Kettle and electric brewing

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hey all looking for some perspective on boil kettles.

I’m in the process of stepping up to electric HERMS. Using keggles I already owned for HLT and MLT. I am going to buy a 20 gallon pot for the boil kettle.

So… I really can’t justify spending a lot of money on the new kettle. I understand a thicker kettle will retain heat better and a thicker bottom will distribute heat better if your heat source is a burner underneath. But since I am going electric, the element will be submerged inside the kettle… so I don’t care about heat distribution.

Can anyone make a case for investing serious $ into a nice kettle for electric brewers? Aesthetics do not concern me.

If not, I’m pulling the trigger on this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-80-QT-Quart-Polished-Stainless-Steel-Stock-Pot-Brewing-Kettle-Large-w-Lid-/190828810544?pt=Cookware&hash=item2c6e489130

20 gallons, stainless, and it’s actually thicker than some kettles that are double the price (Bayou Classic, for example).

Cheers,
Drew

2

Is the diameter wide enough to fit the element in?  If so, everything else looks good 1.mm is 20 gauge which is plenty thick enough for a boil kettle.

3

18 inch wide pot, 14.6 inch element…  :smiley:

Thanks for the reply!

4

While it may not have the bells and whistles some brewers enjoy, this pot will work perfectly.  If it doesnt have a spigot attached they are easy enough to install with 20$ worth of SS fittings and a few orings.

TLDR Your brewery, your rules:)

5

Yes sir… will bust out the step bit and fittings to make it suitable. Thanks for your reply!

6

Jeff - I noticed in your signature line that you’re building (or maybe you’ve finished building) a clone of The Electric Brewery as a pilot system. Just curious how much volume your system will handle. How big of batches are you/will you be brewing on the pilot system?

7

Im building a 55/30/30 setup that will put a barrel into a fermentor.  i will probably end up with 2.5bbl fermenters that will accommodate multiple brews.  I have all the equipment purchased, just need to finish my space and building my CP:)

8

how do you get a barrel from a 30 gallon boil kettle? or is the 55 the boil kettle?

9

BK/MLT/HLT  Sorry, should of specified instead of assumed:)

For big grain bills i will mash twice into the BK:)