Any thoughts on this 8 gallon kettle?

[Box of Rocks]

Yeah give yourself room to grow.
Now I've successfully done 5 gallon BIAB batches in a 7 gallon kettle by shooting for an end kettle volume of 4 gallons and by topping up the fermenter like with an extract batch. I got great results too. So the lesson there is where there is a will there's a way and it can be done, but it's just easier to have the proper sized kettle. I would look at 10 gallons as your minimum size for a new kettle

Makes sense but… Slightly smaller sizes fit with my objectives of fermenting in a corny, and possibly using induction.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

Unless this will be doubling as a Mash Tun, you will be able to brew 5 gallon batches in an 8 gallon kettle. However, since the BK will be pretty full, you will need to be extremely vigilant to prevent boil overs.

 

[SabreSteve]

Unless this will be doubling as a Mash Tun, you will be able to brew 5 gallon batches in an 8 gallon kettle. However, since the BK will be pretty full, you will need to be extremely vigilant to prevent boil overs.

2x end kettle volume for BIAB is a rule of thumb but it's not a hard and fast rule. You can probably do most 5 gallon BIAB in an 8 gallon kettle but might struggle with "bigger" beers. That's why I'd go 10 gallons just for that extra buffer. There are BIAB calculators out there that can be found with a quick Google search which will tell you if you can fit a mash in your BK

 

[Donoroto]

Data point: my electric system holds 9 gallons, and I struggle to get 14 lbs of grain in there. Most of my recipes are lighter than that so I don't have a problem.

 

[Box of Rocks]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Ended up getting the 8 gallon AMCYL. Seems pretty solid, and hopefully will fit my needs for now. Primarily shooting for 4 gallons in the fermenter, so hopefully it will fit the bill.

 

[Hawkbox]

You can always top up a bit with water after the fact worst case.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

If you are doing BIAB, you can squeeze the bag if you come up a bit short.