welded fittings to weldless fittings

Wondering if anybody has cut there welds in there sanke setups to go to weldless fittings. I was shafted by a fab shop because they "apperantley" ss welded my fittings, but the rust on the welds says other wise.

Talking to our welders at work, there is no fixing the rust as it will keep comming back over time if i try and fix it. Its going to be a pain to try and cut the welds off my fittings as i only have a grinder. Is it worth it? or can i try another solution.

I hoping to get bobbys ss weldless fittings if i do decide to cut them.

Thoughts?

Inside or outside of kettle? I had some rusting issues and passivated with BarKeepers Friend and no more rust.

samc said:

Inside or outside of kettle? I had some rusting issues and passivated with BarKeepers Friend and no more rust.

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inside, the rust has messed up some of my batches and not brewing anymore until i fix it.

whats passivated?

You can cut a larger hole and use a larger fitting. Maybe 1" NPT bulkhead Then use a 1/2" adapter?

ElevenBrewCo said:

inside, the rust has messed up some of my batches and not brewing anymore until i fix it.

whats passivated?

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It's a treatment to the SS that oxidizes the chromium and provides stainless with it's non-rusting properties.

Easiest way to passivate is to apply (wet) bar keepers friend for about 15 minutes.

That may take care of the issue.

unless they actually did use non-stainless filler material in the weld. in which case you have to cut it all out (or have it plated or something) to stop the rusting.

if its just a passivation issue, then yes get some barkeepers friend. polish off the rust with something abrasive and leave a paste of barkeepers friend + water on there afterwards for 10-20 min.

il see what i can do, may just go the weldless route so i dont have to deal with this crap anymore.

im not 100% sure on how ss is constructed but im concerned if i am grinding on the inside of the keg. By cutting the welds and griding away to make it all flat again, am i taking off any "coating" that will cause in inside of the keg to rust?