Is A 70L Stainless Brew Pot TOO big?

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hi guys still searching for a brew pot and I have one in my sights, it is a 70L job no lid and old school quality very solid base but wanting $220 but did offer it to me for $160 was that a good deal or it just too big for what I need? which is making 23 litre brews.........help please!

Daza.

[Peter Smith]

Handy if you wanted to do double batches, would work just fine for 23L which would be about 1/2 full at start of the boil, I prefer a lid so you can cover it after chilling to let the trub drop.   $160 is pretty expensive for an old pot with no lid though....  you could buy an old keg and cut the top off for about $50-60 if you have an angle grinder to cut it with

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/lifestyle/home-brewing/brewing...

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Thanks for link it's on my watch-list. Cheers. what size pot would you recommend for a brew in a pot? would you cut down a keg? or are pots better?

[Peter Smith]

I started with a 50L pot and another pot that sat inside with holes cut in bottom to put the bag in....take a look at my photos    http://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/photo/photo/listForContributor?scre...     above are keg cutouts kegs are quaility steel ever seen a rusty one?   tried denting one 8)

just put a decent burner under one a 3 ring would do

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

cool photos mate, good idea of the pot inside another pot with holes on bottom for easy lifting out of brew bag eh? also been thinking maybe get a pipe bender and copper tubing of 1/2 inch and make up my own wort chiller....the 3 ring burners are they best for kegs? and from bunnings? cheers.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

The keg I was looking at went up way to high to use as a mash tun haha. better to keep as a keg then.

[Kevin Sharp]

Apart from storage and shifting it around I can't see any drawbacks to having an oversized brew kettle. It allows for future expansion. I would avoid a kettle without a lid though.  It's best to let the wort settle for 30 minutes or so before racking it into the fermentor. During that period you'll want to keep it covered to avoid infection. Unless of course you're thinking of using a counter flow chiller or some such.

[IPeeAye]

Not sure that the pot you are looking at is a 'great' deal, but from personal experience, I would recommend looking ahead and buying big!  After a getting a few 23L batches under your belt, and your mates coming around drinking your beer faster than you can brew it, 23L quickly becomes a pain.  Look ahead to 46 or 60L brews in order to future proof. It can get expensive buying every bit of brew bling for a 23L setup and then deciding to upsize!  

I find that a 65L HLT, 90L Mashtun and 100L BK  is perfect for 65L brews.  

I also acknowledge that Financial Authority and/or access to funds is often the main driver!

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Good points. More is Better!!

[Beau]

Seems like a bit much.  There are reasonable quality 100L SS pots with lids and laminated aluminium bottoms on trade at the moment for a buy now price of 180-190 dollars.  Recently there have been a few $1 reserves on offer and one went for about $90.  (I unfortunately did not win that auction).

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

I see them on there too but just concerned that they made be made of an inferior and not so high quality stainless and thin walled, you know the type I mean?

[Beau]

I ended up buying one for a 80L community BIAB setup.  It's not perfect and you can tell that the steel is not as thick as a keg but dammit...it will still hold fluid.  I recon the thickness of the bottom is more important than the sides so I'm happy to sacrifice a bit of metal there for a price I can handle. 

I'm not too worried about what type of stainless it is considering I never let my gear sit uncleaned or exposed to the elements so I have never had an issue even with my other cheap low-grade SS stuff.  I am more worried about how the welds will hold up and if they will eventually hold some rust.  

Even still for the price I paid, I could buy a replacement in a few years and it would still be cheaper than shelling out $400+  for a heavier duty pot.

[Cain Harland]

The 50l pot I have converted to a mash tun was a cheap ish trade me one. It served as a kettle on a gas burner for a couple of years with no trouble at all. I would have happily used them for all 3 vessels if I hadn't got the kegs cheap. Maybe on a really grunty burner you might have to worry about the thin bottom.