New 100lt Kettle

[A3k]

Hey guys,
I managed to find this 100Lt Aluminium Stock Pot for $90 as Hills clearance shop (only had one). I wasn't planning on increasing batch size for a while, but couldn't pass this up. Good reason to completely revamp my brewery. They had lots of cheap scrap metal too, so might make up a decent frame.


I'm assuming it's similar to the ones beerbelly sell.

My only worry with using this as a kettle is that it's fatter than it is tall (diameter is approx 55cm and height is approx 45). Does anyone have a kettle with dimensions similar to this? Does it result in a lot of wastage? Can i still make smallish batches with such a fat kettle? Any other downsides to a stumpy kettle?



Also, Ive got a 4 ring burner with a medium pressure adjustable reg. Anyone know if ill need to upgrade?



Cheers,

Al

 

[Kai]

Good buy on that kettle. I used to use the same style at 60L. I'd typically boil 30L volumes for a 20-25L batch size in it and get really good beer, but I reckon that sized batch will form a bit of a puddle in the bottom of that vessel. I think I'd peg 30-40L as your comfortable bottom margin for brewlength.

Coincidentally I reckon I used to use exactly the same burner and reg as you do. On full bore the flames on the 4th ring would lick halfway up the sides of my 60L ally kettle, so I reckon your heat source will be adequate for (almost) whatever volume you decide to put in that pot. Especially if you try to keep it on the lower end...

 

[A3k]

Yeah, i reckon if i don't tilt the thing, i could loose a lot which i'd like to avoid.

I currently use the burner on a keggle. I barely use the fourth ring at the moment other than getting to the boil.

I'm planning on converting the kettle into a mash tun, so should be able to pretty big batches.

Looking forward to doing all the modifications.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I've watched spillsmostofit's 4 ring burner way way outpace his 76L pot... so I think you'll be OK without an upgrade.

You'll boil off a hell of a lot in such a wide pot - OK if you are making a big batch, bit of a pain in the bum with a smaller batch. You can float something on the surface of the wort to cut down the effective surface area - then you'll need less gas and you'll boil off a more reasonable amount.

You'll be able to get a good whirpool going in that with plenty of "clear" space at the edges - even just having it on a 5mm incline wont effect the whirpool too much and should see you still recovering most of your wort.

Like Kai, I think that kettle is probably better suited to "double" batches - but thats not saying you cant work out a way to reasonably brew a single in it.

Y

 

[Kai]

I used to use a copper pickup tube in my 60L one, but it corroded the kettle too much if I didn't clean the kettle straight away after brewing. So, I took it out and would tilt my kettle at the end of transfer to claim the last bit. I had the hole drilled right near the bottom which helped.

Also as a 20-25L batch that burner and reg would boil the guts out of a brew so my kettle lid would typically stay 3/4's on the kettle to ameliorate evaporation rates. Worked great for the wort quality but I think the gas bill was a bit higher than it could have been.

 

[A3k]

Looks like double batches will be the minimum which definitely suits me. Once i'm setup for bigger batches, i reckon i'll just keep brewing big batches unless experimenting.

Good idea about the floatie. I'll see how it goes for a few brews and see if it's necessary.

Looks like i'll need a new fermenter too now. I'm sure i'll think of lots of stuff to buy now.

 

[Fents]

great pickup. looks the same shape as my 120L. I never do any less than 60L batch's so unable to help with your boil off rates. i set mine to 15% in beersmith and it works for me. I have a beerbelly hop stopper in mine so i can tilt it and get most wort out.

 

[jbirbeck]

I do singles in my 100l pot no worries. Don't need a lot of grunt to get it boiling and hold the boil...evap I've not found to be a big issue.

 

[A3k]

Cool, i reckon a beerbelly hop stopper/pickup will be my next investment.
Good to hear i can still do small batches.

 

[juliachilds]

That's a nice kettle, by the way, what's that written on the top of the lid?




__________________________
mac data recovery

 

[A3k]

Thanks Julia,
That's just a sticker saying $90.
It also says wood on it for some reason

 

[A3k]

When i posted this, I thought Id easily be able to brew triple batches (3kegs worth) with my planned setup of a 100Lt kettle and a 50Lt keg mash tun.
But after looking at beersmith, I reckon I could squeeze them out if i can get my efficiency up, but not for bigger beers.
Ive read through lots of threads though that seem to imply that the 50Lt mash tuns are barely good for double batches though.

Anyway, my thinking is i can aim to achieve tripples, but should start with doubles to get use to the setup.
65Lt batch
80% efficiency
13kg grain
OG=1.049
With a water to grain ration of 2.5kg/Lt gives 32Lt bringing total volume required to around 45Lt (assuming grain soaks up excess space with water etc)

Is this completely out of the question? Obviously id struggle to go any bigger, or any stronger.

Cheers,
Al

 

[raven19]

The first question that comes to mind is are you going to want to drink 3 batches of the same beer?

50Ltr MT will get you a double batch no worries, I have had up to 14 kg of grain in a 45Ltr esky - pushing the limits and fly sparging.

If you batch sparge a double batch would be pushing a 50Ltr MT to the max.

Sounds like you are on a winner though.

Make a double batch - and bottle the second for the SA Case Swap! :icon_cheers:

 

[jbirbeck]

I've found this calculator good to work out how much I can get out of my mash tun

Mash tun calc

I managed to squeeze 60 litres out of a 38 litre esky (just with some spillage) going a batch sparge. Hard work though

 

[MHB]

On Friday I was boiling 150 Litres in a 225 L stock pot on a 4 ring burner, its was a high gravity (1.100) gluten free wort made from sorghum syrup, managed to get a boil over, so I dont think you will need an upgrade to the burner at least.

MHB

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

i get 60 lt brews out of my 50lt tun all the time ,, my only hold up is the 50lt HLT needs to be bigger 70lt would be nice...
cheers

 

[A3k]

Nice, looks like ill be able to get the triples okay.
Im getting a new HLT for free soon too, but unfortunately its also only 50Lt. Not much i can do about that without buying a different pot.

Hi Raven
Yeah, i get your point about having 3 kegs of the same beer. However, itd be nice to be able to let mates come around and annihilate a good keg knowing that theres more for me tomorrow. If i get some more cubes or kegs it should be okay. It will also be nice to be able to brew a couple of batches with different yeasts or different dry hopping etc. I also like making a batch for my old man for his birthday, this way its not such an effort.

I think a triple batch will only be an exception though, for when i really like a recipe.

Next step now is to buy a welder (which Ive wanted for a while), learn to weld, and make a frame.

Cheers,
Al