Pot quality...

[Mark Goodin]

Hey, Can anyone vouch for the quality of some of the Brew Pots on TM? There have been a bunch popping up over the past month or so and are at reasonable prices.

 

Pots like this 31Lt one...buy now of $55 is quite tempting. Or even $75 for a 71Lt pot....

http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/retail-hospitali...

[Chris Banks]

I see they (trade me sellers in general) are being more honest (or have actually started measuring the pots) - regarding the material thickness these days.....

[Dave W]

I have the 71L version of the pot you linked too.... It arrived yesterday, $74 for 71L stainless?? BARGAIN!!

Ok it is pretty thin material on the base, I think I will have to be very careful to not get stuff burnt onto the bottom?

Weld is cheap and nasty as is how the handles are fastened on.

I'd only use this as a kettle as I think for sanitation's sake the boil will be needed to make sure there are no nasty bugs lurking in the poor finish around the weld and handles.

I'll be looking at retro fitting electric elements to it as I'm pretty sure that the thin base won't be great for gas burners on full power! But for my first kettle to get me started on AG it'll do for now and if it craps out it's not so bad as it was not a lot of money.

[Dave W]

Oh I note that the ad for mine DID NOT say it was weldless, but the smaller pot ad you linked to does.... My one has the same handle as the one in the 31L pic, which I now see is different from the one in the advert pic for the one I brought?????

 

My pot also seems to have a fair bit of scratching on the inside.

[Smiffy]

IF you do burn malt onto the pot, three days of soaking in water makes no difference, 15 minutes of caustic (25g in 1 litre of hot water) and all the residue just falls off.

[Jordan]

I got a 51L one (looks the same, though different seller) and it's pretty rubbish if you boil on gas. I've got an awesome gas burner but this thing takes forever to boil. I used it once and have gone back to my old aluminium pot. As Dave W said, this thing would be best fitted with an electric element

[G S]

is there a preferred shape for the ideal kettle?

Short and fat/squat, or tall and thin?

for use with a gas burner.

or

[Dan]

I use tall and slim because my immersion chiller is shaped that way. I'd recommend an adjustable regulator which ever way you go with pot shape.

[Mike Neilson]

Top one equals a Mash/Lauter and the bottom one equals kettle.

 

Reason for this is the wider that Lauter over height the thinner the grain bed which means better extraction.

 

Taller the kettle means a more heat convective boil which mixes the wort up for hop extraction and lowers the boil offs or better boil offs per energy consumption.

 

 

[Michael]

I am still a big fan of using old kegs and getting them cut. They tend to be strong, and leave a lot of options for modifications.

[G S]

is there a legal, or even semi legal keg source in auckland? Am keen on upgrading to get to double batch qties.

 

On the burner front, what's the preferred source for something grunty? Saw a link to amazon uk on another thread, is that really the best way to go?

I'm using a mitre10 mega 3 ring burner at the mo, and its a wee bit smoky even with all the vents open, and close on 60mins from mash out to boil

[David Wood]

I use one of the 3 ringers.  I got a boil within 40 mins I was boiling 65L.  I would invest in a new adjustable regulator.

[Sam]

Where would you find an adjustable regulator suitable for such a 3-ring burner? I've had a look in mitre 10 and the like...