(Part 2) Best stockpots according to redditors

Listen to this person, homebrewers don't let homebrewers buy 5-gallon pots.

Buy a 10-gallon one instead:

• Stainless Steel $106 - Induction ready for high-tech indoor brewing.
  
  
• Aluminum $47 - Even cheaper than the CostCo one, and made of very, very sturdy aluminum.

Question 1 - I just finished my 11th Extract Brew. The majority have turned out amazing, but I think I am ready to start upping my game. I have seen all the tiered-mashing systems on here recently, but I think the next step for me would be to do BIAB. I currently have a 6 gallon aluminum pot which I don't think will be big enough.

I am debating between getting the 8 Gallon or the 16 Gallon. Pros and Cons of going bigger from the start? Or will an 8 Gallon do for what I want and be usable for the future?

EDIT: If it helps - this is currently what I am brewing on: Brinkman Turkey Fryer. It probably won't fit a bigger pot inside the ring, but I assume as long as it sits on top of the ring, it should still work?

> a large conventional pot (40-50L something along the lines of https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078BNRXQ2)

As others mentioned, be sure your stove can quickly heat, and boil, 40L of water. The Concord Kettle is a great kettle I can vouch for. No matter what, you’re going to want to make a hole and install a spigot.

> a pre-tapped fermenter to bottle straight from there

It could work if you prime with sugar individually in each bottle, but many find it easier to leave behind sediment and get even carbonation by transferring into a bottling bucket first.

If your only pot is 16qt and you plan on doing biab, I'd say your next purchase should probably be a larger kettle, unless you prefer doing small batches. A 16qt stock pot with BIAB will be challenging to do a batch larger than 2 or 3 gallons. I'd suggest a 10 gallon kettle, though that's a tough find at $25. Aluminum will be cheaper than stainless, so that's the direction I went for the sake of cost back when I wasn't sure if I'd stick with this hobby.

I got this kettle shipped for $30.53. I lucked out by finding one that someone had returned (slightly dented) that amazon was trying to recoup something for. Even came with a lid, which I don't think that listing does normally.

In order of the way I'd do it if I could do it again:

~Garden hose adapter for the kitchen sink, a 1/2" barb to thread onto that adapter, and 5' of 1/2 hose. This is awesome. Blast out carboys. Fill stuff on the ground. $10

~Immersion chiller. Make your own for the same price and twice as large. It's easy and will be that thing that will grow with you and make you psyched you don't need to re-buy when you move up boil sizes. $60

~Propane burner. Another thing that will make your current brewday more pleasant and faster, and will grow with you when you move up boil sizes. $40 - $150

~Larger kettle. Don't fear the cheap & large stainless or aluminum kettles. If stainless - at least 1mm thick (I think that's 18 gauge?). For aluminum, 6mm. If you're going to be on partial extract and moving up to 5 gallon all-grain at some point, get a 10 gallon kettle. Was doing full boils in an 8 gallon pot and hot-break is a nailbiter. You'll need to drill some holes for weldless bulkheads / valves for the best deal, but it's easy.
Here's a good starting point: http://www.amazon.com/Concord-Quart-Stainless-Steel-Cookware/dp/B0085ZOW1A
And for couplers: http://brewhardware.com/valves
(is it against reddiquette to post commercial links? New at this.)
$80 for kettle + $30 or so for bulkhead & valve.

~Refractometer. By this point, you're probably taking tons of measurements. Or want to but don't because hydrometers are a process (to me, anyway). This thing was the hurdle over laziness I needed to measure. $60

Of course there's all the other stuff like moving to full-grain / etc, but you're at a point you can buy some pretty sweet things that will be with you forever. AWESOME!

Also, search http://www.homebrewfinds.com/ for some good deals.

Good luck brotha! Sounds fun.

This is the closest I could find, searching for "lobster pot" or "stock pot" will get you the larger sizes. Lots of tall pots but this one looks to be the widest. The problem is that your burner is not going to cover the whole bottom of the pot, a lot of these are for use with outdoor propane burners that have a larger heating area.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Granite-Ware-34-Quart-Stock-Black/dp/B000BO7C9C/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1550669819&sr=1-2&keywords=lobster+pot

what size pot did you use for brewing? I picked up http://www.amazon.com/Granite-Ware-34-Quart-Stock-Black/dp/B000BO7C9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1250949942&sr=8-1 which alowed me to do a full boil (35 bucks with a coupon at bed bath and beyond!)

given that, I learned that a lot of water boils off... I started with 5.25 gallons figuring id lose some and the extra .25 plus the malt extract would make up for it... well, I lost quite a bit and my batch is fermenting at less than 4 gallons, since I didn't have any boiled water to add to it... it'll probably be a strong tasting beer... hopefully drinkable...

i now know to start with 6.5 gallons :-)

btw, with that size pot, i didnt have a single boilover, nothing even really came close

Question: Are there any major concerns with using a conventional pot for stove-top BIAB?

(Apologizing in advance if this is covered somewhere... if it is my google-fu is severely letting me down.)

I'm looking to get into homebrewing, as decent beer is quite expensive where I live and I've always wanted to give it a shot. I'm constrained in space and money, especially since I'm just starting out. Essentially I'm trying to put up minimal cash for now and "prove" to the wife I'll stick with it, and gradually upgrade over time.

That said, initially I'm looking to get into a BIAB setup as that seems to be the best compromise between potential quality of the brew, control over flavor, and simplicity in setup. Researching equipment, a lot of people seem to buy pre-fabricated pots with built in or added electric heating elements that are pre-tapped. From the outside it appears to add more cost to an initial build than convenience.

What I'd like to initially get is a large conventional pot (40-50L something along the lines of https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078BNRXQ2), a DIY immersion chiller, a pre-tapped fermenter to bottle straight from there, and just funnel the chilled brew from pot to fermenter.

You're right... after looking around the best deal I could find was an 8.75 gallon stainless steel pot for $75 (with free shipping if you have amazin's prime deal).

I just got this kettle
Bayou Classic 1064 Stainless 16-Gallon Stockpot with Spigot and Vented Lid https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007V493PG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_it7myb8PP9N4Y

At 16 gallons with weldless value it's not a bad price to do a mashturn and boil kettle for $260 I believe it's a single ply bottom so you would have to watch closer about scorching but that saves you some money to buy other toys and fittings.
I spent a few bucks on modding my kettle with temp probe, down tube and a recirculating fitting. I would like to add maybe a hop blocker to it.

Maybe pick this up for up for your sparger

Bayou Classic 1032 Stainless 8-Gallon Stockpot with Spigot and Vented Lid https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007TV9LSU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Qx7mybGFYBFKT

I run an outdoor gourmet 24" but it's only 55k btu so it takes few mins to get to temp, I been wanting to get a banjo type burner maybe a anvil or blichmann hellfire.

I still like the false bottom you picked out as I don't care for how bc does theirs.

My next step is I am building a keggle for my hlt and adding a herms coil to it.

Just as added input: This is my standard menu when I go, usually I do 3-day, 2-night trips.

Day 1: Arrival day

• Lunch: Hot dogs with junk food, trail mix, fruit etc. Whatever you can bring with you that requires no heating, cooling, and fits in a bag.
  
  
• Dinner: Burgers/chicken sandwiches (I can't eat red meat). Dress with cheese, whatever the minimal condiments you can bring with you. (I take mayo packets so I don't need a knife and a big jar of mayo. If you wanna get fancy, you can get a bag of premade salad and use that as your veggie topping, or make your own bag of burger toppings ahead of time. We go plain for cost and space.)
  
  Day 2:
  
  
• Breakfast: Burritos.
  
  
• Lunch: Hot dogs and bagged snacks
  
  
• Dinner: Beer brats. Sacrifice a beer or two and boil brats in a pot (any kind of pot, we used something like this, only it was about 2 dollars and had no lid, and a little bent to shit wire handle. Thrift stores there.) Put the pot over your campfire, this is another thing that's gonna take forever so start early. Once the brats have been in there for, oh i dunno, an eternity, brown over the campfire. For pro mode, toast hot dog buns and put a slice of cheese in the bun.
  
  Day 3: Leaving day
  
  
• Breakfast: whatever you haven't eaten all of yet. leftover hot dogs/brats, leftover burgers, all of it. Eat them now, why carry them out?
  
  
• Lunch: whatever you can hold in your hand while you're breaking down camp/driving out.
  
  Total equipment for food: A campfire grill of some sort, a cheap ass pot, tongs, and a cooler to keep food. I cook everything ahead of time so I don't have to worry about food being iffy. If you have the space, consider a little propane grill of some sort for the beer boiling portion of brats.

even worse than that...why would you eat microwaved popcorn? it's just as easy, healthier, and tastes much better to do kettle popped popcorn.

what the hell is wrong with you, dude?

EDIT: here's what you do:

1. get a pot like this. a nice, tall pot with a glass lid, because its fun to watch them pop.
   
   
2. get some popcorn kernels (i like the popsecret brand, myself).
   
   
3. fill the bottom with however much popcorn you want.
   
   
4. take canola oil and pour onto the popcorn. enough to half coat all the kernels.
   
   
5. turn on heat. pop corn.
   
   
6. when popping slows to 3-4 seconds a pop, turn off heat.
   
   
7. open lid.
   
   
8. here's the trick: two pinches of salt for every pinch of sugar sprinkled on the popcorn.
   
   
9. shake pot with popcorn like a polaroid picture without spilling all over the place.
   

You can approach scaling in two different ways:

• Vertically scaling is where you increase the capacity of your brew vessels. As noted by others, your vessel should be larger than your target batch size to avoid boiling over and to compensate for wort volume lost from evaporation.
  
• Horizontally scaling is where you increase the inventory of your standard equipment and run multiple batches simultaneously.
  
  It's also possible to combine methodologies. For example, you can vertically scale using 15.5 gallon keg kettles or 60 quart stock pots and horizontally scale by running two batches simultaneously to hit your 25 gallon target.

$170 for a 25gal kettle...not cheap but not terrible either.

I AM NOT AN EXPERT MANY PEOPLE KNOW FAR MORE THEN I DO, MAYBE THEY WILL INTERJECT IF I AM WRONG

Alright, let me guide you away from the starter kit. It has helped me know what I'm doing, and develop my process, thinking about and acquiring the pieces I would need. Let's say to start off with you just are busting to brew! Can't contain it anymore!

Start off with these three things

This Pot

This Cooker

-and I know it's not prime shipping but one of these

Plastic Carboys for $25.53 CDN with airlock and stopper

alright so baring the cost of shipping from AiH, plus a propane tank, siphon/tubing, and sanitizer. your looking at a cool $149.25 CDN for a bare bones basic kit for extract brewing.

Now you get a little more fancy, and throw in

This Auto Siphon

this brew in a bag

and this thermometer

and you right around $210 CDN minus a big ass spoon and bottling bucket that would be all you need to do all grain brewing from a bare bones stand point (ok baring ingredients also) but I think you could get off cheaper.. or at least better gear for the same money. especially since the kit you picked out doesn't even have a propane burner or pot this is a hell of a steal. You could go all out, buying a mini fridge and temperature controller for fermentation, an immersion chiller so your not icing down your beer post boil in a bathtub, custom mash paddles, etc.

What I got mad about when I started brewing was how much people were charging for what amounted too a couple of buckets, airlocks, benchcappers, and some "literature". When if you pieced it out it was more like price gauging because I did't know what I was doing.

Either way you go about it, welcome to paradise! Just wait till everyone starts rolling their eyes, when you bring up beer so you seek out friends that brew and you all start your big group beer tastings, I ♥ my beer buddies.

TL;DR : Here's an arguably better (and more utilized) "starter kits" of sorts for a basic bare bones set up. From a newly all grain brewer in a college apt

Nothing wrong with that. In fact, some people sous vide in any old kitchen pot, which allows you to heat the water both with your circulator and stovetop at the same time. Personally, I don't do that, since round pots tend to get somewhat cramped with bags and therefore have poor circulation.

Interestingly, I just saw this soup pot that is designed to fit a circulator as well as act as a regular pot:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SOUSV0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

More of an issue if you are doing a lot of high temp cooks, like veggies at 194°F, and for Anova ect. users (Joule can heat water twice as fast).

Perhaps a portable electric hotplate for your heat source? A stainless steel cooker could also use an induction plate, but they might not be wide enough for such a large pot.

I just looked up my 8qt Instant Pot's height, and it's 6.9 inches or 17 cm(ish). It's pretty tall for a food pressure cooker. (edit - I can't spell)

What's your budget, and how much space do you have?

I had a good experience with the first one that comes up on Amazon and used it for a couple of years. After a boil over and a desire to move to all grain, I ended up buying a bigger one. If your budget and space allow for it you may as well get it sooner rather than later

You won't outbrew an aluminum pot's life, so long as you take care of it. If you want to do this on the cheap, you do it thusly:

| Part | Cost |
| :-- | --: |
| Thunder Group Stock Pot (60 qt) | $48.35 |
| Weldless kettle kit with 2-piece ball valve | $22.00 |
| Camlock Type F | $3.99 |
| Thermometer | $24.00 |
| Thermometer coupling | $6.50 |
| Amazon Shipping | $12.86 |
| Bargain Fittings Shipping | $5.00 |
| Total | $122.70 |

This assumes you already have a step bit. If you want the 40qt pot, it's $14.95 less than the 60qt.

> That's how you make beer.

Nah, I use one of these and wait until everything's fermented before putting it in a keg

It's expensive for what it is, because the odds and ends aren't worth anything. Heck, for not much more, you could get a Toaks Titanium 1100 pot with bail handle and the nesting titanium wood stove. You've already got water bottles and cups.

Cheap would be lixada stove and Zebra Pot and a Nalgene with a steel nesting cup from Walmart. If you want the alcohol backup, learn to make a cat-food can stove. You could assemble that whole setup for about $55 and it would still be lighter than Dangerous Dave's stuff.

If you're thinking the Bayou, just go Concord. Not much difference save price. Thickness and clad bottoms at our volume don't really matter. And, I have an 18 gallon Concord that's wonderful.

E.g. http://www.amazon.com/Concord-Cookware-S3539S-Stainless-40-Quart/dp/B0085ZOW1A

There's sometimes better deals on ebay.

Not sure what shipping is for those, but I bought this aluminum stock pot on Amazon last year for about $60 shipped. It's awesome, very sturdy, and seems well made.

That said I have no experience with the two you listed, but I hope this helps a little but at least. And BTW aluminum is awesome, much more economical than stainless. I would only go stainless for the "bling" factor.

Before you pull the trigger on that, there's a groupon for a homebrew set:

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gx-midwest-hydroponic-atlanta

It's the basic kit plus brewing ingredients, PLUS a $25 coupon. The kit you linked also includes:

-Carboy, if you really want to get it. Honestly, for a first batch, you can get by without one and just do a single stage fermentation, but it's recommended to get a secondary. My first batch was an extract that spent ~2 weeks in a primary then straight to bottles. Came out great. There's a good deal at Amazon right now on a 6 gallon glass carboy. Also add a bung and Airlock

-Bottles. Drink some beer, keep some bottles. If you want to buy them, get 48 for a 5 gallon batch (about $25) or go cheap and get some plastic PET bottles. Also a good option. See: every argument of plastic vs. glass for a comparison.

-Large stock pot. For a first extract, you won't need more than a 2 gallon boil, so you can get by with as small as 12 qts. A cheap 12 qt pot can get you started.

This one, but I got it on sale for about $98.00 USD shipped.

I use this one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3NQB07/ref=twister_B01M5KRVWY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1. It did require some assembly, but wasn't too difficult. There are others available that are fully assembled.

I'd like to do 5 gallon batches. I don't think the quantity from the Mr Beer keg is worth it.

How's this look? Total is around $80.

Fermentation bucket

Bung/airlock

Stock pot

Autosiphon

Star San or Idophor (What's the difference?)

Is there any advantage to having a carboy as well? How long would I leave the beer in the fermentation bucket?

So if I wanted to do sours, I'd basically have to get 2 of everything?

Edit - actually, wouldn't this kit be about the same, but with an extra bucket but no stock pot?

Edit 2 - another pot, 36qt is good price, leaving this here so I can find it again.

[This is on Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Commercial-Stainless-Induction-Certified/dp/B000FNLTCU/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?adgrpid=54480396165&gclid=Cj0KCQjw753rBRCVARIsANe3o47zMQVqg8N9Tge93KG0iW9OaJRyBcLr9SbkEYVUdvisLonUmpaS1aEaAnyiEALw_wcB&hvadid=274714584395&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9061153&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=5774574749693466865&hvtargid=aud-646675774026%3Akwd-296286048931&hydadcr=14860_9624363&keywords=induction+ready+stock+pot&qid=1567128579&s=gateway&sr=8-7) but it's like 150 bucks. I don't think there is an option for exactly what you want that is budget friendly

Thoughts on these. It so much cheaper than the equivalent SS pot. Will use to upgrade to 5 gal BIAB. Currently do 2 gal in a 4 gal pot.

Sorry, I’ll be honest we’re pretty new to this. It’s possible the Amazon links on our webpage are affiliate links. I’ll have to look into it. Just out of curiosity, is there a problem with affiliate links?

For your reference here are the page links:
Duratux 10” Fry Pan: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0745GMM4N/
Sous Vide Pot: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SOUSV0/

Damn, I've got to do it if you say to man up!

Reckon something like this would work for a 2.5 gal brew?: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Steel-Stock-Ltr-Large/dp/B002YK2ERG/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1319790405&sr=1-1

I agree with rxus2. 5 gallon is just not gonna cut it. Might still be able to find a clearance turkey fryer from last year for $30 or so. They usually come with a 7.5 gallon aluminum pot, mine has lasted over a dozen batches and is still doing fine. If you're going to invest in stainless, you might as well get something commercial quality and big enough to keep around when you decide to try all grain recipes. This is the hot deal right now.

Building an immersion chiller was some of the best money I've ever spent.

You mentioned sanitizer but didn't say what kind it is. If its powdered, then you might want to consider getting some star san. The 32 oz bottle will last you years.

As for the thermometer, the analog one that comes with the turkey fryer will be fine for steeping grains with your extract kits, but you'll probably want to get a good digital instant-read once you do all-grain.

Not to be rude, but I really don't think you have the disease quite yet. Have you only made 1 batch with the Mr. Beer kit since December? I got my first kit (the midwest groupon, bought 2) December '11, I've since made 65 gallons of beer and 5 gallons of apfelwein, and I just finished my 5 tap keezer this week. You'll feel it when it really kicks in, and so will your wallet.

Sidebar has some good stuff ->

I would say, don't bother starting with less than 5 gallon batches. You are going to work just as hard for so little beer. Get a cheap 15 gallon pot and you'll be set for life (stainless or aluminum). You can start will full boil extract and move to all-grain brew-in-a-bag for the cost of a mesh bag.

Well with both of them you are still going to have to buy stuff. Truthfully you need items from both. The first one you still need a way to boil your wort. And the second you need fermentation vessels. That being said the 2nd ad is all quality stuff at a decent price.

What is your price range? What are you looking to do for brewing. Im confident you could build a mashtun, buy a burner, and a pot for $200. You might be able to get some icing buckets from a local bakery to ferment in.

EDIT: Check out this stock pot this cooler and this burner. Build yourself a valve/bazooka screen for the cooler and find something to ferment in, an auto siphon with bottling wand, capper and caps, and you are good to go. Scale it down if you want but being in the gulf I'm sure you could use all of it for crawfish boils if you find you don't like to brew.

EDIT2: I didn't see the first guy included a pot. That would be the cheapest way to break into the hobby. Im kinda gear crazy right now so don't let me freak you out with expensive shit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZS5PEO/ref=ya_st_dp_summary

Here's the pot. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FNLTCU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a 40QT stainless stock pot that I added a valve to. From the reviews I'd say the quality is pretty decent.

Just curious, but why? You can get a SS/Alumin 40 Qt pot for about that price. SS if you wait for a sale, aluminum almost always, like here.

Please do, because based on the manufacturer's info on this page the height is 6.9 inches (roughly 17.5cm)

Question: Are there any major concerns with using a conventional pot for stove-top BIAB?

(Apologizing in advance if this is covered somewhere... if it is my google-fu is severely letting me down.)

I'm looking to get into homebrewing, as decent beer is quite expensive where I live and I've always wanted to give it a shot. I'm constrained in space and money, especially since I'm just starting out. Essentially I'm trying to put up minimal cash for now and "prove" to the wife I'll stick with it, and gradually upgrade over time.

That said, initially I'm looking to get into a BIAB setup as that seems to be the best compromise between potential quality of the brew, control over flavor, and simplicity in setup. Researching equipment, a lot of people seem to buy pre-fabricated pots with built in or added electric heating elements that are pre-tapped. From the outside it appears to add more cost to an initial build than convenience.

What I'd like to initially get is a large conventional pot (40-50L something along the lines of https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078BNRXQ2), a DIY immersion chiller, a pre-tapped fermenter to bottle straight from there, and just funnel the chilled brew from pot to fermenter.

I just used my stove and bout a 16qt Pot from Amazon. Worked perfect. You could even get fancy and drill a hole and put a valve in and it could be gravity fed too. It was $35!!!


Excelsteel 16 Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot With Encapsulated Base https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030T1KR0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-.qZDb98V9K54

I have also cold sparked for the first time and had no issues. Was a 9-11lbs of grain.

+1 for better bottles. Glass is much more dangerous without any major advantages over modern plastic carboys.

EDIT: Also, if you are concerned about brew kettle volume long term, Amazon sells some really great porcelain enamel brew kettles for very reasonable prices. Here is the link to the one I have that I am very happy with (8.5 Gal $50).

Another question on a slightly different tack... How much dies quality of the boiler matter? I can only find stockpots that are thing gauge stainless that arent ridiculously expensive.... Would those be ok?

19l stainless stock pot

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Commercial-Stainless-Induction-Certified/dp/B000FNLTCU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480708395&sr=8-2&keywords=40+quart+stock+pot

This style is the norm here in Europe. Many companies produce almost identical pots.

https://www.amazon.com/Update-International-SPS-40-Induction-Stainless/dp/B000X1OLJW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1480708395&sr=8-6&keywords=40+quart+stock+pot

I use 6 and 8 gallon pots like this at home and work on induction and they work great.

The cheapest route will be to get the parts and build it:

• Kettle: http://www.amazon.com/Winware-Stainless-Steel-Quart-Stock/dp/B001AS90CK
  
  
• Valve: http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Brewing-Kettle-Valve-Weldless/dp/B007B1W0J0
  
  
• Thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008FEPE18/ref=pd_aw_fbt_328_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NDJH7J4KN0B7F35H6VR
  
  That gets you what you want for $140 before shipping costs. You could go with aluminum or a smaller pot (this one is 10 gallons) to save a little more, or shop around a bit. I just did a quick search for those.
  
  Just bear in mind that the handles on the cheaper pots tend to be a bit flimsy, so you're better off not moving it once it's full. Make sure you're brewing up high enough that gravity can do its job.

Hi! Welcome!

Well you probably don't need cold process AND melt and pour samplers. If you're a hands on kinda person (like me), you're gonna love cold process soap making, and (IMO) melt and pour almost feels like cheating at that point :).

You didn't mention equipment, so I'll go over that

1. you'll need a stainless (preferably) pot with high enough sides to not splash. Something like this although you could probably go smaller (depending on how large of batches you want to make. I prefer my pots on the large side because it gives me more room to be sloppy when I mix.
   
   
2. Pick up a hand mixer like this. This isn't 100% necessary, but sooooo worth it. I picked mine up at a flea market for 5 bucks. Check goodwill or salvation army. Having one of these turns 30-40 minutes of stirring into 3 minutes of blending.
   
   
3. For cold process, pick yourself up a couple of good wine and beer thermometers. These are nice because they measure in 2 degree increments. You can use any other food thermometer, this is just my preference.
   
   
4. Make sure you go to the grocery and pick up some good thick gloves and some safety goggles. Lye is an amazing chemical, but can burn the hell out of you if you're not careful. better safe than sorry.
   
   
5. When you get ready to pour your soap into the mold, you're gonna want to have it lined with some freezer paper. Don't use wax paper. If you use wax paper, you're gonna have a bad time.
   
   
6. It is very important to pick up a scale. Everything in soap-making is measured in weight, not volume. I'll repeat that, EVERYTHING IS MEASURED IN WEIGHT. If you find a scaled that weighs in lbs and oz, you'll have to a lot fewer conversions in your head.
   
   
   That being said, don't let that list scare you, like I said, I picked up most of my gear from thrift stores and flea markets. Soap making is fascinating and well worth the effort. Enjoy!

We call them saucepans. "Pot" generally refers to a stock pot, but people only use those for big stews.

Edit: are you talking about the kettle fryer or the burner? Lol

Tri Ply Pros:
Less chance of scorching the wort. Less cleanup due to nothing caking on the bottom of the kettle. It's mainly a concern if you have a powerful burner. I have a Kab4 on natural gas and I do experience some light scorching since I run it on full blast. I'm uncertain, but I believe it has a slight impact on the color of lighter wort, and even less so on flavor. Grab a tri-ply if you are OCD about these things.

With that said, I have a 16 gallon version of this, and it's really hard to beat. Consider the cost of a ball valve, weldless bulkhead, and hole drilling bits.

This version:
Pre-drilled bulkhead (mine had a weldless)
Ball valve
Ready to go out of the box

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1032-Stainless-8-Gallon/dp/B007TV9LSU/

If you have those already, there are cheaper options also from bayou on amazon, like this

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1118-32-Quart-Stainless/dp/B0009K8SJ6/


Edit: for those wondering about the 16 gallon - my main complaint is that it is so tall that smaller batches will be problematic with wort chillers since they are so low in the kettle. It's not much more expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1064-Stainless-16-Gallon/dp/B007V493PG/

You also may have good luck on your local craigslist

That looks like it would ft into my 5 quart saute pan, so I would use that. I have mostly Cuisinart stainless, and I think their lines made in France are worth a look. I also like Tramontina stainless. If I needed to replace my saute pan I would look for a deal on this Tri-Ply Clad Covered Deep Saute Pan.

If I needed a bigger pan this Tramontina 9 qt Dutch Oven would be my choice.

The saute pan is more expensive because it is fully multiclad, so I would look for a deal.

The Dutch oven has a tri ply base which makes it less expensive, but I think it is the better value.

I have the 5-quart Tramontina saute pan which is my most used. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JAPVJME/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've also got the 3-quart sauce pan from Cuisinart MCP and the 10" saute pan.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009P4845K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-MCP22-24N-MultiClad-Stainless-10-Inch/dp/B009P4851S

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I've been very pleased with all of them. Durable, easy to clean, and let me make a variety of more complex dishes.

cheap 5 gallon pot