Stock pot

[fishplate]

I've done 8 kit brews now and I'm thinking of having a go at BIAB,I'm just wondering what the ideal size stock pot would be.

[Beer O'Clock]

I would definitely say 40 as a minimum. Mine is that size and it's perfect "most" of the time.

[fishplate]

Just wondering what kind of cost I would be looking at for a 40 litre pot.Also is it ok to do the brewing out side as the misses would not be impressed with me doing it in the kitchen

[Kev888]

Hi,
It may be worth a look at the malt miller's stock pots in 33, 50, 70 and 100L nominal sizes (though he's out of stock with some at the mo). They aren't super high quality blichman type things, but the ones I have seem fine for brewing purposes and I've yet to find a cheaper source of large stainless pots. They can also be used with gas, which may be particularly useful if you want to brew outside - away from power points and/or where water/rain may trouble electrical systems.

I believe they are the same ones variously refered to on this forum as nordic-optical, french-ebay and german-ebay stock pots. You can get/import them a bit cheaper by buying direct from the french ebay site and quite a few people do, but Rob (the malt miller) is a reliable chap who I get a lot of other good stuff from at the same time (grains, hops yeast etc) so personally I'm happy to pay a modest mark-up for the service and convenience.

Cheers
Kev

[fishplate]

Cheers for replies and advice Gents

[Fuse]

i was just looking on the hop and grape site and see they have started doing the stock pots as well, and they are a bit cheaper, take a look here: http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/public/det ... TA20246061 not got one of these, so cant vouch for the quality, unless someone else has one?

[Kev888]

Interesting, thanks; they do look to be the same thing.

The pots are pretty good for the (relative) budget price; they're quite thin but thats fine for wort (and stock!) with both gas and electricity, they're of welded construction but the welds are ground down reasonably smooth - there can be the odd small crevice or two left but thats only of any concern if you want to ferment in them.

You can get thicker pots elsewhere (including hop and grape), but obviously they're quite a bit more expensive. So lots of people on here use the budget ones, as well as the insulated thermo-pots from the same french ebayer. About all you hear to detract from them is that the stainless is very hard (making drilling them more tricky) and sometimes they pick up dents/damage in the post.

Cheers
Kev

[art.b]

rob the malt miller also drills holes in pots for taps and elements.....

[i_am_ed]

I use a 37 litre pot and I find it a bit small, - when i remove the bag i end up with about 4.5 gallons left (including trub). It suits me now though - I do a bit of a batch in another bucket and add this to the pot whilst it's coming to the boil.

If I were to buy again I'd buy a 50L stainless steel pot, instead of the aluminium one I have now.