Puddlethumper
Well-Known Member
As a complete noob to home brewing (and a general cheapskate) I was looking for a way to move my brewing outdoors without spending a lot of cash. I saw the Brinkman turkey fryer at Home Depot for about $59 and I thought, "Hey, that's the deal for me! I get a 30 qt. brew kettle and a propane burner for less than 60 bucks!"
Let me tell you this is another case of "you get what you pay for". I did make several batches of beer in this rig, but I found the tall aluminum kettle difficult to pour out of and slow to boil (a lot of surface area dissipates heat). I dropped it once and but a huge ding in the bottom that I had to hammer out (still looks like crap). There remains the issue of getting the protective oxidation layer built up on the aluminum and not messing it up (which I've yet to figure out). The burner was very difficult to modulate and at lower settings it would often just snuff out. And after about 8 or 9 batches the thermocouple took a dive and the burner just quit in the middle of a boil. Replacement parts are not available so it can't be repaired. I now have a 60 dollar paper weight.
Moral to this story? If you are new to brewing and thinking of buying one of these rigs to save some bucks, forget about it! Suck it up and spend $80 - $120 and get a good 30 - 34 qt. stainless kettle from one of the mailorder houses and then drop the other $50 to get a Bayou Classic Sq14 burner. You are most likely going to end up with this combination anyway, so why waste $60 on this thing while you are getting there?
Let me tell you this is another case of "you get what you pay for". I did make several batches of beer in this rig, but I found the tall aluminum kettle difficult to pour out of and slow to boil (a lot of surface area dissipates heat). I dropped it once and but a huge ding in the bottom that I had to hammer out (still looks like crap). There remains the issue of getting the protective oxidation layer built up on the aluminum and not messing it up (which I've yet to figure out). The burner was very difficult to modulate and at lower settings it would often just snuff out. And after about 8 or 9 batches the thermocouple took a dive and the burner just quit in the middle of a boil. Replacement parts are not available so it can't be repaired. I now have a 60 dollar paper weight.
Moral to this story? If you are new to brewing and thinking of buying one of these rigs to save some bucks, forget about it! Suck it up and spend $80 - $120 and get a good 30 - 34 qt. stainless kettle from one of the mailorder houses and then drop the other $50 to get a Bayou Classic Sq14 burner. You are most likely going to end up with this combination anyway, so why waste $60 on this thing while you are getting there?
