Keggle welding questions

Hi, I'm having my 3 kegs welded to put couplers and fittings for heater element on. Luckily a neighbor that likes my beer works at a fabrication/repair facility. I have seen some really nasty welded kegs on here and it gets me nervous. His shop goes on site to repair stainless medical and pharmaceudical equiptment. So I kinda feel better but have never seen his work and feel bad asking for a sample since he is doing it for free. If it's good enough for a lab I'm guessing it should be fine for a keg, right? Do I need to rdwhahb?

With what they do, I wouldn't worry. They have to make sanitary welds for that type of work. I have a guy in my homebrew club that does similar welding for meat packing plants, and he is going to weld my stuff. I have no doubt they will be neat welds, just because of the nature of his work. If you still feel you need to, just ask about their welds. I'm sure he will show you his handy work.

Pharma equipment not only has to be cleaner than a food factory/brewery, but they also have to be able to prove to the FDA that they are cleaner. I'd say you got a pretty good welder to help you out.

Thanks for confirming what I though. I think I'm in good hands.

JRems said:

Thanks for confirming what I though. I think I'm in good hands.

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+1 I would think your good to go.

If he works in the pharm stainless-welding industry, you won't even SEE his welds. That's what pharmaceutical grade welds should be: invisible.

Think about it: Losing a batch of high-$$$ medical drugs costs a LOT more than a 10-gallon batch of beer! They don't want ANY nooks+crannies for bacteria/etc to hide in.

M_C

its not about the materials cost of the drugs, but what happens if you have a batch of blood thinners that is contaminated with ebola virus? or if your beta blocker pill is inactivated by whatever last batch of chemicals were run thru the equipment? that is the main concern and reason pharma/medical welds are higher grade than 'simple' food handling.

ruining a batch of beer is inconsequential when compared to possibly poisoning millions of people or distributing low quality or non-effective medication to those who need it most.

Ok sweet, I just ordered all my stainless couplers from Bobby_m, so as soon as they come in I'll give the neighbor my kegs. I'll post back how it came out.