using titanium?

So, I can get 2 - 18 inch squares of titanium perf with 3/32 holes for free! My question is there any reason I can't use them to make false bottoms for my keggle projects instead of buying stainless?

Also, can you weld stainless hinges to titanium?

Wow thats uncharted territory there for sure... I'm sure you could weld hinges to it, but wouldnt the filler have to be some sort of titanium base? Man thats a good question... Definitely interested in this one.

Free is a good price! But welding Ti can be tricky from what I understand....and most general welders probably don't usually work with it unless they are in the aircraft biz. GreenMonti might be able to comment....

Could you use it elsewhere in your build? Like a decorative work surface? Drip tray? Maybe sell them and get a purpose built SS one with hinges?

You can bolt the hinges on. What will you use to cut the titanium to shape?

Titanium reacts a lot to whatever you put in its environment, I don't know how wort pH would affect it, but it certainly is possible.

Edit: I would also worry about cleaning it for the same reason. Ti rings / jewelry get that really great patina, but you don't want your brew kettle to have crap like that that you can't wash out.

Actually titanium is highly inert and corrosion resistant. For example, it is used to make deep sea diving knives for this very reason instead of stainless steel. Another use for titanium is prosthetic joints. Usually titanium comes in alloy form, such as 6Al4V, which means 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. I believe it retains its corrosion resistance since it's an alloy.

I think the biggest hurdle here is working the material. I say go for it, though, titanium is beautiful.

Bolting IS probably your best bet. Stainless-hinges.com is everywhere you wanna be! I do know that Ti can be brittle....I would hate to see you damage it by welding with it.

Titanium gets welded in a vacuum, from what I remember of working in a bike shop. It's not cheap, and it's not easy.

You need to know what alloy of Ti you are working with. Titanium it self is a poor material, it has to be alloyed with something to be useful. A lot of the titanium i have seen is actually a steel alloy with a large portion (like 20%) of Titanium.

While titanium is sold as the perfect metal, it has the potential to be great, but also can be junk, all depends on the alloy and the application.

As mentioned, titanium is a pain to work with, but should make a great false bottom. You could make a two piece false bottom like I did to avoid the need to weld or bolt anything to it.

Mine's SS, but you get the idea-

Titanium can be welded in a normal shop. Though I think my father had a job one time where he did some Ti welding in an Argon filled chamber. Just have to keep it away from anything non-inert.

Like orangehero said, it's very inert and corrosion resistant. It will be fine until you get up to about 800-1000 degrees F I believe, at that point it becomes very reactive. Should work out fine for any part of a brew setup.

Woops! Guess I was wrong, sorry.

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I work in a fairly well equipped fab shop, but we don't work with a whole lot of titanium, this was left over from a job, just happened I was talking about ordering some stainless perf, and my boss said hey, we got some Ti perf in the back.

Thanks for the pics juan, I think I'm gonna "borrow" your idea.

lmnop said:

Titanium reacts a lot to whatever you put in its environment, I don't know how wort pH would affect it, but it certainly is possible.

Edit: I would also worry about cleaning it for the same reason. Ti rings / jewelry get that really great patina, but you don't want your brew kettle to have crap like that that you can't wash out.

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This is not accurate. I am allergic to metals and have to have anything i'm in contact with be non-reactive, hence why my wedding ring and glasses are Ti. They won't corrode or react with my skin. Got some nasty sores from a few pairs of glasses back in the old days.

orangehero said:

Actually titanium is highly inert and corrosion resistant. For example, it is used to make deep sea diving knives for this very reason instead of stainless steel. Another use for titanium is prosthetic joints. Usually titanium comes in alloy form, such as 6Al4V, which means 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. I believe it retains its corrosion resistance since it's an alloy.

I think the biggest hurdle here is working the material. I say go for it, though, titanium is beautiful.

Click to expand...

yes, this.

ScubaSteve said:

Bolting IS probably your best bet. Stainless-hinges.com is everywhere you wanna be! I do know that Ti can be brittle....I would hate to see you damage it by welding with it.

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Love this idea! Bolt-on stainless and some artful cutting will dominate this project.

Good looking out on scoring free metal. Wish my boss was as generous. All i got were a few stainless fender washers.

rerobb said:

So, I can get 2 - 18 inch squares of titanium perf with 3/32 holes for free! My question is there any reason I can't use them to make false bottoms for my keggle projects instead of buying stainless?

Also, can you weld stainless hinges to titanium?

Click to expand...

Stainless steel cannot be welded to Titanium.
They are incompatible when it comes to joining with welding.
The general rule is that ferrous(containing iron)metals cannot be welded to non-ferrous metals.
Stainless is a ferrous metal. Titanium is non-ferrous.