Keggle Temperature

Do any of you all know what the temp is on the metal of a SS keggle when it is heated?
I'm trying to figure out if I can do a weldless thermometer ghetto style (just a rubber stopper with a hole drilled for a thermometer).

randyisrad said:

Do any of you all know what the temp is on the metal of a SS keggle when it is heated?
I'm trying to figure out if I can do a weldless thermometer ghetto style (just a rubber stopper with a hole drilled for a thermometer).

Click to expand...

So long as a kettle is full of liquid, the temperature should never exceed 212 F (+/- the boiling point of water). I don't quite understand why you would want to go with a rubber stopper when it would be very easy and inexpensive to install a standard weldless fitting. I would think a stopper would be prone to blowing out and then you might dealing with scalding water or wort gushing out of the kettle at just the wrong moment. I say spend the $20 and do it the right way. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with trying to save a few bucks, but sometimes it's better to look at the bigger picture and bite the bullet.

I would say go for the weldless fittings just for safety sake. God forbid you accidentally knock the stopper out, you will be bathed in scalding water. A scalding is one of the most painful wounds a body can experience.

20 bucks? Do you think I'm made of money????
I'm going with the stopper
I'm pretty sure that the metal gets hotter than the liquid inside, but I'll risk it.
Worst thing that'll happen is I have to drill a larger hole for the weldless kit.

that risk may cause your beer to drain out, honestly its really not worth it, why dont you at least get some high temperature O rings and build a kit yourself rather then using a stopper that might drain your beer...

Man, you guys are wussies.
If I pound a 1/4 inch long stopper into a 1/8 inch hole...there's no way it's coming out!

randyisrad said:

20 bucks? Do you think I'm made of money????
I'm going with the stopper

Click to expand...

Go for it, we need a laugh, and natural selection continues on. Take pics!



_____

Will do...get ready to be amazed

its not that we are wussies, just rather be safe then sorry and i know hours of mashing and preparing everything to a kettle that leaks is a no no, but yes there is a chance it will work, but in the long run id rather spend the 30 bucks, just my 2 cents ....gl

randyisrad said:

Man, you guys are wussies.
If I pound a 1/4 inch long stopper into a 1/8 inch hole...there's no way it's coming out!

Click to expand...

I certainly hope it stays put for your sake. You can call me a wuss all you want but if something happens you are the one who will have to live with it. It's sad to see what a low price people put on their well being.

Put me in for another vote against doing this. Since it appears you'll do it anyways, could you please at least insert the stopper from the inside so that the pressure from the wort helps keep it in place?

I hope this hole is at crotch level and you burn your junk. A couple nuts and silicon o rings wouldn't be 5 bucks.

Dude
The mocking birds are out today.

Have the video camera rolling we see the 2011 You Tube hit of the year coming on..

But if youi plug the hole from the inside the plug can't be knocked out and the pressure would be pressing it back into the hole...

That said you would need to be concerned about knocking it in....

Accidental Double Post

I say it will work well, assuming you keep it high up on the keg and away, as far as possible from the flame. No wussie here.

FWIW a bulkhead for a thermometer can be made out of a few plumbing parts from Home Depot for ~$5-$8. The stopper will probably work great ........................... until the one time it doesn't. Anyone who's seen my brewing set-up knows that I'm all for cheap ghetto style engineering, but I think $5-$8 is pretty cheap insurance against a really bad day. As always, YMMV.

Pics Please, Wanna see

coderbond said:

Pics Please, Wanna see

Click to expand...

I don't have any pics of the thermowell only bulkhead I use for my MLT. The only pic I could find shows the parts for the combo thermowell and sightglass bulkhead that ended up in my HLT. I used a short length of 1/4" copper tubing (with one end soldered closed), a 3/8" MIP to 1/4" compression fitting, a 3/8" tee, and a 3/8" MIP by ??? fitting. The only parts not shown are an o-ring, a washer, and the sightglass.



The thermometer only bulkhead in my MLT obviously has fewer parts, but the basic concept is the same. It's just a 3/8" MIP to 1/4" compression fitting, a 3/8" FIP bushing, an-o-ring, a washer, and a short length of 1/4" copper. Like I said, $5-$8 in parts. My cheap $3 thermometers fit very snuggly inside the 1/4" copper.

Here you'll go.
http://poorhousebrewing.blogspot.com/2010/12/diy-weldless-thermometer-for-089.html