SixFoFalcon
Well-Known Member
OK, so I bought a keggle on eBay a while ago, and I just got around to cleaning it up and checking it for leaks. Upon close inspection, the welding job they did on the 1/2" bung fitting is not very good. There is virtually no penetration on the interior weld (very spotty) and the exterior weld is not that great either. I'm thinking they should have pre-heated the fitting with a torch prior to laying the beads, since it's so much thicker than the keg sheet metal.
At any rate, I'd be willing to forgive the crappy welds if the thing was at least water-tight, but it's not. There is a void in the weld and water seeps right through. I'm trying to contact the eBay seller to try to come up with some sort of solution (either a replacement keggle or at least a partial refund).
My main question is how hard is it going to be to repair this thing? Is it even possible to just lay a nice bead over the existing mess? Grinding off the old welds is going to be labor intensive, and it will be difficult to keep from gouging the keg in the process. And I don't really know anyone who can weld stainless of differing thickness with any confidence. Perhaps I am best off trying for a full refund and buying a better keggle elsewhere?
At any rate, I'd be willing to forgive the crappy welds if the thing was at least water-tight, but it's not. There is a void in the weld and water seeps right through. I'm trying to contact the eBay seller to try to come up with some sort of solution (either a replacement keggle or at least a partial refund).
My main question is how hard is it going to be to repair this thing? Is it even possible to just lay a nice bead over the existing mess? Grinding off the old welds is going to be labor intensive, and it will be difficult to keep from gouging the keg in the process. And I don't really know anyone who can weld stainless of differing thickness with any confidence. Perhaps I am best off trying for a full refund and buying a better keggle elsewhere?