch over to all grain but I am going to start with brew in a bag. My question is should I go with the 15 gallon brew pot or save a little cash and go with the 10 gallon. Would there be any disadvantages to having a 15 gallon pot and doing 15 gallon all grain batches in it? I also am in the process of making a keggle but with the time i have it will be a while before it's ready.

Also my burned it 14in by 14in and would getting a brew pot with a 17 inch (10 gallon) or 19 inch(15 Gallon) diameter be a problem?

any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

[beerman0001]

Go with the 15gal you will not regret it.

 

[user 4295]

What beerman said. I had the same decision to make a few years ago. I went with the 15 gallon Megapot so that if I ever wanted to step up to 10 gallon batches I'd have the option to do so. You wouldn't be able to make a 15 gallon batch in a 15 gallon pot though. At least I wouldn't try it. I think you'd definitely get a boil over.

The 15 gallon Megapot is also capable of containing some very strange ingredients, LOL!

 

[Hojo3322]

hahahah that's awesome johnsma22! and thanks for the response beerman0001.

I guess i just need a little encouragement lol 15 gallon it is! Do you think there would be be any problems with my burners being 14 by 14 and the brew pot being 19 inches in diameter?

 

[user 4295]

This is the burner I use. It has a cooking area of ~14" x 14", which is similar to yours, and I've never had a problem getting a good rolling boil going with my 19" diameter Megapot. Keeping in mind that I'm only doing 5 gallon batches and starting out with about 7.5 gallons of liquid pre-boil. Haven't tried to get a 10 gallon batch boiling on it yet though. Those dimensions mean that when the pot is centered on the burner it only overhangs by about 2.5" all the way around.

 

[Kelpdog]

I'd guess the size of the burner is not as relevant as the weight capacity of the stand for larger batches. You'll only have over hang of 2.5", which should be acceptable.

For what it is worth I bought a 10 gallon pot earlier this year when I was in your position. I regretted it immediately as I had a couple of batches that required a big boil. Plus, in the first two uses I couldn't make sense of the input vs. out volumes, thinking I was somehow miscalculating the sparge water. I took time to measure the volume of the pot and found that both the quart marks on the side were not accurate and that the volume of the pot, to the rim, is just a smidge over 9 gallons.
It was not one of the NB megapots, but a ss one that I picked up at the lhbs.

 

[Hojo3322]

johnsma22 that is the exact burner i have. thanks for the info! I feel a lot better about the 15 gallon pot now.

kelpdog i did not think of weight capacity when doing a bigger volume definitely something to keep in mind

once again HBT comes to the resue thanks for all the helpful advice

all that is left to do is place the order. fired up!