# Stockpots For Ag Brewing - What , Where , How Much ?



## cleaninglady (21/4/11)

I need some advice on what sort of Stockpot to source for AG brewing , i'm ready to make the leap from Partial Mash brewing.

Need to know what sizes for Brew In The Bag , it seems 40L is recommended here and there.

Also , what are your thoughts on an Urn instead of a Stockpot.

cheers

cL


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## argon (21/4/11)

have a read here 40L is definately minimum for a single batch. Or you could get a 19L BigW stock pot and do small batches or Maxi Biab

edit: links


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## Filby (21/4/11)

For me to do a 23lt into fermenter with BIAB I need to start with around 36lt's of water then you add in the grist which brings it pretty close to 40lts. I really feal that 50lt vessel is a minimum to avoid boil overs. 


Fil


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (21/4/11)

I do 2 x 19L big w pots, split the grain bill in 2. This is probably as much as doing 9L lots to get processes downpat, and then the 2nd was on special for $12, so I grabbed it. I now mash in an esky, with a big bag, and run into the 2 pots, but I'd probably go for a 50L pot minimum (just to give some head space), or an urn. I'm still thinking seriously of getting an urn with a concealed element.

Goomba


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## Midnight Brew (21/4/11)

50L pots will enable a much safer headspace option then a 40L. Cant offer any info on the urns but when selecting a pot keep in mind if you ever want to venture into bigger batches. Also need to choose if you are going to brew on stovetop or buy a burner. The next choice you need to make is stainless steel or aluminium . Allquip has a good range of volumes of both stainless steel and aluminium.

Check them out at http://www.allquip.com.au/home/index.cfm?f...amp;startrow=11 

Cheers


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## felten (21/4/11)

+1 on the 50L pot, it gets awfully full when the grain bill starts going up, using a 40L would really push it.


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## cleaninglady (21/4/11)

thanks all , great advice ; i'll look into the 50L.

still figuring out the urn or pot question,

cL


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## jimmyjackpot (21/4/11)

I went for a 50 litre aluminium stockpot off ebay to get into BIAB and it is a great size for my needs. Cost me $70.


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## stevem01 (21/4/11)

Definitely 50L, S/S available from asian supermarkets for about $50


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## ekul (21/4/11)

I got a stockpot from allquip, but off his ebay store, its a bit chepaer there for some reason. http://myworld.ebay.com.au/harryy1609/ He doesn't have any pots at the moment but he always gets them in. His 50L pots are $75, his 90L pots are $125 and his 140L pot is $158, these are all aluminium but built very well. If you get a 50L pot and an element from ross, you'll build the equivalen of an urn and save some dollars.


Or you could bid on these 50L pots. They're at $50 atm but there's two of them and they both come with baskets, perfect for biab! http://cgi.ebay.com.au/STOCK-POT-DRAINER-/...=item2a0fcd15ff

If you want stainless and cheap pot either keep an eye on ebay or go to those asian 'allsorts' shops that sell heaps of stuff. I got an stainless 80L stockpot for $99, which is pretty cheap. The walls are a little thin, but i haven't had burnt wort once, and i use a massive burner for it.

I reckon an 80-90L pot is perfect, its only a little more effort but you get twice the amount of beer. Plus if you want to do an experiemntal single batch you still can. Or go the 140L pot, you'll never need to upgrade!


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## Superoo (21/4/11)

I used a 36 Litre stainless pot and gas burner initially, and it was fine...

BUT...

I now use an exposed element 40 Litre Birko electric urn for BIAB, and have never looked back.

I wouldnt go gas if I were you, especially if you are doing BIAB, because if you ever get to controlling the temp during the mash, you can do it for a MUCH low cost with an electric urn.

I now do Electric BIAB, and no chill to a cube while I make a yeast starter, and my beers are still yummy and very clear.

I purchased my Urn on ebay, was about $280 delivered from memory.

If you do this, you may need to disconnect the over temp sensor.

I see the advantages of electric over gas as being...
- Lower cost / simpler if you choose to do temp control later.
- More efficient, no heat being wasted around the sides of the kettle.
- No messing around filling gas bottles.
- Safer than gas cylinders.

I wont get rid of the gas gear in case we have a power failure when I want to brew.

I would be interested if anyone has reasons why you would choose gas over electric ?

cheers,


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## felten (21/4/11)

BTW what is the diameter/height on peoples 50L pot. I just measured mine to work out the volume and its 37.5cm diameter across where the handles are riveted on, 36.5cm the other way, and 41.5cm high. So I went with an average radius of 18.5.

3.14*18.5*18.5*41.5=44598.5975 
or 44.5L


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## donburke (21/4/11)

a 40 litre pot is fine for a 20 litre batch, 

i didnt find a need to make 23 litres of beer if i was only kegging 19 litres

starting with 30 litres water + 5kg grain
grain keeps 3 litres with a bit of a squeeze
that makes boil volume 27 litres
boil for an hour and lose 4 litres
let it cool, lose another litre
final kettle volume is 22 litres,
20 litres into fermenter, leave 2 litres of trub behind
ferment, then fill keg with 19 litres of fresh beer, leave another litre of trub in fermenter

works fine for this, but if you have a larger grain bill, or a 90 min boil, you will cut it fine


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## Gormand (21/4/11)

I lucked out with a 50L stainless steel off ebay for $50.
Here is a decent place to buy the 50L aluiminium ones from
http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Cookwa...um-Stockpot-50L
If you can find something else cheap to add on you will avoid postage as well.
Ive been thinking about getting one of these as well
http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Bakewa...oling-Grid-33cm
I would need to double check but I am pretty sure they fit in the bottom of a 50L stockpot. Yep pots are 43cm wide. Helps keep your bag off the bottom.


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## QldKev (21/4/11)

Jumping onto what the others have said. 

I own a 40L and a 50L; the 50L pot is the best for single batches. If you go the urn, you will be ok with the 40L. 

For a while I also brewed doubles in a 82L keggle, but a larger pot would have been better.

Also with what ekul has said, work out how much beer you get through and how often you want to brew. We comsume about a batch a week, and with my 140L pot I can brew every about 4 weeks and keep a good supply. The downside to such a big brew is it makes experiments dangerous as you may end up with a lot of beer you may not love. 

QldKev


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## Bribie G (21/4/11)

The advantage of a 40L urn is that it's virtually a turn-key brewery out of the box, just add bag :icon_cheers: 
This size is perfectly good for your normal 4 - 6% ABV beers, never had a boilover. 
However I must admit that a 50L size, if they made them, would give a lot more flexibility for the occasional 8 or 9 % barley wine or malt liquor etc. 

I get 75 to 80 percent efficiency using straight full volume BIAB.
For the average grain bill for a 5 percenter beer you need to start off with 33 to 35L of strike water (depending on your final batch size, i.e. is it just for one corny, a corny plus four for your archive cupboard or a full 30 bottle batch)
Because the grain bill absorbs a heap of water you'll still have heaps of headroom, and when you hoist, you should end up with a pre boil in the region of 28L, which the urn can handle perfectly.

If you have access to gas and a burner of course then that's a perfectly good system as well but at the end of the day works out around the same $$$$ to set up, but remember


gas though quicker can cost three or four times $$ per brew compared to electricity
You'll need to drill your pot and fit a ball valve etc if you want the same usefulness as an urn
Trips to the gas swap store


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## davo4772 (21/4/11)

Don't know where you are in Melbourne. 

I bought mine here http://www.cedarhospitality.com/ They are in Brunswick.

Good range, only quality stuff. Bought the 50L Aluminium. They were out of stock at the time of the 60l but every happy with the 50L. Cost around 80 bucks I think, It's heavy gauge.
Some of the cheaper ones I looked at were of a much thinner aluminium, not that it would matter with BIAB.


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## Bribie G (21/4/11)

david72 said:


> Don't know where you are in Melbourne.
> 
> I bought mine here http://www.cedarhospitality.com/ They are in Brunswick.
> 
> ...



No, once the BIAB +bag is removed and drained you end up with the same wort in the pot as any other method - You want to go as thick as possible to avoid burnt spots. Craftbrewer are about to bring out a range of 70L pots, pre-drilled so you just need to fit your own ball tap or get one welded on by a SS fab. You might want to enquire. Saw one of the "samples" there yesterday - good solid stuff.


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## sean_0 (21/4/11)

david72 said:


> I bought mine here http://www.cedarhospitality.com/ They are in Brunswick.
> 
> Good range, only quality stuff. Bought the 50L Aluminium. They were out of stock at the time of the 60l but every happy with the 50L. Cost around 80 bucks I think, It's heavy gauge.
> Some of the cheaper ones I looked at were of a much thinner aluminium, not that it would matter with BIAB.



Got a quote for one of these the other day at cedar, works out at $89 with gst. They're 4mm, which looks pretty thick and strong to me.


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## manticle (21/4/11)

The cedar pots are a great bargain for the price. Strong and well made ally pots (they have SS too but much more expensive obviously).


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## davo4772 (21/4/11)

BribieG said:


> No, once the BIAB +bag is removed and drained you end up with the same wort in the pot as any other method - You want to go as thick as possible to avoid burnt spots. Craftbrewer are about to bring out a range of 70L pots, pre-drilled so you just need to fit your own ball tap or get one welded on by a SS fab. You might want to enquire. Saw one of the "samples" there yesterday - good solid stuff.




I use over the side electric elements so I don't think that is relevant to me but nonetheless I wouldn't buy a cheapie given quality aluminium is not too expensive.

The cheapies look like they would ding easily. Also they were a different shape, that is wider at the top and shorter for the same volume. 

For the method I use I couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a SS pot even though they look very nice.


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## jkmeldrum (23/4/11)

I recently got a 50L stainless steel pot off eBay.....the seller was great, the product was excellent.....I just drilled the holes and added a weldless fitting for valve and thermometer....no affiliation with seller just happy with the service...will be buying another one shortly for the price.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-COMMERCIAL-50L-...#ht_4539wt_1141

Molly


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## QldKev (23/4/11)

Molly said:


> I recently got a 50L stainless steel pot off eBay.....the seller was great, the product was excellent.....I just drilled the holes and added a weldless fitting for valve and thermometer....no affiliation with seller just happy with the service...will be buying another one shortly for the price.
> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-COMMERCIAL-50L-...#ht_4539wt_1141
> 
> Molly




Be careful with that seller. Although I have never delt with them, there are a few threads on here about issues with the pots. Some are leaking water and some rust if you leave water in them overnight.


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## jkmeldrum (23/4/11)

QldKev said:


> Be careful with that seller. Although I have never delt with them, there are a few threads on here about issues with the pots. Some are leaking water and some rust if you leave water in them overnight.



Okay thanks for the tip....I didn't have any problems with rust, except where I drilled into the pot...have since treated with acid and no rust probs at all....but food for thought.

Cheers

Molly


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## jyo (23/4/11)

QldKev said:


> Be careful with that seller. Although I have never delt with them, there are a few threads on here about issues with the pots. Some are leaking water and some rust if you leave water in them overnight.


 
Here's the thread, Kev.
Thread Linky

I actually meant to update on my 71 litre pot here, purchased from handyimports.
As I have said in another thread, they are a solid unit (solid base, strong rivets) yet mine is covered with surface rust spots. So far it's seen 3 double batches.

Also, along the sides of the pot near the bottom (about 3 cm from the bottom) where they have been welded I also have some really small indentations which have rust in them. When I look inside the pot, the same tiny holes are evident in the same places as the holes on the outside. Probably not very well explained, I've had a few beers. I'm worried these holes are going to join up and leak at some stage.

I rang Tony from the company (it was hard to get a reply via email and I raised this issue with him) and he said he would be happy to refund, yet the postage would have ended up being about 80 bucks! Not worth it. I've been meaning to hit it with some citric acid to halt the rust. 
It cost me $225.00 delivered, if I had my time again I would have spent the extra 80 bucks and bought a Keg King.
My 2c
Cheers, John.


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