Hi everyone,

Welcome to Part 4.

The previous posts are:

Part 1 - Introduction
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-1-introduction-129652/

Part 2 - The Grain Mill
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-2-grain-mill-129770/

Part 3 - The Mash/LauterTun
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-3-mash-lautertun-129913/


So I used 2 50L kegs to make both the HLT and the kettle. I was frustrated at first by the difficulty trying to obtain used kegs. Finally I contacted a craft brewer who was happy to help. The SS valves and fittings were purchased from Bargain Fittings, along with the sight glass on the HLT.

Now to cut the opening on the top of the kegs, I followed BobbyM's post where he makes a custom jig to hold and use an angle grinder to cut open the top of the keg. It took no more then 15 minutes to cut the openings for both kegs. Here's the YouTube video:



I used the angle grinder with a sanding wheel to dull down the edges of the opening after all the cutting was done.

To drill the holes for the valves I used a step drill bit with drilling oil (highly recommended to use oil). The hole for the temperature probe was much bigger then my step bit, so I had to use a bi-metal hole saw. Both bits worked very well. I must say though that the bi-metal bit was faster at drilling trough the keg.

Once the holes were drilled everything was straight forward. It was just a matter of attaching everything to the HLT and Kettle.

Here's the HLT:

ESB_HLT_whole.jpg

And here's the Keggle:

ESB_keggle_whole.jpg