# Brew Kettles



## wimbymoonshine (12/12/07)

Hey all,

im looking at purchasing a shiny new brew kettle and giving BIAB a go. Im thinking stainless steel is the way to go and am thinking of getting a pot with handles and a proper lid. Its a 50L pot thats 400mm in dia and 400mm tall. All up cost 35 (about AU$80) from ebay.

What do you guys use and what has it end up costing you?

p.s. Is it worth the effort to bore a hole and put in a SS tap or just use a siphoning cane?


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## mika (12/12/07)

Think you'll find they're a pretty average sort of Pot, not a lot of wall thickness or base thickness (not good from a heat distribution point of view). The good pots are ~+$200 AUD. Maybe have a look at www.beerbelly.com.au for a comparison and see what you can make happen over there.

Pat (the Godfather of BIAB) uses an Auto-Syphon, but hasn't been pleased with the results of late. If you've got the know-how, or know a friend with the expertise a Tap is a nice way to go.


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## Jazzafish (12/12/07)

I was given a dead keg from the local pub. Just cut a hole in the top and put a tap on the side. It does the job well and I recomend going that way.

That said, the pot you showed looks weak in the handles in the pic, but will do the job. I'd only tap it if the walls are thick enough


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## ohitsbrad (12/12/07)

What grade of stainless steel is it? For that price you might find that its not the high quality 18/10. See here for an explanation.

I bought mine from here and like mika said they are around $200 for AUD for the 50 litres.

That said, I'm sure plenty of people use the lower grade stainless steel or aluminium or an enamel pot which I believe would be fine. They just might not last as long, which may not be a big issue to you.

I have siphoned out of the pot before, but not without hassle. Most of the time I end up tipping it into the fermenter. If you can find someone to drill a hole, I don't think it would be much of a problem or cost to poke some threaded pipe through, screw on some brass backing nuts with washers and gaskets either side, and add a $15 AUD brass ball valve. Personally I think I'll get around to that soon.


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## Kleiny (13/12/07)

i use an old keg converted with a tap and a thermometer

all up cost around $50 it works well but you have to find a disused keg 

if you buy a pot buy a good one and it will be the only one you will ever have to buy

good luck


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## bconnery (13/12/07)

wimbymoonshine said:


> Hey all,
> 
> im looking at purchasing a shiny new brew kettle and giving BIAB a go. Im thinking stainless steel is the way to go and am thinking of getting a pot with handles and a proper lid. Its a 50L pot thats 400mm in dia and 400mm tall. All up cost 35 (about AU$80) from ebay.
> 
> ...


You should be able to tell from the weight and the feel of the base whether it is good to go. 
If you got in on ebay that would make it cheaper than usual so it sounds alright.
Plus we have no real reference as to whether pots of this type are generally cheaper in the UK...
I picked up my aluminium kettle, 40l, for around 100$. 
I would definitely go the tap if you can. 
Search for goatherders site and look at his excellent step by step instructions on adding a tap. 
Even an unhandy person like me was able to add a tap to the kettle.


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## Airgead (13/12/07)

Wimby

I use a 40l Robinox aluminium job. Cost < 100 from Allquip. I know Alluminium has much lower bling value than SS but it does the job and costs a whole lot less. 

i can also recommend drilling in a tap. I put one in mine and its the best thing I ever did. So much easier than siphoning. Easy to do too. I just drilled a 20mm hole and used some threaded brass pipe from the plumbing section, a flange nut on each side witha fibre washer and that makes a water (or beer) tight seal. Then you just screw a ball valve onto the threaded pipe and there you are. Leter you can get fancy and add pickup tubes and stuff.

Cheers
Dave


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## sid (13/12/07)

yeh I have an old 50ltr keg I'm going to convert basically it will cost me $20 and a batch of beer out the keg, 5 doz hopefully, will have metal tap welded on and a hole cut in the top, at the moment theres a couple of holes in the bottom as well, but my mates a welder and will patch that with the metal from the top.

oops, It cost me 1/2 of that ($10), as for all grain brewing I'm going halfs on the cost, which is a good way to go if you have mates that brew.


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## Fatgodzilla (13/12/07)

sid said:


> yeh I have an old 50ltr keg I'm going to convert



When using a keg for your kettle, how you heating the wort ? Immersion heating or gas flame ? Anyone got any photos for someone like me who has never seen a keg converted into a kettle.


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## geoffi (13/12/07)

Airgead said:


> Wimby
> 
> I use a 40l Robinox aluminium job. Cost < 100 from Allquip. I know Alluminium has much lower bling value than SS but it does the job and costs a whole lot less.
> 
> ...



Did you have any problems with the drilling? What kind of bit did you use?


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## the_fuzz (13/12/07)

Fatgodzilla said:


> When using a keg for your kettle, how you heating the wort ? Immersion heating or gas flame ? Anyone got any photos for someone like me who has never seen a keg converted into a kettle.



Hey mate,

Check this out for a converted keg - makes it look pretty simple, 

http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Library/Gear/GSa.../GSboiler.shtml

Also check out goatherders site - 

http://goatherder.googlepages.com/drillingakeg


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## sathid (13/12/07)

My brew kettle is a 40L stainless camping job. However it has a very thin base.

Just wondering if anyone has used any kind of mesh under the kettle as a diffuser?


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## sid (13/12/07)

Fatgodzilla said:


> When using a keg for your kettle, how you heating the wort ? Immersion heating or gas flame ? Anyone got any photos for someone like me who has never seen a keg converted into a kettle.



I'll be gas heating the keg at first (two ring gas burner, BBQ gas bottle), then depending on how that goes, we might convert it by putting an element into the bottom. So trial and error will tell. So long as it works and is cheap, we'll be happy.

The oz craftbrewer link in one of the above replies is the same keg and set up we'll be doing.


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## mika (13/12/07)

sathid said:


> My brew kettle is a 40L stainless camping job. However it has a very thin base.
> 
> Just wondering if anyone has used any kind of mesh under the kettle as a diffuser?



Think that would defeat the purpose, sap the burner too much. Be better off with raschlings (ceramic rings generally used as distilling filter media) or some such thing inside the pot acting to disperse the heat. I've heard of people using stainless nuts and the such, but think the thread would be too hard to clean and make sanitary.


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## wimbymoonshine (13/12/07)

hey all,

thanks for the responses. I think the keg option would be great but buying or attaining a disused keg may be tough. Also i dont have angle grinders, MIG welders or oxi-torches to cut holes and invert bases.  
But if i was too, where is the best place to source a cheap keg?

Also, buying portable gas cylinders is like buying explosives in the UK so im gonna heat on my gas stove (all bbq's here are charcoal powered webbers! sux!). The main element on my stove is pretty big and has a nice fast blue flame. Will this be enough to heat 30L of wort?

Cheers


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## Stuster (13/12/07)

wimbymoonshine said:


> Also, buying portable gas cylinders is like buying explosives in the UK so im gonna heat on my gas stove (all bbq's here are charcoal powered webbers! sux!). The main element on my stove is pretty big and has a nice fast blue flame. Will this be enough to heat 30L of wort?



You can certainly try using your stove first, but most stoves aren't up to it (or take ages to get there). Pretty sure you can get gas bottles there (know my family has one anyway) and there's one here.


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## tk75 (13/12/07)

wimbymoonshine said:


> Also, buying portable gas cylinders is like buying explosives in the UK so im gonna heat on my gas stove (all bbq's here are charcoal powered webbers! sux!).



What Tha?! <_< HTFU u poms!


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## sid (14/12/07)

Well i don't know about your gas bottles In the UK, but you should be able to find one somewhere, I think these gas bottles are used in outdoor patio heaters as well.
As for the keg, just look in your local trader, or online trader like e-bay etc, bound to have some of these in the UK. Takes a while, but they come up for sale sooner or later. Even getting someone to cut the keg and weld a tap on, might be cheaper than buying a big stainless pot, if you can get the keg cheap enough.


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## Airgead (14/12/07)

Geoffi said:


> Did you have any problems with the drilling? What kind of bit did you use?



No problems at all. Alluminium cuts like butter. I used an old 20mm spade bit I had lying around and it worked perfectly. With SS you need a proper high speed drill bit or hole saw.

Cheers
Dave


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## troydo (14/12/07)

Fatgodzilla said:


> When using a keg for your kettle, how you heating the wort ? Immersion heating or gas flame ? Anyone got any photos for someone like me who has never seen a keg converted into a kettle.




have a look here:

http://troydo.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3202

thats my dodgy setup, but you can see how the keg is setup


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## geoffi (14/12/07)

Airgead said:


> No problems at all. Alluminium cuts like butter. I used an old 20mm spade bit I had lying around and it worked perfectly. With SS you need a proper high speed drill bit or hole saw.
> 
> Cheers
> Dave




Thanks, Dave. I have spade bits so I'll give it a go this weekend.


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## amita (14/12/07)

Fatgodzilla said:


> When using a keg for your kettle, how you heating the wort ? Immersion heating or gas flame ? Anyone got any photos for someone like me who has never seen a keg converted into a kettle.




Gday Fgz,

this just came back today from the welder,put the legs on to make it more stable and space under for the 3 ring burner, not the handles.this is my first equipment for my BIAB setup.
total cost were:welding plus mat $140,. plus tap SS $70,.

and pls dont ask.... B) 

cheers amita


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## sid (14/12/07)

Troydo said:


> have a look here:
> 
> http://troydo.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3202
> 
> thats my dodgy setup, but you can see how the keg is setup



hey ya troydo, thats similar to what I'll be doing, Just looking at your mash tun, what have you got in the bottom of the esky, a flexible bit of hose?.


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## troydo (14/12/07)

yep just some stainless braid, in the plumbing section of bunnings you will find runbber pipes covered in that braid , just buy one of them and snip off the ends and pull out the rubber, then you can either use a t piece like i did or just fold one end closed and connect the other to the bacl of the tap.


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## sid (15/12/07)

Troydo said:


> yep just some stainless braid, in the plumbing section of bunnings you will find runbber pipes covered in that braid , just buy one of them and snip off the ends and pull out the rubber, then you can either use a t piece like i did or just fold one end closed and connect the other to the bacl of the tap.



yeh, thanks for that, I'll have a look in bunnings next visit, the good old esky.........a million uses.heh.


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## geoffi (16/12/07)

Yesterday arvo I overcame my laziness and finally got around to putting a tap on my 50L al kettle.

I put together the following bits and pieces:

A brass tap, 15mm thread.
A brass elbow with about 5cm of 15mm thread
A connector for the above
Two 15mm brass flanged nuts
(Total cost of brass items $25 from Bunnings)
Two DIY washers cut from a silicone bake tray (found at Woolies on special for $3)

I drilled a hole with a spade bit. Very easy, but the result was not quite round nor quite big enough. A little extra reaming with an ordinary bit and some work with sandpaper sorted that out.

I put teflon tape on all the threads, then assembled with the washers on the inside making the seal with a flanged nut. Another flanged nut on the outside, tightened, then the connector, then the tap.

Tested with cold water overnight -- no leaks at all. The elbow forms a little pickup tube, though it is a bit short and leaves a bit more behind than I'd like. I'll get a little piece of copper tubing or similar and attach it.

But on the whole, this worked a treat. I look forward to my first syphon-free brew day!


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## blackbock (16/12/07)

Geoffi said:


> Yesterday arvo I overcame my laziness and finally got around to putting a tap on my 50L al kettle.
> 
> I drilled a hole with a spade bit. Very easy, but the result was not quite round nor quite big enough. A little extra reaming with an ordinary bit and some work with sandpaper sorted that out.
> 
> ...



Geoffi, I'm impressed that you drilled a hole through metal using a spade bit. I know it's hard enough using tungsten carbide and lubrication! 

I recently upgraded my kettle, replacing all copper pickups etc. with stainless tubing. If I were starting out again, I would not hesitate to go all stainless - perhaps using brass where stainless is unobtainable. It's got to be better to replace copper and brass in all places where the wort is in contact for extended periods, and/or higher temperatures. I know my copper pickup would always be blindingly shiny after a boil, no prize for guessing where all of the tarnish went...


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## geoffi (16/12/07)

blackbock said:


> Geoffi, I'm impressed that you drilled a hole through metal using a spade bit. I know it's hard enough using tungsten carbide and lubrication!



Well, it was only aluminium. Went through it in about 20 seconds.

Here are pics of the setup...











Last night I found some copper tubing and inserted a small piece of it into the elbow to form a pickup tube that nestles right at the base of the kettle wall. Tested with water...left about a teaspoon behind. :super:


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## randyrob (16/12/07)

don't forget to pickle the brass.


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## geoffi (18/12/07)

randyrob said:


> don't forget to pickle the brass.



I've heard you should do that to remove lead. Does it involve just a soak in vinegar or what?


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## Doogiechap (18/12/07)

Geoffi said:


> I've heard you should do that to remove lead. Does it involve just a soak in vinegar or what?



Here is a good pickling resource (Johnny Palmer)
Cheers
Doug


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## ohitsbrad (18/12/07)

randyrob said:


> don't forget to pickle the brass.





Geoffi said:


> I've heard you should do that to remove lead. Does it involve just a soak in vinegar or what?





Doogiechap said:


> Here is a good pickling resource (Johnny Palmer)
> Cheers
> Doug



Palmer also says you don't need to do it for health purposes. Doubt you could taste such a tiny amount?


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## Airgead (18/12/07)

ohitsbrad said:


> Palmer also says you don't need to do it for health purposes. Doubt you could taste such a tiny amount?



I've wondered this myself. Given that all these parts are in the plumbing section and are intended for installation into the drinking water system they can't have much lead in them or we would all end up poisioned. OK.. we are holding a boiling, acidic liquid in contact with them for an hour or more which normally isn't the case and would leach more lead out than normal but even so the amount of lead in them must be vanishingly small or they wouldn't be able to use them.

Anyone know whether there is still trace amounts of lead in brass plumbing fittings? Or is this all based on the olden days when the asbestos in the pipe lagging would kill you long before the lead in the pipe fittings?

Cheers
Dave


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## geoff_tewierik (18/12/07)

Considering Brass is a mix of Copper and Zinc, where's the Lead coming from? And hence all the stress?

Only one mention of leaded brass here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass

A quick google search shows lead is an issue in brass in the states, but has been reduced to no more than 8% since 1986.


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## domonsura (18/12/07)

geoff_tewierik said:


> Considering Brass is a mix of Copper and Zinc, where's the Lead coming from? And hence all the stress?
> 
> Only one mention of leaded brass here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass
> 
> A quick google search shows lead is an issue in brass in the states, but has been reduced to no more than 8% since 1986.



And most of the economically priced brass fittings for sale in Australia come from manufacturers in China - where they are reknown for being decades behind the rest of the world when it comes to removing substances from manufacturing processes because of mere health and safety concerns. Just look at their toys in the news recently......


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## geoff_tewierik (18/12/07)

Touche


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## Airgead (18/12/07)

domonsura said:


> And most of the economically priced brass fittings for sale in Australia come from manufacturers in China - where they are reknown for being decades behind the rest of the world when it comes to removing substances from manufacturing processes because of mere health and safety concerns. Just look at their toys in the news recently......



Umm...yeah... good point.

But surely they wouldn't be allowed to import lead tainted product.... oh yeah... ummm...good point.

Cheers
Dave


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## newguy (18/12/07)

geoff_tewierik said:


> Considering Brass is a mix of Copper and Zinc, where's the Lead coming from? And hence all the stress?



I read somewhere that lead is added to make the alloy easier to machine.


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## geoffi (18/12/07)

FWIW, the brass fittings I bought from Bummings are made by Ryemetal. They appear to be made in Australia, and the company's website says they are made to Australian standards. The company states that they are 'ideal' for use in plumbing and water utilities. Of course, that doesn't necessarily include an hour or so exposure to boiling wort...

Ryemetal brass fittings


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## randyrob (18/12/07)

if anything at least the yeasties will have something else to chew on!


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