stock pot concerns?

[bergman1118]

i have a 16 qt right now and i don't think i am getting vigorous enough boils with it.. also i can only fit about 2-2.5 gals of water and would like to have a thinner wort than that, so my only option is to upgrade to something bigger..

will a 32 qt stock pot be able to fit on a kitchen stovetop? and also, can anyone recommend a good place to find large stock pots on the cheap? i have no restaurant supply stores in my region (small area), so i need to rely on the interwebz.

one more thing, is it very expensive to switch to an outdoor propane burner setup?

 

[flyangler18]

If $60 is your budget, I'd look into getting a turkey fryer kit. I use a 30QT (7.5 gallon) version myself doing full boils of about 6.5 gallons...and the risk of boilovers are DEFINITELY there, but I've hedged my bets by using Fermcaps to prevent excessive foaming during the hot break.

 

[bergman1118]

thanks for the tip. i've definitely heard of plenty people using the turkey fryers, they seem pretty legit.. and just doing some google searches they seem to not be too expensive (if you get aluminum).

will that 28-32 qt pot that comes in the kits still fit on the kitchen stove for the winter though?

 

[flyangler18]

will that 28-32 qt pot that comes in the kits still fit on the kitchen stove for the winter though

Depends on your stove configuration, first and foremost. When I was doing extract batches with partial boils in a 20qt, I had to shift the pot so it straddled two burners (front-back). It boiled- eventually. I can only imagine it would be equally difficult to bring a full volume up to a rolling boil.

I've brewed in the absolute dead of winter with snow whipping around in the garage with a turkey fryer, doors partially open to let the steam out. Space heaters help!

And for the record- I use aluminum, and there's no risk in using it.

 

[kmlavoy]

That 30 quart pot will be big enough for full boils, but only just. It is a good starting point though. What I did is started with that, then when I had the cash, got a nice big 10 gallon pot on ebay, and I use the 30 quart pot for my HLT. If you're going to go all grain, you'll need two pots, like I said, it's a good starting point.

Also +1 on the fryer being fine for boils outside in the winter. The other advantage to brewing outside when it's cold is tremendously fast chill times.

 

[Choguy03]

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-3066A-30-Quart-Outdoor/dp/B0000BXHL0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1218811454&sr=8-2

Not too expensive and you get all you need, burner and pot. It will just be big enough for full boils, but I know you can get a roaring boil with this baby.

 

[Revvy]

Flyguy came up with an excellent solution to improved stovetop boiling with large pots.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53683&highlight=Stovetop

 

[bergman1118]

awesome, thanks a lot for all the suggestions and help!