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.
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.
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.
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.
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.