VEVOR Brew Kettle 16 Gal, Brewing Pot Stainless Steel, Brew Kettle Pot for Beer Brewing with Filter&Filter Tray, Tri Ply Bottom for Beer

Great pot for the price, Very sturdy, and yet light.This is a great size for a large pot. Anything bigger becomes very difficult to handle/stur/clean.No major complaints or concerns.The pot assembly was of average difficulty.I took the valve apart because reviewers claimed there was a large amount of automotive lubricant inside the valve body. I only found a moderate layer over very sticky automotive grease in the valve, which would give an off flavor for the first few uses until it wore off. The valve took some force to disassemble, but no parts were damaged. I removed the grease from all internal surfaces with lots of scrubbing with dish soap followed by scrubbing with 90% isopropyl alcohol. It was tough to remove.I think probably all pots under $400 probably have valves with automotive grease in them. You get what you pay for and I was extremely satisfied with the cost and functionalitie of this pot.The screen works fine and is decent quality. I add a washcloth on top because I am cooking corn meal and don't want the fine powder to fall through the screen and scorch.I have used the pot several times now and the only time it leaked at all when completely full is when I hit the temperature probe several times with a large mixer attached to a drill while at cooking temperature. The pot leaked a tablespoon of liquid then stopped, no maintenance needed.The temperature probe is strong. My only complaint here is that I feal the gage is not quite accurate through the entire temperature range from 40 F to boiling. If you set the guage to be accurate at one end it seems off by around four or five degrees at the other end of the range. I am not certain because I do not have a calibrated guage to check against it and my laser thermometer is not super accurate with liquids and stainless steel.The guage is handy to have installed because the temperature at the top of the pot can be 40 degrees different than the top with high starch liqids, because the liquid does not convect/mix the heat around the pot much and low and slow temperature or copious mixing is needed for even heating in any large pot with a viscous liquid.The valve/faucet work well and does not leak.

I started upscaling my homebrew volume and purchased this behemoth. It’s quite large. I use it outside on a propane flame cooker. Much too tall for the stove top as it is a few inches shy of the standard air vent height. The gauge needs to be adjusted which is easily done. Clean up is fairly easy. I’d rather the O rings be a bit heftier as they are soft and squash very easily.

It fits my needs. I was able to modify this to an all-electric all-grain BIAB with a 1500w element. However, buyer be aware of some things:Cons:- the 20quart is not actually 5 gallons. You can calculate the volume from the kettle’s dimensions, and see it’s not 5g, if you aren’t sure. Just taking the reported outer dimensions, you get a volume of 4.72. Actual may be 4.5gal if filled to brim.- the false bottom is convenient, but I wouldn’t run grain directly on it.- if you use a bag for biab, the thermometer will tear the bag up. I installed a thermowell on the bottom and didn’t need the thermometer- there are no volume indicators on the kettle- the rounding at the top should be a full 180°, instead of 90° (less messy during spray down)- kettle walls are a bit thinner than higher end kettles- the rounded indentation that acts as the shelf for the false bottom makes cleaning more challenging.Most of these were cons for me, given I had low expectations for the price. And I planned to mod it, anyway.Pros:- cheap- surprisingly good construction for a low price- easy to modifyOther info:- there is about 0.5 gallons of unrecoverable dead space below the front port- it is about 1.5 gallon to the false bottom from kettle bottom- it is about 3.5 gallons to the bottom set of handle rivets (the ones closest to the bottom of the kettle). This is also about the maximum volume you can boil in this kettle.- ~4gal to top set of handle rivetsI modified this kettle with the following- 1650w temperature controller with thermometer- 1500w bulkhead heating element (I recommend 1600w, as 1500w struggles to boil unless partially covered)- thermowell for PID’s probe- large capacity stainless steel colander for sparging- small bag for biab- stainless steel wok spoon for mixing mash- 1 gallon graduated pitcher for sparge water- large capacity boiler for heating sparge water (I use this for coffee and such)My goal for this build was to use as many kitchen items as possible to keep brewing-specific hardware to a minimum.

My expectations were low considering how much cheaper this 16 gal brew kettle was compared to the competition. I expected thin metal and questionable quality. What I received was a pleasnt surprise, as it exceeded those expectations.The metal is sufficiently thick, and even the thermometer feels heavy duty. It may not have every bell and whistle, but a decent quality 16 gallon brew kettle with a false bottom, thermometer, and ball valve at this price is a very good bargain.My only minor complaint is that the thermometer probe sticks out onto the kettle further than I'd like. It's well above the false bottom and looks prone to catching on a brew bag, but that's easily remedied by adding a 1/2" pipe nipple.Overall, I'm very satisfied.

Nice heavy duty pot. Only thing is it wish the spigot was closer to the bottom.