Drilling your stainless pot...

Im sure alot of you guys have probably drilled your own holes in your pots. Any tips or tricks for doing this. I dont want to F up a $100 pot .

The consensus is pretty much to use a lot of pressure and use a slower speed on your drill. You don't want the steel to heat up. Try to keep some oil on the bit.

I've pretty much used most of my bodyweight to get the holes drilled into my keg.

Yeah, I think im going to ask some of the sheet metal guys at work tomorrow about it. Maybe they can do it for me.

'Chassis punch, or "Donkey punch". You drill a 3/8 hole, bolt one piec of the punch to each side, tightn the bolt. If the sheet metal guys have one the right size.

There's lot of different stainless's, Some drill easy, some don't. Sharp bit, oil, push hard.

casebrew said:

'Chassis punch, or "Donkey punch". You drill a 3/8 hole, bolt one piec of the punch to each side, tightn the bolt. If the sheet metal guys have one the right size.

There's lot of different stainless's, Some drill easy, some don't. Sharp bit, oil, push hard.

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OK, when I called it a Donkey Punch, it was a joke. A Donkey Punch is something much different.

LOL......I was thinking that about the "donkey punch"

Do yall use solid bits, or hole saws? I used a 1" hole saw on my mash tuns... plastic is easier to hole saw....

Pol

I used a step drill bit, slow speed, and cutting oil and it went like clock work on a Sanke keg. Green Lee makes a slug punch for about $25 You can find those at most hardware stores in the electrical section. Those slug punches http://www.greenlee.com/cat_docs/Holemaking_07.pdf will work nice too but for as easy as the step bit worked and other uses I have for it I'd say get yourself one of those, a little 3 in 1 Machine Oil. Just to be on the safe side you'll probably want to repassivate the stainless where you drilled and heated it up; you want that chromium oxide layer present so use a little Bar Keepers Friend powder and make a paste and repassivate and you'll be set.
runhard, raceEZ.....oh heck who am I kidding I'm retired from racing. Drink more beer.
Jeffrey

How far off the bottom is a good idea to drill your drain hole?

I guess it depends on what the pot will be used for. Is it to be a boil kettle or a mash tun with a false bottom and siphon tube. That might make a difference as to where you want to drill. In my previous set of pots I drilled with the center at 1 1/2 inches from the bottom and I used that step bit to make a 3/4" hole but I'm certain that others have other ideas.

Its going to be used for a boil kettle.

well I'm going to be drilling my 10 gallon pot this weekend and installing a bulkhead and valve. Step drill and some oil should work for me. I'm also using a bazooka screen so my hole will be right at the bottom of the kettle.

The problem with bazookas is they don't allow for a dip tube. You'll leave wort as soon as the level drops to the top of the bulkhead, or slightly lower after gurgling. If you want to get it all, you have to tip the pot towards the bulkhead.

Bobby_M said:

The problem with bazookas is they don't allow for a dip tube. You'll leave wort as soon as the level drops to the top of the bulkhead, or slightly lower after gurgling. If you want to get it all, you have to tip the pot towards the bulkhead.

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Yeah, it's not perfect but it works for now..the wort I lose this way will be a lot less than I lost on my last brew with my regular old siphon..probably at least 1/2 gallon. Man I hate pellets! I figure down the road I will get a keg, hopstopper, plate chiller setup. For now this will be good.


DAn

I have drilled a lot of holes and tried many different things and I have found the thing that works the best is cold water. Just run a hose over the area you are drilling to keep it from getting hot. It works better then oil because oil gets hot and it is a ***** to clean off of your stainless pot.

A Bi-metal hole saw will cut right through stainless in no time as long as the metal stays cool, the second it gets hot you have just hardend it and then its tough to drill through.

Monster Mash said:

the second it gets hot you have just hardend it and then its tough to drill through.

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So it hardens when you put it on the burner, right?

Willsellout said:

well I'm going to be drilling my 10 gallon pot this weekend and installing a bulkhead and valve. Step drill and some oil should work for me. I'm also using a bazooka screen so my hole will be right at the bottom of the kettle.

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Same setup im going ot be going for basicly. Going to order a bazooka tube too.

Willsellout said:

Yeah, it's not perfect but it works for now..the wort I lose this way will be a lot less than I lost on my last brew with my regular old siphon..probably at least 1/2 gallon. Man I hate pellets! I figure down the road I will get a keg, hopstopper, plate chiller setup. For now this will be good.


DAn

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Why siphon? I just use a funnel with a screen in it and pour the wort into the carboy. I hardly loose any wort this way.

shlap said:

Why siphon? I just use a funnel with a screen in it and pour the wort into the carboy. I hardly loose any wort this way.

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I for one am too old and feeble to be lifting 5 to 10 gallons of wort in a stainless steel keg and gently pouring into a funnel. Especially without spilling.

evanmars said:

I for one am too old and feeble to be lifting 5 to 10 gallons of wort in a stainless steel keg and gently pouring into a funnel. Especially without spilling.

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+1. It's easier, simpler and less chance of me dropping or spilling.



Dan

I used the bazooka t for a bit and had serious problems trying to drain after the boil. Using a stainless braid worked a lot better.
Altho if you are using an imersion chiller not such a big deal, with a counter flow 25 minutes to drain the ketttle can be a problem.

shlap said:

Why siphon? I just use a funnel with a screen in it and pour the wort into the carboy. I hardly loose any wort this way.

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I agree with shlap... just pour it out. I had thought about doing the spigot on my kettle and getting fancy, but sometimes simple is just better. Plus if I 'F' up my kettle I'll be wicked mad @ myself.

I just got my 30qt. brew pot in the mail today..and last night i was reading everyones advice on how to drill stainless..well i started with a 1/8 bit for a pilot then i found a step bit that i had buried in my tool box. it took me less than 5 minutes to do the whole job..by the way just running cold water over it and running the drill very slow seems to do the trick.no heat whatsoever...

I've drilled my stainless keggle and have tapped threads in all kinds of metals.

I've always used a hole saw with a pilot bit and applied oil during the cut (you will need to wash the kettle to remove the filings anyway).

I disagree with the posts that say to use a lot of pressure. I only use as much pressure as it takes to keep the tool cutting and removing material. LET THE TOOL DO THE WORK!

As for tapping, I start the tap as level as possible and cut till I feel resistance, then back out the tap to remove the filings and repeat the procedure until I'm through. Rushing the thread cutting will most likely result in breaking the tap off in the hole.