Turkey Fryer deal

[CJ-3]

I don't think the 12.5 gallon steamer has the same "feature", so I'll be more happy with that as well.

You are correct, it does not have an auto shut off. Once you get it up and running let us know how you like it, personally I love mine and I recommend it as a cheap way to get into all grain.

Just make sure to boil water in the aluminum pot before your first use. It has to be done anytime you use aluminum instead of stainless. Besides, it also lets you know what your boil off rate is, which is handy info to have for calculating your starting boil volume.

 

[Cain]

Why do you have to boil with just water first in a new aluminium pot?

 

[gunnuts]

The idea is to build an oxidized layer on the aluminum.

I would do it more to know what my boil off rate is before guessing on a batch.

 

[jonny24]

It's also a good time to measure how much boils off.

I broke the timer knob off mine the first time I used it, so I went to use a pair of vice grips to turn it. The weight of the vice grips stopped it from ticking down so I just leave them on there.

 

[Citizen86]

I filled it up about half and brought it to a boil the other night, keeping the basket in there as well. Man, that jet burner really produces a huge flame!

I noticed that only the parts of the pot that were contacting water were browned a bit (makes sense, our well water has a bit more iron than most), so I filled it up to the brim and brought that to a boil. The top half isn't quite as brown but it is somewhat. So I think I should be good to go. Hopefully going to do a brew this weekend :rockin:

 

[zchwlsn]

You could go with this for a few dollars more (it's stainless and drilled):
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Stainless-Steel-3-in-1-Combo-Cooker/product/10213184/
When I started All-Grain, I got one of these:
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Aluminum-Fish-Fryer/product/10205245/
and supplied my own pot (about $60, stainless, 30qt from an Asian grocery).

I have a similar boil kettle to the first bass pro shop one. How hard would it be to replace the valve on there with a weldless ball valve and bazooka screen?

 

[charliehorse]

If you can get the old one out (if it isn't welded), I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be hard.

 

[zchwlsn]

Ok because I'm just worried that the curved spigot will be hard to clean and sanitize. I've only used it once so far

 

[charliehorse]

That should say that I don't see any reason why it *would* be hard. That said, you're only running wort through it when you drain the kettle. Rinse it out with the hot water you have in the kettle when you wash it (and rinse water). As long as you don't put your stuff away dirty, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[MindenMan]

Clean your equipment post-boil and you won't have to worry about the valve harboring junk. I paid $20.00 each for two turkey fryers from Walmart. One is not opened, and the other heats my 22qt SS pot, my 30qt aluminum pot and my 40qt aluminum pot. Mine has the 50k BTU round (4") burner and makes more heat than is needed to boil 8 gallons of wort. I suggest you get a handful of marbles and drop them into your pot to keep boil overs in check.

 

[Citizen86]

Quick update on the original 12.5 gallon deal, I've done two AG batches now with BIAB, and really enjoying it. It will definitely take some tweaking and learning as I go, but all in all I think it's a great combo at ~$100 to get going with. Also find it amazing now that when the wort gets foaming that I barely have to worry about it boiling over now.