Need help (heating element installation)

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deranma

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Ok, so I embarked on a journey to install a heating element into my BK to aid in boiling on my stove. I have had a few things change on me in the last few weeks and I now need some expert advice and opinions. So let's dive in,

I tried to solder on a lock nut and was unsuccessful at it and so my pot is all mark up from the heat and also from my idiot friend's husband who thought he could do this better than I could and I regret that decision now. Anyways, my question is, is this pot still useable or is it now a paper weight? If it is useable what is the best way to clean all of that junk off? Same goes for the locknut?

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Still useable. Friend's husband should be used as paperweight.
Swage the hole and solder a fitting on.

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This thread is excellent

Clean the kettle with something acidic such as undiluted Star-San to draw the chromium back to the surface.
 
Swage the hole and solder a fitting on.

question- where the hell do you find a hole swage? (not the dumb multi-step $6 harbor freight ones you have to hammer thru, but the greenlee-style ones you pull a die thru with a bolt) ive been looking for a long while and have resorted to having some machined.
 
It's a 3 step process
drill a pilot hole
punch hole with Greenlee punch
swage with DIY tool

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I'll post the swage tool components in a few minutes
 
3/4" to 1/2" stainless steel butt-weld pipe fitting (McMaster-Carr p/n 45605K711 Link)
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1" stainless socket weld low pressure coupling (McMaster-Carr p/n 4335T64 Link)
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I solder the washers on the fittings
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and use a grade 8 fine thread bolt and nut.
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The bolt needs to be lubricated with an aluminum paste or it will only be good for about 4-5 holes before the threads start to give out.
One other item I added was a bearing to the swage assembly.
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Fully assembled swaging tool:
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is a YouTube video

The video shows the butt-weld fitting being pressed back out. One whack with a hammer is far faster.
 
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The only problem is the hole is 1.25" big. I am just going to hit the area with a dremel or file and then clean it all up with BKF. I thank you for the info, but I am ready to brew and this BK is holding me up.
 
order a Welding Spud from bobbym (brewhardware.com) much easier to solder and will do exactly what you want.
 
Can you use standard flux with this or do you need to purchase liquid flux for it? Any of you guys have a easy how to instructions for this. I am new to the world of soldering and a friend let me borrow his torch and such. Any help is much appreciated.
 
you need an acid-based flux for soldering stainless steel. regular plumbing flux wont work here.
 
With the Welding Spud do you still need to flare the holes? I just don't see that there would be room for too much of a flare..

Anyone have pictures of a welding spud installed and finished up?
 
Can you use standard flux with this or do you need to purchase liquid flux for it? Any of you guys have a easy how to instructions for this. I am new to the world of soldering and a friend let me borrow his torch and such. Any help is much appreciated.

As stated above you can use Stay Clean liquid flux. If you read through the thread One Hoppy Guy mentioned you'll get an idea of how things are soldered on. Rough up the fitting you're soldering and the surface to be soldered, wet both of them down with the flux and drop a ring of solder on the fitting/pot. Start heating up the fitting and the solder will melt and begin to flow. Once it's wicked all the way through the fitting remove the heat and let the pot sit for 5-10mins. Then do a leak test to ensure everything worked. If you're heading to NE Ohio anytime soon I'll be happy to solder a fitting on for you.

With the Welding Spud do you still need to flare the holes? I just don't see that there would be room for too much of a flare.

No flare with a spud.
 
No flare on the spud, Ill take a pic in a little bit and put one up.

No flare with a spud.

Thanks... Does the solder just fill the gap between the surface of the spud and the curvature of the kettle wall?
I think I may be getting a bunch of spuds instead of 1/2" couplers to solder into my keggles... that will save me 35 bucks on rigging out a "keg tool" to flare the keg walls.
 
Only issue I see with that plan is the spuds are the same thread wise as half couplings, so you can only have something connected to one side.
 
Only issue I see with that plan is the spuds are the same thread wise as half couplings, so you can only have something connected to one side.

Good point...
It may only be good to use for the one-sided connections but in places where I need 2-sided connections like HERMS coil, Whirlpool return pipe, etc. Darn... I was hoping to not have to flare the holes... oh well.
 
Thanks guys.............one more question..........will the spud fit in to the hole I drilled which is 1.25"? Might be a dumb question, but I am covering my basis here.
 

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