New Boil Pot for me

[RobinW]

I've been boiling single batches in a keg for ages and recently found I have the mash volume to do double batches if I concentrate the wort into a pair of 'no chill' 16 litre cubes. ie: Boil 40 liters.

Of course the keg takes a lifetime to boil 40L, **** it's almost 20Kg of stainless steel so that's a huge thermal mass to heat up. I got a 55L SS pot from a camping store that went under pretty cheap. I got some bulkheads and whirlpool parts from the US as well as bits from china and Oz and it's all been sitting here for quite a while waiting for enthusiasm

I've been off shore for a while and got home this week and put it all together today. Here's some pics. It's way lighter than the keg so I'm hoping it'll boil quicker. I wrapped it in that EVA flooring stuff from bunnnings with a yoga mat wrapped on top.

I'll get some boil off figures tomorrow but still need a quick disconnect for the whirlpool port.

 

[Yuz]

Noice! Pretty much what I'm planning on doing.

 

[Yuz]

Also, just curious if it's possible to use a suitable (portable + powerful) induction cooktop instead of the heating element?

 

[RobinW]

I doubt it would have the grunt.
That 2000watt element would only boil the keg with the lid on but ajar and it doesn't switch on/off.

 

[Hangover68]

I'm at this stage right now, about to purchase an element and tap to convert a 40ltr ss pot.
What are you using as a controller or do you just go by the temp gauge ?

 

[RobinW]

I didn't want to pay for a sparky to install a 32 amp circuit so max element is 2400Watts.
That keg king element is supposed to be 2200Watts and I need the lid on the pot (but ajar) to get a rolling boil.
No controller, I manage the boil by adjusting the gap between the lid and the pot.
It has boiled over when I wasn't paying attention.

It hits the boiler at about 70C+ and comes to a boil in about 15-20 minutes.
I normally cube double batches so I concentrate the wort and boil 41 liters down to 2 x 16 litre cubes. It's a 55L pot.
Doing a Samuel Adams Boston Lager next week though which will be a 20L batch through the chiller and into the fermenter for a change.

 

[Hangover68]

I'm looking at the keg king 2200w on standard single phase power so should be good then, i'll possibly look at a controller like the inkbird or similar so that i can also use it for temp controlled brew fridge.

 

[Hangover68]

Element and tap arrived today so its down to the shed to drill a couple of holes.