Turkey fryer or stainless steel pot

[RothRock]

As the title says. Do you guys prefer turkey fryers or stainless steel pot on the stove? It seems that fryers are much cheaper than buying a 7-10 gallon stainless steel pot.
I will be brewing my first partial mash in two weeks (5 gallon batch) and would really like to make a one time investment. Thoughts on this from you guys would be appreciated.
Thanks
Guys

 

[fishnwhistle]

I started with a turkey fryer and quickly gave it away and purchased a 15 gallon ss kettle and a bayou classic burner. The safeties on the turkey fryer burner I had were a pita and, though I normally do 5 gallon batches, the ability to knock out 10 gallons is nice. Not much boil over chance on a 5 gallon batch either.

 

[RothRock]

Ok so buy a burner and stainless pot separate. Yeah in a couple videos I watched that seems to be a popular choice.

 

[adiochiro3]

I've used both; they both will make great beer if the brewer is up to the task. Turkey fryers come in ~7 gal. sizes, whereas SS pots come in practically every size. Mainly it would depend on the size brews you plan to do and your available heat source more than anything else. Budget-minded brewers will also prefer an aluminum pot vs. SS pot expense. I usually brew 3 gal. batches with the occasional 5 gal. batch, so my 7 gal. pot suits me fine -- and my kitchen gas stove will boil it no problem.

 

[kh54s10]

The turkey fryer pot as said is just over 7 gallons. I had to collect 6.5 gallons of wort to end up with about 5.25 into the fermenter. It was necessary to really control the burner at the start of the boils so it wouldn't just slosh over the edge, let alone the foam.

I still use the burner for my HLT though it seems pretty slow. I use 10 gallon SS pots now.

If you are on a tight budget it will work. If you can swing a bigger pot, that is what I would suggest.

 

[dkevinb]

I use aluminum tamale steamers I bought at Target for cheap. I have a 5-gallon and an 8-gallon. One advantage is that they come with steamer racks that fit nicely about 2" above the bottom. Works great for BIAB if you ever decide to go that way.

SS is sturdier and shinier, though more expensive. Aluminum is lighter, cheaper, and conducts heat much better. One caveat - you need to "passivate" your aluminum pot before you use it. Just fill it with water and boil for 30-60 minutes. It will form a dark oxide layer on the inside. You only have to do it once, unless you scrub that layer off.

 

[Foosier]

Definitely look for a large pot. 10 Gal minimum. You can get by with smaller but it gets tight for a 5 gallon batch.

AL vs SS is a matter of opinion. They both work well. There is a huge price difference between them though. AL is way cheaper (like 60 for a 10 Gal pot versus at least 200 for SS.) SS pots do allow you to add welded fittings where this is not as common with AL.

Get an outdoor burner if you are seriously into brewing. Find one without "safety switches". Those cause the flame to cut out which you don't want. Just remember that fire burns and you need to be safe with a big a$$ flame. Figure that most adults get that so not sure why someone had to make a burner with safeties to address that.

 

[metanoia]

I'm using an old turkey fryer right now, and it totally sucks. With a 7.5 gallons capacity, it's a pain trying to keep 6.5-6.75 gallons of wort under control, plus the top 1/5 of the fryer is a few inches wider than the bottom 4/5, so I'm constantly trying to get hops and wort off that top shelf before it boils below the shelf. The power of the flame isn't a huge issue since you're not going to go full-blast with such little headspace either. But hey, it makes beer, and it was free!

I just can't wait until my next bonus, definitely going to step up to at least 1, if not 2, 15 gallon SS pots with welded fittings, plus outdoor burners for each. Amazon has some Bayou pots of that size and with one weld for $159, plus burners for $45. Certainly not the most expensive step up.

 

[number40fan]

Are there any larger pots out there that will fit on the 12" x 12" frame of the turkey burners?

 

[CJ1]

You can get stainless for a decent price.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Or the one that I actually use: http://www.eliterestaurantequipment...eel-induction-ready-stock-pot-with-cover.html

Those are both big enough for full volume boils.

 

[mrboz]

I started with a turkey fryer and quickly gave it away and purchased a 15 gallon ss kettle and a bayou classic burner. The safeties on the turkey fryer burner I had were a pita and, though I normally do 5 gallon batches, the ability to knock out 10 gallons is nice. Not much boil over chance on a 5 gallon batch either.

+1 this. Then, getcha a 10 gallon igloo cooler (home depot/lowes) and add a SS spigot and false bottom for your MT. You will be on your way to winning medals with that setup.

I found a 15 gal SS pot on Amazon for $99, bought a step bit and drilled my own hole for a valve. Total costs was about $140.

MT rig was about $75 total.

For fermentation, start out with 3-5 food grade Ale Pales ... $15 apiece and you can afford to have enough to keep a couple batches going at once. Plus they are safer, easier to handle and store, easier to clean, easier to top crop yeast ... $450 conicals are nice, but can you afford to buy 3-4 of em?

 

[MindenMan]

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/ has great prices on pots. I bought my 40qt AL pot there

 

[KeninMN]

Here's what I bought:

http://www.menards.com/main/spring-fever/grills-smokers/30-quart-aluminum-turkey-fryer/p-1929564-c-10141.htm

That, plus a 5-gallon drink cooler for $12, a large, coarse mesh grain bag from Northern Brew for $6 and a stainless steel ball valve with bulkhead fitting for $20 on Amazon. All Grain for under $100! (Plus tax, of course...)

 

[Riot]

Are there any larger pots out there that will fit on the 12" x 12" frame of the turkey burners?

I still use my turkey fryer burner after upgrading to a 15 gallon stainless kettle, it is plenty powerful and the frame supports it fine. As a side note, those safety switches are easy to bypass. I shorted the wires running into the timer, and soldered that little button thing down. Haven't had an issue since.

 

[BrotherBock]

The debate between alumnimum and steel has been had a lot, here's a thread that outlines all the pros and cons. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

But in the end it doesn't really matter. There's no flavor differences.

That said, I have an aluminum turkey fryer pot that I use on the stove as well as with a propane burner. Aluminum conducts heat much faster than steel. Because of this I think it serves as a better alternative for the stove. Heating on the stove (at least for me) takes a long time, especially when I'm trying to boil 5 or even 4 gallons. And even then the boil is not really vigorous until my volume is below 3.5 gallons. I'd hate to see how long a thicker and less conductive steel pot took to get to a boil.

Also, I used to have a turkey fryer burner, now I have the dark star which is essentailly the same thing and I think they work great. I've used bayou burners and such. While they heat wort quickly, they blast through propane like no one's business. I find the torch style turkey-esque burner to be far more efficient with propane use. Just recently I had a near empty 20# tank and did a full hour boil with my aluminum pot and still had gas left over. Get what you want, but don't let crazed homebrewers that rave about steel pots and huge burners sway you too much. That stuff works but so does aluminum and turkey fryers. Brewers make beer, not equipment.

Keep in mind that with a new aluminum pot you must boil some water (for about an hour I think) to build a protective oxidation layer.

 

[number40fan]

I don't have any doubt that my fryer would be powerful enough to heat that much. I was wanting a kettle small enough that it would fit in between the cage (12" x 12" square). But, it looks like it will be easy enough to trim four spots that will allow the larger diameter kettle fit.

 

[Riot]

Is the cage removable? I know with mine I had to put it on, and I know I took it off just as easily and dropped a wide ass 15 gallon kettle on it and have stupid boil off at 50% gas

 

[Beernik]

As the title says. Do you guys prefer turkey fryers or stainless steel pot on the stove? It seems that fryers are much cheaper than buying a 7-10 gallon stainless steel pot.
I will be brewing my first partial mash in two weeks (5 gallon batch) and would really like to make a one time investment. Thoughts on this from you guys would be appreciated.
Thanks
Guys

When I wenr AG, I bought both. Turkey fryer pot for frying turkeys. 10 gallon Bayou Classic pot for brewing beer. The turkey fryer burner fit both.

I just upgraded to a keggle and bought a bigger propane burner to fit the diameter of the keggle better.

 

[standpoint]

This is what I use to brew:

http://www.menards.com/main/spring-...t-aluminum-turkey-fryer/p-1929564-c-10141.htm

Cost is cheap, and I have had no issues with it at all. I do full 5 gallon boils in it, you have to be careful at the beginning for boilovers, but it's not too hard to keep in check after a bit of practice.

I'm sure it's not the best out there, but it's low cost is great for starting out. Seems to get the boil going quick, and doesn't use too much gas.

I've also doubled the brew kettle as a bottling bucket....

 

[mmason]

Hey keninMN how is that turkey fryer working out for you? Was contemplating buying the same one!

 

[WaltG]

40 quart aluminum at winco for like $35

 

[kirk80294]

What ever is the cheapest. So a 30 quart for 19.99 at academy sports this weekend


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[WaltG]

30 quart = 6 gallons. Too small

 

[CJ1]

30 quart = 6 gallons. Too small

30 quarts is 7.5 gallons. It's still really too small for full volume boils.

 

[RM-MN]

30 quarts is 7.5 gallons. It's still really too small for full volume boils.

No, but it requires some careful temperature control at hot break and lowering the heat to just a slow rolling boil so you don't boil off too much. I've done several batches in mine. Would bigger be better? Maybe, but the space it takes up matters too.

 

[WaltG]

My math sucks....lol

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

30 quarts is 7.5 gallons. It's still really too small for full volume boils.

No but I highly recommend using fermcap-S it definitely helps with the boil overs.


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