Anyone know the max weight welded kettle handles are rated for on the Bayou Classic 15 gal kettles or any kettle. I built a lift to pick it up but the welds look horrible and don't trust them. Their only welded on the outside. I'm thinking of drilling holes above the handles and attaching hooks.
If I were to pick up a drill, I'd be worried about rust. Maybe others could talk me out of that. I like the idea of going to a welder. I don't know much about your system, but you can find ways to not have to lift much weight in the kettle at any given time in a brew day. Use a second pot or a sanitized pitcher to move smaller amounts of wort around. This works on the hot and cold side of brew day.
@inchrisin is right on. A better question than 'how much can the handles take' is 'why are you trying to move it while full?' Understanding the answer to that, we can probably offer some advice on ways to avoid the need. My process was pretty labor-intensive for a long time, but I can't recall ever trying to move a full kettle (not since the days of 5 gallon extract batches on my kitchen stove, anyway!).
I don't have much space so i mash inside and boil outside.My burner is on a metal table so lifting the kettle onto it is where the hard part is. I'll look into the welding shop.
While I can't say for sure, based on that picture, I would trust that weld more then a bolted or riveted handle. I also have no experience with these brew kettles so can't comment there. All I have to go off of is some experience welding and a whole lot of engineering classes where we did material testing work. While that weld looks small and kind of messy, it is smooth with no visible grind marks, so I would they are good welds. With a gallon of water weighing in around 8.4lbs (I could only imagine how much a gallon of wort weighs) I would be careful trying to lift this much in any way, not just by the handle. Drilling holes too close to the top will result in an even weaker load point. If possible, build a stand or have it on a counter/stove top to reduce the amount of weight you have to lift. It will make filling more challenging, but save any equipment damage or bodily harm. Edit: replied before I posted this saying how you are moving it... that makes things trickier.
If you need to lift it (and already built a lift), is there any way you can fabricate something that fits under the bottom of the kettle so you can attach your lift to that and bypass the handles?
I built a platform with eye hooks but realized it would get in the way so using the handles is the easiest way.
I also mash inside and boil outside. I drain the mash into my plastic fermenting bucket and move it to the kettle outside. Then, I drain the mashout runnings and move it to the kettle outside. I know that the handle on my bucket can bear 5 full gallons. I can also split the mashout collection into two collections so I never need to move more than 2.5 gallons at once.
I ended up buying a gambrel deer hoist. Filled the kettle with 15 gals water and lifted it with no issues.
There is an easy solution to this: Use a small kettle (1-2 gal) to collect the wort, then walk it outside to your brew kettle that's already in place on the burner. This is my method; to boil 7 gal of wort I'll empty about 7 small kettles into the Big Boy . . . never picking up more than about 12 lbs. Another big benefit is you'll fire up the brew kettle immediately (first gal of wort), so temp is rising while the lauter is still taking place. Once I get the last amount transferred my wort is in the 190 - 200° range. Using this technique encourages a slow lauter (better efficiency) because you're not losing any time waiting to start the boil.
