Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.  (Read 5922 times)

Offline jimmykx250

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 328
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2015, 05:59:03 am »
I wouldn't run from biab for larger batches. Its really not that big a deal. Yes you need to handle the bag of grain but It can be done with a ladder set up or an eye bolt into a joist in the ceiling of your garage. Then use a truck strap to pull it high enough to clear your water by a few inches then hit the burner to get the boil going and by the time your boiling i grab the bag and dump it into a 5 gallon bucket and compost it from there. Once the boil is done straight into a no chill container and pitch the next day. I love this method and it works quite well for me. The real bonus for me is time savings i can turn a batch in 3 hours including clean up, otherwise i dont think I could brew because 5 to 6 hour brew days just aren't in the cards for me. Just my opinion and im not saying this is for everyone but it lets me brew and thats what its really all about.
Jimmykx250

Offline Philbrew

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 867
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2015, 08:20:22 am »
I wouldn't run from biab for larger batches. Its really not that big a deal. Yes you need to handle the bag of grain but It can be done with a ladder set up or an eye bolt into a joist in the ceiling of your garage. Then use a truck strap to pull it high enough to clear your water by a few inches then hit the burner to get the boil going and by the time your boiling i grab the bag and dump it into a 5 gallon bucket and compost it from there. Once the boil is done straight into a no chill container and pitch the next day. I love this method and it works quite well for me. The real bonus for me is time savings i can turn a batch in 3 hours including clean up, otherwise i dont think I could brew because 5 to 6 hour brew days just aren't in the cards for me. Just my opinion and im not saying this is for everyone but it lets me brew and thats what its really all about.
Yep, I'm sure I can rig up a block and tackle to handle the big bag full of hot, wet grain.

But this is taking the thread a little off track.  I'll start another thread about BIAB so that I can learn more that method.
Many of us would be on a strict liquid diet if it weren't for pretzels.

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2015, 12:28:24 pm »
I wouldn't run from biab for larger batches. Its really not that big a deal. Yes you need to handle the bag of grain but It can be done with a ladder set up or an eye bolt into a joist in the ceiling of your garage. Then use a truck strap to pull it high enough to clear your water by a few inches then hit the burner to get the boil going and by the time your boiling i grab the bag and dump it into a 5 gallon bucket and compost it from there. Once the boil is done straight into a no chill container and pitch the next day. I love this method and it works quite well for me. The real bonus for me is time savings i can turn a batch in 3 hours including clean up, otherwise i dont think I could brew because 5 to 6 hour brew days just aren't in the cards for me. Just my opinion and im not saying this is for everyone but it lets me brew and thats what its really all about.
Yep, I'm sure I can rig up a block and tackle to handle the big bag full of hot, wet grain.

But this is taking the thread a little off track.  I'll start another thread about BIAB so that I can learn more that method.

A guy in our club uses a come-along to hoist his biab out of his 40 gallon kettle.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline jtoots

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 326
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #18 on: November 03, 2015, 07:09:11 am »
I love my 15 gallon Megapot with Blichmann thermometer and shutoff valve!

S. cerevisiae

  • Guest
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #19 on: November 03, 2015, 09:57:16 am »
I've been looking at Spikes new kettles that should be shipping in the next few weeks. They have features comparable to kettles at higher price points and include very pretty welded fittings.

I ordered a custom Spike Kettle for an electric setup that I hope to get to over the winter.  Spike's current kettle is not made from a drawn stock pot.  The base stock pot appears to be made from a rolled and welded cylinder with a press formed and welded bottom.  I have zero problems with this type of construction because it results in a kettle that has a controlled thickness (it is also how larger kettles are manufactured).  Drawn kettles are thinner in certain spots than others, which does not makes much of a difference until one wants to weld a fitting and discovers that his/her 16-gauge kettle is actually 0.034" at the point where the weld needs to be performed.   The current kettle is heavy duty, so I expect the V3 kettles to be equally heavy duty.  Ben's welds are the cleanest that I have seen in the home home brewing market.  The welds appear to be true back-purged sanitary welds.   He is not grinding the back of the weld down to remove sugaring, as appears to be the case with other kettle manufacturers.    The kettles are shipped in heavy duty boxes.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2015, 01:47:17 pm by S. cerevisiae »

Offline Stevie

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 6858
Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #20 on: November 03, 2015, 10:27:34 am »
Everything about Spike seems good. The best thing is their custom rates are the same as their stock kettles. $30 for a npt, and $50 for an element tri-clamp.

I'm for sure getting one when I make the electric jump. I will likely opt for something similar to their stock 15gal two port with the thermometer port lowered to about 3.5 gallon mark as I plan on brewing more 5 gallon than 10 gallon. I am not sure where I will have the tri-clamp placed. I'm thinking I will have it set 45° off parallel to the valve on the right. Wort chiller will then go on the left.

I also like that it is closer to a 16 gallon capacity making 10 gallon batches that much less scary.

The one bummer is the triclad bottom will be extra weight unless I plan to brew remote on a burner from time to time.

Offline Jeffinn

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 46
  • Roseville, MI
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #21 on: November 04, 2015, 12:13:55 pm »
Kettles are like trucks, everybody has their preference.

I've been looking at Spikes new kettles that should be shipping in the next few weeks. They have features comparable to kettles at higher price points and include very pretty welded fittings.

The welds are really well done. I have one Spike kettle and am considering another one soon.
“I’ve never been drunk, but often I’ve been overserved.”
~ George Gobel

Offline jtoots

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 326
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #22 on: November 05, 2015, 05:20:46 am »
Those Spikes do look nice, great price too.  Do they not have volume markers on the inside?

Offline Stevie

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 6858
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #23 on: November 05, 2015, 05:58:26 am »

Those Spikes do look nice, great price too.  Do they not have volume markers on the inside?
Their new models do. Shipping later this month.

Offline chinaski

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 570
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #24 on: November 05, 2015, 11:43:43 am »
I love my 15 gallon Megapot with Blichmann thermometer and shutoff valve!

I really like my megapot (with same features) as well; it's 8 gallons- I wish I had chosen the 10 gallon for extra boil-over protection.  I also use mostly whole hops and use a stainless steel hose braid hose-clamped to a stainless nipple to prevent clogging the valve.  Works well; I prop up the far end of the kettle to get the most wort out to my fermenter.  I batch-sparge into it; never have done BIAB- cheap-n-easy cooler batch sparge works for me.

Happy shopping!

Offline BrodyR

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 524
  • Philadelphia, PA
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #25 on: November 05, 2015, 08:36:19 pm »
I use a 10 Gallon Blichman Boilermaker - I absolutely love it. Sight glass, thermometer, valve, easy to clean. They are a bit of a splurge though, I found mine on sale. Originally I used it for batch sparging but now BIAB in it.
What is the batch size (in the fermenter) that you BIAB in your 10 gallon Blichman?

4.5 gallons is my usual now that I ferment in cornys but I used to do 5, but I tend to brew lower gravity so when I'm only using 10lbs or so of grain it's pretty manageable.


Offline Philbrew

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 867
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #26 on: November 07, 2015, 08:13:55 pm »
Thanks again for all your input.

I've decided to go with the SS BrewTech 10 gallon kettle.  Reasons for that choice are:

- It seems to be as well made as any of the quality kettles.

- I like the idea of the weldless fittings and being able to disassemble and thoroughly clean them occasionally.

- The 3 piece valve should come off with the outlet fitting for easy cleaning.

- The pick-up tube is near the edge of the bottom instead of the center where most of the trub would be after whirlpool.

- The little trub dam seems like a nifty idea.

- The price is very reasonable for a quality kettle.  Actually a few dollars less than the Spike and quite a bit less than the Blichmann and Edelmetall.  Though, as I said at the start, quality is much more important than cost.

As Steve in TX said early in the thread, brew pots are like trucks.  And I'm gonna drive the SS BrewTech.

Wish me well as I jump into all-grain brewing.
Cheers.
Many of us would be on a strict liquid diet if it weren't for pretzels.

Offline Stevie

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 6858
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #27 on: November 07, 2015, 08:38:31 pm »
Keep spare o-rings on hand if you plan to disassemble. It's also a good idea test the seals overnight to ensure they are leak free. A few drops might not seem like a big deal, but when it is sweet wort it could get funky inside the threads.

Offline Philbrew

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 867
Re: Time to upgrade my boil pot. Suggestions please.
« Reply #28 on: November 07, 2015, 11:28:11 pm »
Keep spare o-rings on hand if you plan to disassemble. It's also a good idea test the seals overnight to ensure they are leak free. A few drops might not seem like a big deal, but when it is sweet wort it could get funky inside the threads.
Yep, I ordered extra o-rings with the pot.
Many of us would be on a strict liquid diet if it weren't for pretzels.