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MLT

RickS

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Grandmaster Brewer
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Would a 52 quart aluminum kettle work as a MLT, after boiling water in it for 30 min?
 
Rick I think you would need to insulated it.  I use a 60 Q stainless as part of a HERMS.  The heat loss can be very quick. 
 
Thanks haerbob3,  I was thinking about getting that bubblewrap typ of insulation with the aluminum coating on both sides to wrap it with.
 
RickS said:
Would a 52 quart aluminum kettle work as a MLT, after boiling water in it for 30 min?

As long as there is a patina (dull grayish, even color) on the aluminum, it's safe to use in any hot part of the process.

The real care comes when you clean it. Don't use oxidizeing cleaners (i.e.: oxiclean, one-step) or caustics for cleaning the pot. Heavy, hard scrubbing is problematic, too; as you scrub the oxide layer off, it turns your water black (intuitively, you just want to scrub harder).

You can restore the oxide layer by putting the pot in the oven for 15 min at 400F. Boiling water for an hour in it works, too.
 
Thanks, brewfun. I will keep my eyes on keeping the pot "seasoned".
 
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