Selecting a Brew Kettle

As part of my quest for a 1bbl (1 barrel = 31 gallons) brewing system, I need to select a brew kettle. This is proving rather difficult, because kettles of this size are generally very expensive. I should preface this by saying that I live in Canada, so the shipping costs are large. 

My requirements for the kettle are as follows:

• 40 US gallons (160 quarts) or larger
• Able to use 2 electric elements
• Drain port
• Sight glass
• Whirlpool return (used to get the wort to spin in the kettle so hot break and hops settle out in the middle in a cone - this makes it easier to get clear wort out)

I have been researching this for a while. I have found stock pots greater than or equal to 160 quarts, used stainless barrels, and purpose built kettles.

Up first, the stock pots:

Thunder Group Aluminum Stock Pots

Found on Amazon, this is a bare bones stock pot. For $229 for the 160 quart I'm not sure why I haven't made a snap decision to purchase it yet.

Cost:

160 quart: $125 + ~$104 shipping = $229 = 5.7 $/gallon capacity
200 quart: $258.51 + ~$114 shipping = $372.51 = 7.5 $/gallon capacity

Pros:

Low cost!

NSF Approved*

Cons:

Same diameter as a barrel, so why not buy taller to get more volume? The boil off rate should be the same.
Has no ports, valves, or other such accessories - I will have to do this stuff myself

55 US Gallon Drum from Bubba's Barrels
These are reconditioned stainless drums. They can be purchased with ports silver soldered on or just as the drum. At the time of writing they are not offering to weld on tri-clamp ports that can be used for electric elements. They have expressed the desire to do so however. I will update if this changes.

Cost

Plain: $189 + $142 = $331 = 6 $/gallon capacity
With ports: $424.91 + $128 shipping = $552.91 = 10.1 $/gallon capacity
With ports and accessories: $559.82 + $158.80 = 718.62 = 13.1 $/gallon capacity

Pros:

Mid-range cost
Largest of the three options
Can buy with ports already installed

Stainless Steel

Cons:

Unknown previous contents
More money than the aluminum stock pots
Still not as beautiful as purpose built

Still would have to add ports for electric elements myself

The beautiful purpose built Stout Tanks and Kettles 45 Gallon Kettle

With Tangential Inlet: $624 + ?
With Thermowell, tangential inlet, and sight glass: $800 + ? = 17.8 $/gallon capacity
With Above + 2 element ports @ $30 each: $860 + ? = 15.6 $/gallon capacity

Ultimate – with all above plus legs… $1099 + Shipping = 20 $/gallon capacity

Pros:

Dished bottom
Triclamps everywhere
Comes with ports
Beautiful looking piece of kit

Cons:

Cost is crazy compared to the other options
My communications with Stout have been spotty. Haven’t been able to get a shipping quote from them.

Summary

There are other options such as Glacier Tanks that I have not listed, but these are the main kettles I am considering.

At this point I don’t know what I want to do about this. As such, I have procrastinated on buying the kettle. I desperately want a fancy kettle, but we’ll see if I can fork out the cash when the time comes.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! If you know of other vessels I would love to hear about them!

*NSF is "an accredited, third-party certification body that tests and certifies products to verify they meet these public health and safety standards" as per their website