15.5 gallon/half barrel eKettle question

I just picked up a 15.5 gallon/half barrel kettle with one 1/2" welded fitting. Now that I have it home I am dreading the drilling for the heating element and temperature probe. I am not too worried about the hole for the probe. What I am concerned about is the 1-1/4" hole, will my Greenlee punch be able to do the job?

If it works on a blichmann it will work on a keg, I believe their the same gauge stainless.

wildwest450 said:

If it works on a blichmann it will work on a keg, I believe their the same gauge stainless.

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I've never seen a Blichmann in person so I'll have to take your word for it. I guess I'll find out one way or the other later tonight.

PS ... Whenever you share your experience and give advice it is always greatly appreciated Wildwest. But I am always so (pleasantly) distracted by your avatar that I have a hard time focusing on your posts. I've probably seen it a thousand times, but it draws me in like a tractor beam every time it's within my field of view.

Wow, this keg is bomb proof! In over 30 minutes of drilling I have broke 2 drill bits and created little more than a perceptible dimple in the stainless steel. Any advice would be appreciated.

Try a "knockout punch". The linked knockout punch is what I got for my element: Camco #02963 5500W 240VAC ultra low watt density (ULWD) RIPP element...

YMMV and good luck!

Use some drilling oil, or vegetable oil, or canola oil. Any oil helps cutting stainless. And don't use to fast RPM's, steady pressure and slower RPM's work better.

Are you talking about a greenlee step bit?
If so, you really want to use a knockout punch for this. A step bit will leave a messy hole. Have you read through Kal's site about punching holes in kettles? If not, its really helpful. I've successfully made holes in kettles now using his techniques and I can tell you that it works well.

You'll want to use a step bit to get the initial smaller hole drilled before using the knockout punch. As mentioned, definitely use oil and go with slower RPMs.

As usual, I over looked the blatantly obvious, a new bit solved the problem. But ... I can say with absolute certainty that a 1-1/4" Greenlee chassis punch will go through a keggle with surprising ease. Everything is assembled and I am planning a water test tomorrow. If all goes well I'll post some photos of my new baby.

You got to be very careful, if you generate to much heat at the drilling spot you'll "work harden" the area and you'll never get that drill through there. Like others have said, it's slow slow, lots of pressure and oil. There's no real substitute for cutting oil, but other oils will do in a pinch. A pilot hole is also a good idea.

pickles said:

You got to be very careful, if you generate to much heat at the drilling spot you'll "work harden" the area and you'll never get that drill through there. Like others have said, it's slow slow, lots of pressure and oil. There's no real substitute for cutting oil, but other oils will do in a pinch. A pilot hole is also a good idea.

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Dang Pickles! I just checked out your rig and it is sweet as hades!

Congrats on the giant hole in your keg, stare at the girls, stare at the girls....


_

Thanks, it took me two years to build cause i couldnt focus thanks to those pesky "girls" Wildwest has!

pickles said:

You got to be very careful, if you generate to much heat at the drilling spot you'll "work harden" the area and you'll never get that drill through there. Like others have said, it's slow slow, lots of pressure and oil. There's no real substitute for cutting oil, but other oils will do in a pinch. A pilot hole is also a good idea.

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Yeah, I did this recently trying to put a 1/2" hole in the keg. Said "screw it" and drilled at full speed, no coolant. Drill bit got halfway through and stopped going. I put some water on the hole and forced the drill through, (took a lot of effort), got my hole, but now the drill bit is hosed, (tip is discolored from the heat, it's so dull I had a tough time drilling copper with it last night).

Slow, with pressure, as I'd done it in the past, and even with just a trickle of water from a garden hose works great. Don't be impatient and try to rush it like me.

My Knockout punch had no problem going through my keg. However, requires a little elbow grease when you've managed about halfway through.

I used a cheap Harbor Freight step bit on my HLT keg and my 62qt SS Bayou Classic boil kettle to drill both the spigot and element holes. The keg was a freebie so I wasn't too worried about screwing it up. I was surprised how clean of a hole I was able to make using the cheap step bit.

When I was close to the 1 1/4" step, I would stop and insert the element until I could almost screw it in. Because the step bit creates a bevel, you need to finish the hole with a metal file or dremal tool for it to be perfect.

The 62qt Bayou cost actual money and is much thinner metal. I used the same technique as the keg, but it was a messier hole and the dremal was a must. Also, because of the thin metal, it dimpled around the hole. I had to hammer it a little to get it close to flush.

Both elements were attached using Kal's technique and are luckily 100% water tight.

If I had to do it again, I would buy the punch tool. It's far too easy to mess it up using a step bit.