Equiptment recomendations

[BARL Brewing]

I was hoping I could get some feedback from the brewers more experienced than me. (Oh wait......that’s everyone)

Anyway, I’m currently doing partial boil extract batches and next on my wish list is a new kettle and a pump. I'll probably be doing 5gal extract batches for a while till i can move up to all grain.

1. Should I get an 8 gal kettle or is there a problem getting a bigger kettle, 13 gal or bigger, now to grow into while still doing smaller volumes?
2. What quality do you recommend? morebeer's with ball valve start at $160, but I’ve seen the videos posted using kegs. how much are they and where can you buy them?

3. Beer pumps: again, morebeer?

brian

[backyard brewer]

You'll wish you had a larger kettle inthe future.

This is a great source for pumps: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0576903709

But they dont have plugs and need to be wired.

[lexuschris]

Heya Brian,

Well, I kicked off my AG brewing a year ago with a 10-gal boil kettle .. and now wish that I had gone for the 15 or 20. I have been brewing 5-gal batches, but am getting the itch to do 10-gallon batches soon. (it just goes away too quick)

That being said, my 10-gal kettle was $99 from Williams Brewing. Click the picture for the link.


At Northern Brewer, they have a 20-gal kettle for $217.


And of course .. the shhanizzle...


--LexusChris

Quick anecdote:
My first few batches of beer (extract) used my mother-in-law's aluminum crock pot as the boil kettle. My beer tasted a bit like curry ... so I stopped using that!

[maltbarley]

Brian, One of our members sells converted kegs and also made a couple videos about converting kegs to kettles. You might check out this thread and/or PM Backhousebrew: http://www.brewcommune.com/forum/viewto ... f=4&t=1516

[brahn]

I'd definitely suggest going with a 15 gallon kettle, I used mine for 6 gallon batches before moving up to 10. It would be tough to fill two cornies with a smaller kettle.

For pumps, I waited until B3 had one of their big sales and got 20% off plus 10% off for being a club member.

[backyard brewer]

The pumps in that eBay link are March 809's for $111 free shipping, no tax. I ordered 2, got them in 5 days. You will need a plug for another $4 or so but still a great deal on that pump.

[bwarbiany]

A good interim solution is to buy a turkey fryer with kettle included. The main reason you're dropping the coin is for the burner (so that you can brew outdoors -- absolutely key if you're married ), but it gets you an extra kettle so you can do full-boil before going to larger batches. Then, if you trade up later, having an extra 8 gallon kettle around is always handy (for sparge water on all-grain, or for heating up your sanitation water, etc).

[alcohol accessories]

Brahn I agree with your rec, def hit the 15gal...think it will save you time. Was experimenting with this and all sorts of beer carrying cases back when I was kegging. good luck with that!
http://boozebin.com/

[ArrogantDan]

I've recently upgraded to a 15 gal kettle and I think it's my best brewing investment yet - think about it dude, 10 gal. batches. If interested, I'll sell you my 8 gal. kettle (w/ ball valve and wort chiller) for $50. It was bought at MoreBeer and used 6 to 8 times.