Stainless Steel Pots

hey-

I have two 5 gallon stainless steel pots and would like to turn them into one 10 gallon pot. Can I just cut the bottom off of one of the pots and weld the other pot to it? Anyone ever try this?

Thanks
-messi

I am sure it could be done if you have the welding experience. You would definately have to trim off the bottom on one. Many (even high end) brew pots have an aluminum core in the bottom.

The only problem I could foresee is if the pot is not the exact diameter all the way up. If it is wider at the top, your SOL. Also, to be really anal, if you trim a bit off the bottom, and have to trim some on the top to get it to fit, you will not really have a 10G pot anymore.

yeah- If I cut the bottom of one of them, it will be a perfect fit to slide into the other pot. It won't be exactly 10 gal, but 9 3/4 gal is better than 5. I more worried about the weld messing the brew up.

Guys on this forum weld shXt together all the time. As long as the weld is solid and clean, you won't have a problem.

It will be tough to weld... warpage will be a major factory since its very thin.

But then again... anything can be done.

Silver solder ought to work, less heat.

I tried silver brazing on a stainless tank. It made cracks, severly. Junked it. Seems some stainless's don't like to be 1200 degrees. So, being an unknown alloy, next time I'll try solder. It's lead free, takes umm 600 degrees? Solder form the inside, to make sure no cracks to harbor germs?

How wide is the bottom? Needs lots of area to get the heat to 10 gallons, but I suppose that the fiver is broader than the burner anyhow.

If I were you, I would sell the two pots you have and buy the one you need.

Cutting a pot apart and welding it to the other one sounds like one of those projects that is more trouble than its worth, even if they are very heavy duty pots.

Unless you are an expert welder, I expect what you will end up with is no pots, hours spent and need to fork over for a new one anyway. My .02euros worth is to tell you to just go buy the pot you need.



Gedvondur

Gedvondur said:

If I were you, I would sell the two pots you have and buy the one you need.

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Ya, I tend to agree. I'm all for DYI, but in some cases, it's just not worth it. You're probably going to ruin 2 perfectly good pots.

It all depends on your welding skills. Yesterday I welded two Cornelius kegs together to make a single 7 gallon keg. I had a little trouble with heat control on such thin material, so the welds didn't turn out really pretty, but they pressure test just fine. Stitch weld in small increments (1") to keep the heat down. Back-gas or use flux (like Solar flux) on the back side of the weld to protect it. Use an appropriate filler metal (308 is usually a good place to start).