Having sold off or given away my entire brew house over the last four years, including all of my labware (I just did not have the space to store equipment, let alone brew), I am now in the planning stage for yet another brew house. The are more options than there were in 2016. I have been contemplating buying a kettle with TC fittings just for the ease of cleaning. However, they are spendy for a guy who mainly brews 2.5 and 3 finished gallon batches (2.5 and 3-gallon soda kegs are my preference). The homebrew trade is still focused on 10 gallons as being the minimum kettle size, so getting a kettle that can do half and slightly larger than half 5-gallon batches where the thermometer port is submerged is challenge. Spike is the only kettle manufacturer that places the thermometer port low enough on a 10-gallon kettle to be usable in a half-batch. I had a sanity welder weld a coupler for a ball valve on a 27-quart Vollrath Optio stockpot that I used for most of my batches in my last brewhouse. I eventually broke down and purchased a BrewBuilt 10-gallon kettle for the occasional 5-gallon batch. I may get a sanity welder to make a custom kettle. There are stainless welders in my area.