The Behemoth has arrived

[SteveD]

100L pot from Catering Service UK, delivered this morning.

Jesus! It's HUGE. I know they give the 50x50cm dimensions on the eBay page, but that doesn't help you visualise it.

On inspection it looks ok. The vertical seam is near invisible and the bottom weld is a touch rough in a couple of places on the inside but otherwise seems ok. I'll spend an afternoon filling it up to test for leaks



Sitting on cooker for scale.

33L version arriving friday.

[steve_flack]

Holy cr*p that's big! I've got a 75L boiler but that thing looks massive!

[steve_flack]

Do you think the cooker will take the weight

btw, how do you plan on emptying it after it's filled

Both good points.

[Orfy]

Well I think I just found my hot tub!

[flytact]

Good grief, and they say we do things big here in the US!

[DRB]

That's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge no probs with boil overs in that.

[SteveD]

Do you think the cooker will take the weight

btw, how do you plan on emptying it after it's filled

Good points. Not risking the cooker. It's tempting to boil it up though, all 4 burners are under the base. I'll put it on the deck, and fill it with a garden hose. Emptying by siphoning, then by 5L homebrew jug, then by tipping.

That's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge no probs with boil overs in that.

That's one of the main reasons I went for 100L. My exisiting one is a plastic 70L. On 50L brews, I sparge out to about 60L or more to finish with the brewlength in the FV without having to top up.... it usually foams over in spite of frantic beating. Not so with this beast!

Now I've got to find a propane burner man enough without costing the earth (like H&G's). Seen 8.6KW burners on eBay. Enough for a 60-70L boil?

Then put a new roof on the shed, install power, drainage, tile, paint, door, window, heating, lighting, rest of brewery......oh god! What am I doing!

[guildofevil]

Then put a new roof on the shed, install power, drainage, tile, paint, door, window, heating, lighting, rest of brewery......oh god! What am I doing!

Sound's like you are building your dream brewery. It will be worth the hassle once it's finished.

[Andy]

.... it usually foams over in spite of frantic beating. Not so with this beast!

Wanna bet ?

Hell hath no fury like a hot break boilover

[Jim]

... it usually foams over in spite of frantic beating....

The mental picture that conjure's up made me laugh out loud!

[SteveD]

... it usually foams over in spite of frantic beating....

The mental picture that conjure's up made me laugh out loud!

Think more:-

That's nearer the mark.

[SteveD]

Progess report. Behemoth the Boiler (I like to give them names) has been initially tested. I boiled about 20L water on the cooker - all 4 burners going - to see how it copes with heat, if there's a dodgy seam. All ok. Couldn't boil more as I'd have to wait all day

Now, I've filled it to the brim to see wether the weight & pressure cause a leak. All ok so far.

Now then...The 33L S/S pot arrived today except it didn't. What the silly sods sent instead was a 22L S/S insulated pot! I don't want it...but it has given me, and therefore as a collective group of brewing bretheren, us, a chance to evaluate it's suitability as a mashtun which was something I asked them about but got no reply. I'll just fill it with water adjust to strike temp, say 72c, let the pot warm up and settle to 65c, clamp on the lid, and see how it performs over a 90-120 minute period. Result!

Then I'll dry it off very carefully and repackage it so they can come and pick it up! 20L is no use to me as my current mashtun is bigger than that.

Tapping tests suggest it might have insulation material between the walls as it doesn't sound hollow. As to wether there's a vacuum as well, I don't know. If it holds heat well I'll press them for an answer as the vacuum issue is important when I come to drill holes in it. If it all checks out I'll probably get a 50L one to up-gun my mashing capacity.

[Andy]

I believe they have polystyrene between the inner/outer walls judging from a conversion pic I saw.

[SteveD]

Cheers, guys.

Now for the furrowed brow....I've emptied the big pot and I noticed that the welded seam around the inside bottom had darkened in places. Rust. Dabbed with a bit of tissue, the tissue shows brown staining. This was after about 1-2hrs filled with water. Presumably it's the welding material rusting, and I'm not too keen, because, I'm guessing here, but I think that over time it might rust through and leak....I'm wondering if that's what happened to TheBigEasy's Pot. Apart from that I don't want to dump unwanted iron oxide into the wort, in however small quantities.

I commented that the welded seam was a little rough on the inside in places, and Jim said the same. I don't know if he's noticed wether his is doing the same or not.

....'yer gets what you pays for' springs to mind...

[Andy]

Oh dear! That's not good.....