Kettle Upgrade

[red80go]

I am trying to upgrade slowly to go AG but first I would like to do a full wort boil. Will an 8 gallon kettle be enough to do a full 6 gallon boil?

Also, are the Boilermakers that much better than the ones from B3?

B

[Nate Diggler]

I use 7 gallon kettles to boil 5 gallon batches... you have to keep a close eye on them, but you can probably make do fine.

[Stewbacca]

If you use the foam control it shouldnt be a problem..

The boilermakers are sweeeet (read as: oooooohhh shiney!!) but a little out of my price range.. I just got a heavy duty kettle from B3 and i love it...
Just my $.02

[WhiteSoxFan]

It'll work, but as others have said you'll have to keep an eye on it for boilovers. Also, if you think you'll ever do 10 gallon batches think about getting a keg and converting it. It will work fine for 5 gallon and give you the option of doing 10. I bought a turkey fryer with an 8 gallon pot initially. The 8 Gallon pot is now my Hot Liquor Tank.

[6thstreetbrewer]

I boil 7.5 gallons in an 8 gallon pot everytime. You have to man the temp pretty good and always keep a clearing in your hot break. Occasionally I have a slight bit boil over but if I blow on it and reduce my temps quickly it does just fine.

[Bogey]

I have an 8 Gallon kettle and wish I had a bought a 10 Gallon. I can start with 7 gallons preboil but any more than that is asking for trouble. And I don't have a boilover problem since I'm on my electric stove, which doesn't have much juice.

For 90 minute boils I'd like to start with even more volume and the 8 just can't get there.

[ziggy]

If you are going to get a new pot I would go ahead and get one that's bigger than 8 gallons. I got a turkey fryer with an 11 gallon pot a couple christmases ago and it's great. It allows you to do really high gravity beers where you boil off like 2-3 gallons and I have still managed to have a few boilovers on regular sized batches. The thing about kettles is if you have an 8 gallon pot and you put 7 gallons in it that leaves you with like an inch of space in the top.

[red80go]

Great, but I don't see any 10 gal kettles from B3. I wonder why they jump form 8 to 15 gal but Blichmann has a 10 gal.

The 10 gal is starting to make more sense!