Pot welding

LuellingBrew said:

My father in law and I drilled holes and welded fittings into my brew pots. Question is 1.) do I need to grind the weld on the inside of the pot? 2.) do I need to polish it? 3.) what about the outside? Are these questions of aesthetics and not functionality and sanitary?

Thank you,
Aaron

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audger said:

if you are welding sanitary connections that would need to be nsf rated (like for a commercial brewery), yes you would need to weld both sides, gas purged, and have the welds polished to prevent the buildup of crud and bacteria.

For our purposes, most people dont go thru this whole procedure and spend the extra time or money to do it. Its certainly a good thing, but the downsides of not doing it can be pretty easily mitigated. You dont really have to worry about it in your boil kettle because it will be sanitized while boiling.

The mash tun, however, could be affected by bacteria durring the mash, so making sure you clean around the welds every time is a good idea. I dont have completely sanitary welds and i have never had a problem (that i noticed). Lactobacilius bacteria do not get destroyed at 150-160 degrees, so they can live thru a mash and give you some off flavors. Normal cleaning procedures will usually take care of that. Pbw or oxiclean will kill most bacteria.

The outside is completely up to you (aesthetics only).

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audger said:

if you are welding sanitary connections that would need to be NSF rated (like for a commercial brewery), yes you would need to weld both sides, gas purged, and have the welds polished to prevent the buildup of crud and bacteria.

for our purposes, most people dont go thru this whole procedure and spend the extra time or money to do it. its certainly a good thing, but the downsides of not doing it can be pretty easily mitigated. you dont really have to worry about it in your boil kettle because it will be sanitized while boiling.

the mash tun, however, could be affected by bacteria durring the mash, so making sure you clean around the welds every time is a good idea. i dont have completely sanitary welds and i have never had a problem (that i noticed). lactobacilius bacteria do not get destroyed at 150-160 degrees, so they can live thru a mash and give you some off flavors. normal cleaning procedures will usually take care of that. PBW or oxiclean will kill most bacteria.

the outside is completely up to you (aesthetics only).

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deremer said:

I have had a problem with a sour taste in my last 4 batches I have made. I have changed out every thing that touches my wort post boil. Is it possible that I beveloped a bacteria in my plastic mash tun that is giving me this bad taste and smell. I usually just rinse and dry my mash tun. There is no smell or any other thing out of the ordinay with my MLT. And will a soaking of Starsan or Idiopher take care of this, and which one would be better?

Sorry for barging in on your post but I need some help.

Ben

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