Soldering Stainless steel

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Anyone done with with 2" triclamp ferules? If so what size hole did you use and what size fittings did you use to make the hole.
 
Anyone done with with 2" triclamp ferules? If so what size hole did you use and what size fittings did you use to make the hole.

You could try a 2"OD concentric reducer or a 1-1/2 Pipe size reducer that has an OD of about 1.90. The pipe size concentric reducer would definitely be cheaper than the tube conc.
 
Ok I apologize, but I'm looking to purchase punches for my new automated setup. I've used a step bit in the past but will likely be using thin walled kettles and feel a punch would be preferred.

I know that a 1/2" Greenlee punch makes 7/8" hole which works for the 1/2" couplings. My issue comes to the size hole for the 1" half coupling, I've read reference to habor freight punches, but I can't determine if that is for weldless use or dimpling/coupling. What would be the Greenlee model number for 1/2" and 1" coupling dimples. It would be great to have these, as well as usable solder/flux in first page. :)

Squeeky
 
Everbody has a different take on this, so I thought I throw out mine.

I'm way to cheap to buy anything, so I built a dimple maker out of 2 sockets and bolt.

Drilled a 1/2" hole with a step bit, pulled the dimple, and ran 3/4 ridged copper pipe through and soldered.

Attach fitting of your choice to pipe.

13mm kobalt 1/2 drive socket makes the dimple

24mm socket, bolt, washers, nut yada yada yada

don't pull it all the way through it will be too loose

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If you don't mind like to stick my two cents in.

I have used silver solder for several years, some for fittings on stainless steel gas tanks, and a few custom fittings for brewers. There are several good brands myself I like sta-brite solder and acid.

For a tool I have found that a large very large Iron the one I have a present is 150 watt. I found better control and less of change of overheating like with a torch.

Just my two cents

Swagman:cool:

I love sta-brite, used a lot of Sta-Brite #8 in HVAC.
 
I finally got around to soldering the "welding spud" I bought a while back from Brewhardware.com on to my HLT. It was a lot easier to do than I thought and seems to be very strong. I should have done it months ago instead of putting off.

I used the Harris Staybrite kit mentioned many times here -- bought it off ebay. This solder performed fantastic using just a propane torch (with a left-over camping bottle). To make the hole I used TiN drill bits and my collection of Harbor Freight step bits, finishing with the big 'n.

I wound the solder around the boss several times and rested the spud onto the pot with the hole up. Then I heated it from the top as well as a little from the bottom. The solder melted and wicked great. It wet perfect on the inside wall and formed a real nice looking fillet seal around the boss. On the outside, the fillet mostly formed around the spud but left some gaps on the edge where the tank wall curves away from the spud. I even pounded the tank a bit during preparation but I guess it could have used some more. If I did it again I'd wind the solder the full width of the flange. Nevertheless the joint was liquid tight and strong enough to hold up to some moderate wrenching torque.

I'm using this for a digital probe thermometer in my HLT in conjunction with this other fitting rig from BrewHardware.com. I'm real happy with the result.

I also noticed that with a 1/2" male NPT fitting installed on the outside, you can still get another 1/2" male NPT fitting to thread on the inside. You don't get a lot of threads/turns but it seems like it would be enough for a pickup tube.

These spuds are definitely the way to go. I'll be ordering more now for sure. I say to heck with couplers and weldless kits. I do have the McMaster fitting rig for the 'dimpling tool' too but never used it since the couplers I ended up with were too big OD. I probably won't ever use it and just stick with the spuds.
 
^^^^^
I just ordered the compression fitting and Thermometer to make this setup for my chilled wort output! Should deliver tomorrow actually! BobbyM is the man! He is still playing catch up from Hurricane Sandy and still got my order to me in time for brew day on Saturday!
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I am using the hose barb setup on mine because I had one laying around. My only thought is that I may need to put a ball valve on the out-flow to slightly restrict wort flow to ensure the thermometer probe is in contact with chilled wort. Or, I could just slightly squeeze the silicone tube and achieve the same thing I guess...
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions, pointers & tips throughout this thread!! I have soldered in some fittings on my brew kettle and it looks great!
 
Hey guys, how important is it to use stay-brite 8 vs just stay-brite solder? I ordered some stay-brite on eBay without realizing the difference. I think I read a post or two that said it worked well. I did get the stay clean liquid flux.
 
Hey guys, how important is it to use stay-brite 8 vs just stay-brite solder? I ordered some stay-brite on eBay without realizing the difference. I think I read a post or two that said it worked well. I did get the stay clean liquid flux.
No problem at all. The Stay-Brite 8 just has a a greater liquid temperature range. Both of them can and will perform well and do the job.

P-J
 
No problem at all. The Stay-Brite 8 just has a greater liquid temperature range. Both of them can and will perform well and do the job.

P-J

Phew, I'm relieved. Thanks P-J!

Thanks to this thread and some other related ones I've got a dimple ready for an element coupling and I've decided to convert all my weldless to soldered.

I'm looking forward to it!
 
This thread has to be one of the most valuable on the forum. If you can learn to solder your own fittings, you can pretty much make your own custom system at the cost of the fittings. Too bad it won't work for vessels under pressure, etc. but then again, I wouldn't trust my own skills doing something like that anyway :)
 
I've never been happy with my aeration stone with its barb attached to a hose. I already have a nice SS racking cane and plenty of left over Stay Brite / Stay Clean, so I figured I'd try sticking some copper tubing on to the stone. The tubing ID fit right over the SS barb and to my good fortune the OD perfectly fit inside the ID in the stone.

I actually used a Harbor Freight soldering gun and not a torch on this one. I read in this forum (I think) of someone getting a gun to work. I was surprised it worked so well. I cleaned it up with some 600 grit sand paper and it turned out looking pretty good.

Now I can easily connect this thing using a push-connect fitting that I already had to my long SS racking cane and aerate away! Looking forward to using it next brew day. Check it out:

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I got to practice for my first time on this today with a stainless washer and brass fitting. I discovered that a loop of 1/8" solder is probably a bit much, as did another member here. The joint was not super tight and the solder ran through it in one spot pretty bad but otherwise I'm surprised to find that it wasn't all that difficult after following in everyone's footsteps. Thanks for the great thread.

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Ok, I ran into a problem trying to get my coupling into my dimple for my element. I used the 1-1/4" hole I had, a 1x1-1/4" welding reducer and started with a 1" coupling I got on Amazon. I didn't check the sizes and the coupling is way too small for the hole I made. I then bought a coupler from McMaster-Carr and it's too big. Lesson learned and $'s spent.

I tried pulling it through and it bent a strong bracket I was using for a washer on the receiving end. It didn't go in at all and I was worried to try anymore. So, what are my best options?

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I just finished reading this entire thread, and my eyes are burning.

First let me say thanks to all the people that posted great instructions and pictures of the whole process. I now feel very confident in trying this myself and can't wait to do it. However, I still have some questions and need some clarification.

1. Through all the reading, I saw that people were using different diameters of the Harris Stay-Brite 8. The two popular ones I saw were 1/8 and 1/16. Is there a common consensus on which one to use?

2. Planning on making the keg tool from nostalgia instructions, and from what I have read, I should really go with the 9/16" bolt, but I can not for the life of me find a 9/16" bolt fully threaded. Where are people finding these bolts, or does it really even matter if it is fully threaded?

3. For my temperature probes and heat elements, I'll be using 1/4" and 1" welding spuds from Amazon and BrewHardware, but I'm not really sure how to silver solder these. Is it just the same process as the couplers? I've read that you don't need to dimple your holes for the welding spuds, so how do you make the welding spud stay in place while you solder it? Also Bobby mentions that you need to make a hole size of 1-9/16" for the 1" spud, but doesn't say what size hole you need to make for the 1/4" spud. Does any one know?
 
The spuds are super easy. No dimpling is needed. Drilling the hole was more of a pain for me than the soldering. I've had more trouble installing weldless kits.

To prepare for soldering, simply wind the Stay Brite around the boss of the spud overlapping on each turn, like a clock spring. Wind all the way to the edge of the flange. You basically want solder fully covering the back face of the spud where it contacts the outer tank wall.

Liberally apply the flux on all surfaces you want the solder to stick to. (This stuff is pretty strong. Wear proper PPE. You may notice it bubbling/fizzing.)

With the hole in the vessel facing up, rest the spud in the hole, with the solder sandwiched in between. Gravity is all you need... nothing else is needed to keep it in place.

Light your torch and start heating. You mostly want to heat from the top, and mostly on the spud... but really just keep the torch moving. Don't overthink it. The flux will boil and turn black and then magically the solder will melt and the spud will sink down nicely on to the vessel. Don't over do it. Once it sweats all around you are pretty much done.

After it cools down you will be ecstatic once you see how nice the bead fillet is on the inside.

1. You'll be good with the regular Stay Brite. The flux+solder kit is more than enough for your homebrew projects. I'm pretty sure it's 1/16.

2. I had the same issue with the bolt. I wish I ordered it from McMaster when I ordered the tool parts. I figured I'd go to HD and get one. FAIL. That and my issue with too large & too small couplers is why I abandoned the dimpling method at this time and went with spuds.

3. Not sure on the 1/4" spud but you are pretty much in drill bit range on that, so I'd just get the spud in hand and select the smallest bit that exceeds the OD of the boss.
 
The spuds are super easy. No dimpling is needed. Drilling the hole was more of a pain for me than the soldering. I've had more trouble installing weldless kits.

To prepare for soldering, simply wind the Stay Brite around the boss of the spud overlapping on each turn, like a clock spring. Wind all the way to the edge of the flange. You basically want solder fully covering the back face of the spud where it contacts the outer tank wall.

Liberally apply the flux on all surfaces you want the solder to stick to. (This stuff is pretty strong. Wear proper PPE. You may notice it bubbling/fizzing.)

With the hole in the vessel facing up, rest the spud in the hole, with the solder sandwiched in between. Gravity is all you need... nothing else is needed to keep it in place.

Light your torch and start heating. You mostly want to heat from the top, and mostly on the spud... but really just keep the torch moving. Don't overthink it. The flux will boil and turn black and then magically the solder will melt and the spud will sink down nicely on to the vessel. Don't over do it. Once it sweats all around you are pretty much done.

After it cools down you will be ecstatic once you see how nice the bead fillet is on the inside.

1. You'll be good with the regular Stay Brite. The flux+solder kit is more than enough for your homebrew projects. I'm pretty sure it's 1/16.

2. I had the same issue with the bolt. I wish I ordered it from McMaster when I ordered the tool parts. I figured I'd go to HD and get one. FAIL. That and my issue with too large & too small couplers is why I abandoned the dimpling method at this time and went with spuds.

3. Not sure on the 1/4" spud but you are pretty much in drill bit range on that, so I'd just get the spud in hand and select the smallest bit that exceeds the OD of the boss.

Such a happy story AND all true.
 
2. Planning on making the keg tool from nostalgia instructions, and from what I have read, I should really go with the 9/16" bolt, but I can not for the life of me find a 9/16" bolt fully threaded. Where are people finding these bolts, or does it really even matter if it is fully thread

I use threaded rod that is continuously threaded, just pick up an extra pair of nuts and a washer for the 'bolt' end.

ACE had 12" lengths for $3-6. I'm not sure if HD has short lengths or only 4'&8' you'd need to cut down.
 
Just my opinion guys, but the spuds from brewhardware.com seem like a great solution. Sure dimpling also works really well, but for someone looking to start fittings on a brew rig, the spuds seem great!

On further thought, perhaps the price of spuds vs couplings make dimpling cost effective if you are doing multiple fittings?
 
Spuds are great, their downside is that they are single sided vs. a fitting can be put on each side of the coupling.
 
Don't know how well the threaded rod will work. I have already ruined two bolts doing this there is a lot of tension on them when dempling. I couldn't find the all threaded bolts either so what i did was buy a short and a longer one so I will always have threads to do the job. I use the short one to demple and the longer one to press the fitting into the demple.
 
I picked up a few different lengths of grade 8 bolt to do mine. Yeah, there is some tension, but not a crazy amount. Have you greased the threads? That would go a LONG way in helping not ruin the bolts. Or... go with the highest grade SS bolt you can find and make sure to lube the threads.

Machine bolts, by industry standard, have thread lengths that are something like 2.5 x diameter
 
Well didn't lube the threads that probably would of helped alot. but now I'm done putting fittings on keggles so if I do do this again I'll remember that one.
 
I respectfully disagree that threaded rod won't work well - As long as the diameter is the same, there is no practical difference in how much tension a bolt can take versus threaded rod. I'd also stick to regular steel over stainless because its a little more forgiving and won't come in contact with the kettle wall.
 
I had to go to a hardened bolt to keep from locking the nut onto the bolt due to heat build up when tightening. That's all I am saying. maybe Huaco's idea of lubricating the threads will keep that issue down and threaded rod will work. Good luck with that. I have done over 12 different fittings for the new rig I am building and they seem to have been breaking every 5th time or so of coarse I did not lube the threads.
 
I used threaded rod (although it's 5/8") with no problems. There is no perceivable heat build up of the rod that I can tell, and it goes through with very little effort at all. I had my tool machined so perhaps its the continuous slope that makes it easier to go through.

What size hole are you drilling/cutting?

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So I finally soldered a half coupling in ........backwards. :mad:

I was fiddling with it trying to get it to go in there straight and forgot about the orientation.

So, how to get it out? Heat and tap or something similar?

On the bright side, the fit and solder look good. :p
 
i mark all my half couplings on the end with a sharpee. black side out, always. so i can't eff that up.

as for getting it out, you'll have to do it HOT and use the tool or a hammer to bang it back out. maybe hit it hard with the torch with the jig already in it, and then tighten as it's hot? in electronics solder, they have a desoldering braid, you heat the solder and the braid and it wicks the solder out. something like that may also work?
 
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