Looking for a new brew kettle, have some questions.

[robertvrabel]

I'm looking to get a new brew kettle (probably for Christmas) that I can do up to 10 gallons in (so a 15g pot I assume). I normally do 5g, but want the option to do 10g a few times a year. I have few questions/concerns.

I really like the blichmann Boilermaker 15g pot for the fact that it has a sight on the side to show much volume you have collected. But from what i've read the 15g pot thermometer is worthless when doing 5g batches. So since its so expensive I dunno if its worth it just because I like the sight.

A converted keg seems good, but how do you measure how much wort is in it? Currently I use a stick in my pot to measure, but I feel like it would be hard to see in a keg, is that true or is the hole big enough on the top that you can easily see? Also, is it easy to fit an immersion chiller in a converted keg? No problems there?

Any suggestions on pots would be a great thx!

 

[Chad_C]

You can add a sightglass to a keggle so that you can see where the liquid level is externally.

 

[robertvrabel]

You can add a sightglass to a keggle so that you can see where the liquid level is externally.

Do you know of a website that sells keggles with customized options like that?

 

[HoppyMaltPoet]

http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Keggles_c_2.html

 

[robertvrabel]

Seems like the keggle sightglass is a bit different than the blichmmann one. So if you are boiling your wort, you have wort outside the pot in a glass tube? Seems odd to me to do that

 

[Chad_C]

How is that any different from what Blichmann is doing? They have external sightglasses where the wort is on the outside of the pot in a glass tube?

Another vendor for pre-fab keggles: http://www.brew-magic.com/kettleindex.html

 

[robertvrabel]

How is that any different from what Blichmann is doing? They have external sightglasses where the wort is on the outside of the pot in a glass tube?

Another vendor for pre-fab keggles: http://www.brew-magic.com/kettleindex.html

I just assumed that on the blichmann one that you are looking through the glass into the pot. That is what it looks like from the picture atleast...

 

[goybar]

How about one of these?

http://conical-fermenter.com/products/brew-kettles/

 

[Chad_C]

Gotcha, Those too are glass tubes on the outside of the kettle. They have a much cleaner design than the keggle sightglasses but are functionally the same.

 

[JByer323]

All sight glasses I've seen function like that...