Building stainless pots

Shawnben · 02-13-2009, 11:07 PM

I got pieces of 16" dia. stainless pipe from work. The finish is dull shot peened or sand blasted look. Do I have to polish the inside smooth?

**Derrin** · 02-13-2009, 11:14 PM

I would just to make them easier to clean. I have B3 HD kettles and they have a heavy brushed finish and it's not as easy to clean as the smooth finish I used to have.

**BrewBeemer** · 02-14-2009, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnben

I got pieces of 16" dia. stainless pipe from work. The finish is dull shot peened or sand blasted look. Do I have to polish the inside smooth?

The good thing the material was free, congrats. I hope you have a means to cut it to the volume of pots you want for your planned brewery system. What is the wall thickness? Sanding the interior smooth will help you clean them as posted above. The down sides you'll have over 50" of Tig welding per/pot times three so there is some time and materials involved. Argon or Tri-Mix gas, filler rod and the welders time to weld a bottom disk to them. My thinking this open 16" diameter pot you want to build will have a open surface area of 188.69 sq/inch using 1/4" wall thickness as an example. With this large of a open surface area you'll have a higher boil off rate vs a 12" or even a 10" openings cut into a 15.5 keg top.
You must weigh a freebie item vs something like a basic kegs price to achieve the same end product or result is what your after. Weigh in all options before going forward as this is a hobby that has bottomless spending involved. You should throttle your wallet to your needs and wants. Best to read up and follow ideas on different forums but this is the best one bar none. Hey welcome to this great hobby.

Shawnben · 02-14-2009, 12:23 PM

The pots are cut 20" deep. Wall thicknes is between 1/8 and 1/4. I believe it is .160" and the bottom is thinner made from 14 gauge stainless sheet metal. Guy's at work tig welded them for me and put in nipples for valves and temp gauge. Also put some handles on them for me. Total Cost 1 dozen dounuts. I would have made them out of Kegs but they are not easy to come by. As for the top opening I guess I can get lids made. But I was wondering if the texture on the inside would collect bacteria?

mykayel · 02-14-2009, 12:50 PM

These are for your boil pots... everything will be steralized by the end the boil. Technically speaking, your mash tun and hot liquor tank do not need to be sanatized as the next step is the boil which will kill anything that is in there. So the only issue as far as the surface goes, is cleaning them after you're done brewing.

**bad coffee** · 02-14-2009, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnben

Guy's at work tig welded them for me and put in nipples for valves and temp gauge. Also put some handles on them for me. Total Cost 1 dozen dounuts.

Isn't the barter system great!

I'd take some steel wool/brillo to the pot before you boil wort in it. Then boil full of water and rinse well.

Enjoy the cheap ~5 gallon pot

**Bobby_M** · 02-14-2009, 02:44 PM

3M pad yes, steel wool no. You'll embed micro particles of iron and you'll have speckled rust for long time.

Note...pics of these awesome DIY pots or GTFO.

**BrewBeemer** · 02-16-2009, 11:55 AM

It sounds like you paid too much for them. Hey congrats, the rewards of a construction site with good people of different trades to work around. Plus at the right place at the right time. I must ask, what are they using 16" SS for?

If you fill to 18" or 2" from the top your going to have 15.046 gallons.
To the brim which is not practical or possible your maxed out at 16.72 gallons.
Your plan of a maximum 10 to 12 gallon batches allowing a little loss and spills? A couple gallons for boil off plus loss in general? Your going to have a rise of 1.196" per/gallon not counting thermal expansion volume.
My thinking if they were made 25" tall the boil kettle you can boil and ferment plus trub dump a couple times and still end up with 15 gallons or 3 corny's filled a full 5 gallons each. The reason i'm going with these large volume figures I like Imperial Stouts that take a large grain MLT volume and boil to net 15 gallons or 3 corny's full at the end.

**Seabee John** · 02-16-2009, 02:30 PM

PIC's please.... nah... screw that... I DEMAND pics....NOW!

brown_dog_us · 02-16-2009, 04:31 PM

My uncle made me a pot from a pipe like this when I first started brewing. It worked great except for the handles. Mine didn't have any.

btw, mine came form a nuclear power plant.