Drilling for elements

I almost don't want to share this one, for fear that they'll all disappear before I get one.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/28512100/

Holy crap! Does IKEA ship in the states? Up in Canada they don't offer any sort of shipping whatsoever (or didn't last I checked).

I'd wonder if sink stainless steel is the same density/thickness/hardness as a kettle wall.

Super cool find, most likely!

LOL so it's even available on the Canadian site, $15, but still. I go to check shipping (they suddenly DO ship) and shipping alone for this 1lb item, is $62!

Nearly fell over dead.

Hand delivered by a Swede perhaps.

$62...Wow!
Only $10, here.
But...
I'll pick it up at the store, next time I'm in the neighborhood.

HOLY CRAP. perfect size and everything. 10 bucks!??!?!??

Thanks OP, just bought 2 of them as shipping was $10 for 1 or 2 (didn't try more).

copyright1997 said:

Thanks OP, just bought 2 of them as shipping was $10 for 1 or 2 (didn't try more).

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looks like for quantity: 1 to 5, its $10 shipping.
6+ is $20 shipping

in for 2 thx op

good price if its strong enough...

I got my set of punches at harbor freight. Cheap and worked great.

It says hole diameter 1-1/4 and the problem is that an element needs 1-3/8".

Bobby_M said:

It says hole diameter 1-1/4 and the problem is that an element needs 1-3/8".

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The typical element hole size needed is 1-1/4".

Awesome find.

Kal's site shows hole is 1 1/4 too................

Zoom in to the tool....says 35mm on the side.

35mm = 1.37795276 inches.

Lacks the thrust bearing of a Greenlee, but the price is definitely right.

BK

BK_856er said:

Zoom in to the tool....says 35mm on the side.

35mm = 1.37795276 inches.

Lacks the thrust bearing of a Greenlee, but the price is definitely right.

BK

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Wow, sherlock holmes in the house.

Didn't see one for a 1.5" hole...too bad. Don't see one at harbor freight either.

aquenne said:

Wow, sherlock holmes in the house.

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That made me laugh!

BK

Hmmmm, who makes these?
IMO, and it may or may not be the case here, but cheap tools get cheap results.
Just sayin......

I'm thinking that if it gets 2 element holes made, it has paid for itself.

Psych said:

LOL so it's even available on the Canadian site, $15, but still. I go to check shipping (they suddenly DO ship) and shipping alone for this 1lb item, is $62!

Nearly fell over dead.

Hand delivered by a Swede perhaps.

Click to expand...

I pass my local Ikea several times a week. If you want I can pick one up and ship it to you.

Brickout said:

I pass my local Ikea several times a week. If you want I can pick one up and ship it to you.

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That's OK, but thank you for the offer.

My brother in law lives very close to our nearest Ikea in Vancouver, 300 miles away from me, and I technically don't need to make any more element holes yet.

I definitely want to know if this thing works though!

I would be careful with this guys, a 1-3/8" hole is too large for the weldless mounting of 1" NPS elements.

You will have issues sealing as the hole is basically 1/8" too large, no o'ring will work. I dont want to see anyone ruin a kettle.

One way this would definitely work, is if you are planning to solder/weld a locknut/half coupling to the side of the vessel, then the diameter is far less critical.

1" NPS should be 1.315 OD exactly, but it seems that these elements come in lower to ensure fitment. They typically come with an over sized elastomeric type seal that should work. I would measure your element and seal first and then cut the hole.

I wonder if it can handle the heavier gauge of a keg?

All 1" NPS threads on three different elements I have on the bench are measuring 1.262 to 1.266" across the peaks. I can see how you could thread it into a 1.25" hole in a thinwall pot, or if the actual hole punched is even a hundredth loose, or if you grind it out a touch with a dremel.

My 1" conduit punch actually measures 1.36" so it's not quite 1-3/8". I can see where this could be an issue if you try to use the stock gasket on the element side of the hole. With the oring on the inside behind the locknut shouldn't be a problem.

Well, I bought one & I'll punch a hole in a sheet tonight & post the results, later.

Any updates on if this little nugget works for normal element sizing?

I'm heading out to a city with an IKEA tomorrow and thought I might grab one for keeping on hand if it's usable.

As a possibly useful aside, a 1.375" hole is a good size to drill and then use a tapered butt-weld fitting to do the dimple for a 1.5" tri-clamp ferrule. My elements are in the brewershardware assemblies.

Bumping this up in the hopes that someone who has tested can comment whether it worked for mounting an element or not.

Bought 2 of these after the original posting. I needed 2 holes, and got 2 holes, I would not recommend using the same punch twice on a keggle, might be ok for a thin wall kettle.

The first one punched through ok, but the second I had to reset after it was part way through. Both punches looked a bit rough after the holes were done. On the first one several of the threads were stripped off the bolt, the second one the punch was a a bit chipped up.

As for size, the hole it made was a pefect size to silver solder a nut on, I did not try to mount it as a "weldless fitting" so can't speak to that from experience. Element is not a tight fit in the hole, but it looks like it would be close enough to seal as weldless, just didn't try it.

Cool, thanks for the update.