[GrantKail]

Having not made the jump to a bigger kettle yet, is there really that much of a difference between the $80 Kettle and a $200 Kettle? And is it worth it?

Considering an Anvil 10 Gallon.

[Oiscout]

I got a brewers best 8 gallon with a 1/2 inch ball valve for 120 bucks and I had zero problems with it. Unless your mashing in it I never saw the point of having an extra port for a thermometer.

Just my two cents.

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[Drewch]

I think it would really kind of depend on your process and what features you would actually use.

For me, doing 1-vessel BIAB, the answer is no. Extra ports and thermowells would just be more stuff to snag on.

But if you want to recirculate or something like that, then maybe so.

[BrewBama]

To the OP: ‘worth it’ is a sense of value by the owner.

I went with a 10 gal BrewBuilt kettle from MoreBeer (~$180) and to me it is worth every penny. It has a triclad bottom to distribute heat that works on my induction cooktop. I like the lid cutout for my chiller and the insulated handles. Mine came with threads inside and outside so I simply threaded on a pickup tube and ball valve. It also has a thermometer port plugged off if I ever what to add a thermometer (I don’t in my current set up). For others, that may be either overspending or going cheap.

A cpl thoughts:

1. If you buy cheap equipment and you ever decide to leave the hobby very few will buy your used kettle. But the market opens up if you have nicer equipment.

2. If you know you’re in this for the long haul: buy once cry once.


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[KellerBrauer]

To the OP: ‘worth it’ is a sense of value by the owner.

I completely agree.

Also, some additional thoughts: 1) aluminum vs. stainless.  2) Valve vs. no valve.

I bought a 60 art Polar Ware with a valve, sight glass and thermometer port.  The sight glass failed, so the manufacturer replaced the kettle with one without the sight glass.  I have since removed the thermometer (not necessary) and plugged the hole.

As they say: “value is in the eye of the beholder.”  Or something like that.

[mabrungard]

Another consideration is how you’re boiling. For an internal electric boil, thin stainless could be preferable. With external heating, thicker metal can be desirable. Even aluminum is OK.

Ports and sight glasses aren’t a value to me, but could be to others.

[chinaski]

A really  long time ago, I got my first kettle for full wort boils from Northern Brewer.  It didn't have handles but was 8 or 10 gallons and had a valve.  Worked fine but was thin-walled and quite dangerous to handle.  I later got a more expensive kettle and re-purposed the cheaper one as an insulated mash-tun and threw out my beat-up plastic cooler.  Just another path to consider...