K
KellerBrauer
Greetings All - I wanted to take a moment to let my fellow brewers know about an issue I've experienced with my Polar Ware 15 gallon brew kettle. This kettle has a polycarbonate sight glass that has failed several times and Polar Ware is not offering any advise on how to correct the issue.
I bought my kettle in February 2013. This kettle is used on a edelmatell 72,000 btu propane burner. The sight glass, being plastic, warped within the first two brews. While it still held liquid, it was noticeably distorted and very discolored. That said, this may have been my fault since the literature stated the plastic sight glass was good to 285 degrees F. I'm not sure one can boil 10 gallons of wort and not allow the sight glass to exceed 285 degrees F. So, anyway, after about 18 months and about 20 brews, I decided to replace the sight glass at a cost of $50. However, to help prevent this from happening again, I decided to install a shield on the burner to help deflect the heat away from the plastic sight glass.
Well, the new sight glass cracked badly. I thought it was a factory defect, so I ordered two more - at $50/ea.. The next sight glass cracked after three brews. (Perhaps it cracked earlier and I never noticed it, I'm not sure.) So, I replaced it again. This time I kept a very close eye on the situation. The new sight glass has begun to crack on the very first use.
So, my local home brew shop happens to be a Polar Ware dealer, so she has sent all my pictures to LD Carlson (the distributor). That was nearly three weeks ago with zero response from either.
So, if anyone is in need of a SS Brew Kettle with a sight glass, look at an alternative. The Polar Ware version is certainly NOT money well spent - about $400 to be more precise.
I attached a PDF of the information and pictures I sent to LD Carlson. If my situation changes I will certainly update this post.
I bought my kettle in February 2013. This kettle is used on a edelmatell 72,000 btu propane burner. The sight glass, being plastic, warped within the first two brews. While it still held liquid, it was noticeably distorted and very discolored. That said, this may have been my fault since the literature stated the plastic sight glass was good to 285 degrees F. I'm not sure one can boil 10 gallons of wort and not allow the sight glass to exceed 285 degrees F. So, anyway, after about 18 months and about 20 brews, I decided to replace the sight glass at a cost of $50. However, to help prevent this from happening again, I decided to install a shield on the burner to help deflect the heat away from the plastic sight glass.
Well, the new sight glass cracked badly. I thought it was a factory defect, so I ordered two more - at $50/ea.. The next sight glass cracked after three brews. (Perhaps it cracked earlier and I never noticed it, I'm not sure.) So, I replaced it again. This time I kept a very close eye on the situation. The new sight glass has begun to crack on the very first use.
So, my local home brew shop happens to be a Polar Ware dealer, so she has sent all my pictures to LD Carlson (the distributor). That was nearly three weeks ago with zero response from either.
So, if anyone is in need of a SS Brew Kettle with a sight glass, look at an alternative. The Polar Ware version is certainly NOT money well spent - about $400 to be more precise.
I attached a PDF of the information and pictures I sent to LD Carlson. If my situation changes I will certainly update this post.