Recently bought (3) 20g Megapots and having a friend weld the ferrules for a eHERMS build I am starting. I have searched all over the forum for a good consensus on Megapots and others with similar dimensions, and I pulled the trigger, but now question my purchase. I primarily do 5g batches (well, actually right now only 5 gallon batches because I have no option!), but want to do more 10g going forward. I was going to get (2) 15 gallon for HLT and MT and (1) 20 gallon for BK, but then thought about when I do high grain bill batches and getting close to the limit of the 15 gal MLT, so I just went up to 20. Real question is should I have sucked it up and gone with Stout 20 gal or similar dimension pot for the times when I do the 5 gal batches? Less headspace, less dead space under false bottom, etc. I know that keggles seem to be popular too, so that could be an option. Just wondering if I should return them. What are your thoughts/experiences?
Pot dimension advantages / disadvantages - big concern or not?
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Balloonknot
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For boiling, I think there are more advantages to having a taller pot than width if you use immersion wort chillers and also having a larger surface area on the liquid you are boiling will increase your boil off rate and you'll find yourself using the lid a lot more often during the boil. I dont know about you but I like to keep a good eye on my boil to make sure I dont get a boil over.
I dont know if this was an appropriate answer to your question but those are the only ways your kettle dimension can vary. I use a Keggle for boiling and 10 gal igloo coolers for mashtun, I always fly sparge with this setup. My boiling volume requirement is ~ 12.8 gallons so I usually have to heat additional water in an extra 5 gal pot I have to get a volume of ~ 15.5 gal. I know the keggle can hold 15 gals but Im not comfortable heating water thats right up to the brim, I'll do 13 gals in the keggles and an extra 2-4 gals in the extra pot and use it for fly sparging.
I dont know if this was an appropriate answer to your question but those are the only ways your kettle dimension can vary. I use a Keggle for boiling and 10 gal igloo coolers for mashtun, I always fly sparge with this setup. My boiling volume requirement is ~ 12.8 gallons so I usually have to heat additional water in an extra 5 gal pot I have to get a volume of ~ 15.5 gal. I know the keggle can hold 15 gals but Im not comfortable heating water thats right up to the brim, I'll do 13 gals in the keggles and an extra 2-4 gals in the extra pot and use it for fly sparging.
I read `somewhere` that the `ideal` dimentions are that your pot is twice as tall as it is wide. I don't remember WHY they made this claim other than the boil off rate. I would imagine that would be rather ineficient is you use propane to heat it though. I myself went with Concord pots but have yet to get them to where i can use them....waiting on an electrician for the wiring (going electric)
hope this helps.
hope this helps.
i think that for 10 gallon batches these kettles will be fine, but i am just thinking about when i do 5 gallon batches with a 20 gallon (wider-proportioned) MT.
I like to watch the boil too, but since there's no chance of boil over on a small batch, I could just sit back, keep the lid on, and chill (or clean stuff). But what is the fun in that!
I like to watch the boil too, but since there's no chance of boil over on a small batch, I could just sit back, keep the lid on, and chill (or clean stuff). But what is the fun in that!
20 gallon pots are very large for 5 gallon batches. Depending on the volume below the FB, 5 gallon batches could be tricky. A 20 gallon kettle could have 2.5 - 3 gallons below the FB, that could be most or all your strike water???
If your goal is 10 gallon batches, I think you made a good choice, but for 5 gallon batches, not so much. Kinda like the three bears story.
If your goal is 10 gallon batches, I think you made a good choice, but for 5 gallon batches, not so much. Kinda like the three bears story.
I brew electric and when I bought a larger kettle very little of my IC is submerged when I brew 5 gallon batches. I have to use my smaller kettle for those batches.
I have a 10 gal BK that i guess i could use as a MT if I bought a new FB. But might be smarter to return and get the 15 gal pots the way it sounds... a little more universal. Thanks for the input - trying to do this the correct way from the start.
I have an EHERMS with 3 of the old non-1.2 104 qt megapots, which are 20" tall and 20" wide. You have to make sure the BK element will be submerged in 5G of wort, but that's not hard. Also your boil off rate is larger due to more surface area, I think mine is about 1.6G/hr at 80% duty of 5500W.
There's also about 2G dead space in the MLT under the false bottom, where you just add more water for the mash. Fly sparging is not a problem. Batch sparging requires more care since due to the dead space the second batch could end up much weaker if you're not careful.
I use a counter flow chiller so no issue on that end.
The only issue I really have is cleanup. The pots are so big and bulky that it's mostly a CIP system and only the mash tun ever gets moved.
There's also about 2G dead space in the MLT under the false bottom, where you just add more water for the mash. Fly sparging is not a problem. Batch sparging requires more care since due to the dead space the second batch could end up much weaker if you're not careful.
I use a counter flow chiller so no issue on that end.
The only issue I really have is cleanup. The pots are so big and bulky that it's mostly a CIP system and only the mash tun ever gets moved.
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