Have I Done Well Or Not...

[sijani]

Perusing my way through an Asian shop that sells mainly cooking equipment I found a large collection of stainless steel and aluminium cooking vessels. The stainless steel vessels are on par cost wise with LHB prices (they were mainly Robinox?) But tucked away almost behind them were these...

They were not marked in litres but in diameter in cm. They worked out to be in volume 58L and 40L.
Cost 58L $85
40L $75

There are some problems with them however.

• handles are riveted on and some of the rivets are not tight = bacteria breeding ground. Solution: remove the rivets and braze to join the handles and fill the gaps then grind and polish
• flat s/s sheet shaped then welded on the seams with not much precision = bacteria breeding ground. Solution grind and polish.
• very thin walls (about .6mm) = some care with handling. Solution: insulate and all's well.

I don't have any AG equipment and this is my first buy. I'm still not sure what these vessels are destined for. Thinking 58L for kettle and 40L for mash tun. Now all I need is a HLT or really efficient heat exchanger for sparge as I go.

​

 

[clean brewer]

Perusing my way through an Asian shop that sells mainly cooking equipment I found a large collection of stainless steel and aluminium cooking vessels. The stainless steel vessels are on par cost wise with LHB prices (they were mainly Robinox?) But tucked away almost behind them were these...

View attachment 25274

They were not marked in litres but in diameter in cm. They worked out to be in volume 58L and 40L.
Cost 58L $85
40L $75

There are some problems with them however.

• handles are riveted on and some of the rivets are not tight = bacteria breeding ground. Solution: remove the rivets and braze to join the handles and fill the gaps then grind and polish
• flat s/s sheet shaped then welded on the seams with not much precision = bacteria breeding ground. Solution grind and polish.
• very thin walls (about .6mm) = some care with handling. Solution: insulate and all's well.

I don't have any AG equipment and this is my first buy. I'm still not sure what these vessels are destined for. Thinking 58L for kettle and 40L for mash tun. Now all I need is a HLT or really efficient heat exchanger for sparge as I go.

​

Hey sijani,

Ive got one of the same pots, its 80ltrs though and was $69.95, havnt used it yet but did a test boil on it and found that it will need to be insulated a bit better and be used with a bit more of a powerful burner..

It will be perfect for double batches though when I get to doing double batches and have some mates to drink the extra beer...

Generally though, you could get aluminium pots the same size for about the same price, I wouldnt pay that price for them but was quite happy with my 80ltr for $69.95...

:beer: CB

 

[sijani]

Crikey, 80L for $70!

S/S is a poor conductor of heat so the only reason we need s/s is for its chemical properties, not its thermal. So wall thickness shouldn't matter too much...right :huh: ?
I was thinking of insulating the beejaysus out of them and going steam injection for heating.

 

[mika]

Base thickness makes a big difference in terms of how easy it is to scorch the wort. Not sure that I'd use these as a Kettle, but ideal for an HLT or probably even a mash tun.

 

[jayse]

They will be fine as they are for a kettle, mash tun or HLT.

 

[sijani]

What do you think of elec or steam vs gas for a thin base/walls for heating? I don't want any carmelisation in the wort unless it's intentional.

 

[cubbie]

i have a pot that looks very much the same. My handles look even lighter on that the ones you pictured but the rivets have held strong for 4 years. I did use it as a kettle for a few partials but found the base just a bit too thin (though usable). It is now my HLT and I find it ideal for that.