Engraved Level Guage?

I've got a 10-gallon aluminum pot that I will soon be adding a spigot and thermometer to. I was also going to add a sight glass, but the vendor talked me out of it since their weldless kit is prone to leaks. He recommended marking a mash paddle or plastic spoon.

SWMBO suggested using a dremel tool to lightly engrave volume markings inside the pot.

Anyone ever do this?

I made a floating level. Marks on the inside of the kettle might be hard to read during a vigorous boil.

Hey, that works. In there a thread on how you built that?

Pete08 said:

I made a floating level. Marks on the inside of the kettle might be hard to read during a vigorous boil.

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That's a great idea! Being lazy, it got me to thinking about an easier way to achieve a similar thing.

How about a clear plastic tube or other tube with a slit cut lengthways and open at both ends. Inside would be a plastic floating rod (sealed light plastic tube or something) as long as the kettle is deep. You could measure the volume at the top of the float against marks on the outer tube? I would essentially be the same as this picture, except it would just consist of two tubes. I bet there's already something like that on here, I'll go look.

That floating level is really cool! I used a piece of aluminum angle from Home Depot that I engraved with a Dremel. It works pretty well. The cool thing about the angle is you can have different sides for different pots, carboys, etc..

right now I have slots cut in an old mash paddle. I will be using sight glasses from here on out...

I'm so spoiled having a good sight glass. The one thing I haven't done yet was put a more permanent marking on it. My wife bought me some tiny vinyl numbers from the craft store but I'm still using a piece of masking tape marked off with a sharpie. Low tech suckfest so far.

Bobby_M said:

I'm so spoiled having a good sight glass. The one thing I haven't done yet was put a more permanent marking on it. My wife bought me some tiny vinyl numbers from the craft store but I'm still using a piece of masking tape marked off with a sharpie. Low tech suckfest so far.

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I'd like a sight glass if my keggle was higher, but with it on the floor, these other designs could actually be better than a sight glass.

LGI, I like your idea, no reason it wouldn't work. I only came up with this since I rebuild/refinish old carburetors and put together multi-carb induction systems for vintage hotrod mills for fun and profit. Example Therefore, I always seem to have pieces of AL leftover after building the linkages.

The pieces look crude, I didn't take the time to smooth/polish them before initial launch.




Anyhow, The bottom bracket is made of two pieces, lower one drilled/tapped for 2 #10 X 32 SS screws which hold them together. I drilled/tapped the kettle for a couple of #10 SS screws as well to hold the apparatus secure. Both top and bottom brackets are drilled/tapped #10 to hold them securely to the upright rod. I just aligned them to make sure the float moved easily.

The rods are left over pieces of 3/8" (or was it 5/16"??) AL. I drilled/tapped one end for a 1/4" X 24 SS screw as this was the size of the threaded brass boss on my NEW copper toilet bowl float. While I was filling it for the first time, I use a center punch to mark the number of gallons. I would have use my 1/4" number stamps, but they were not within arms' reach, so I have yet to do that.

The float had a folded seem where the two hemispheres were joined, and since I didn't know what solder/sealant was used, I hit it with silver solder (plumber's) and sealed it for good!
Works great, is very sensitive, and cost me $9 for the float. The taps and AL I had.

"I'm still using a piece of masking tape marked off with a sharpie. Low tech suckfest so far."

Bobby, I'm using one of your sight tubes. I used a pipe cutter to put markings around the tubing...very easy and permanent.

Hey, that's a great idea for those with the polycarb. I still have my original prototypes installed with pyrex glass tubes so that might be a no-no :cross:

This has given me a lot to think about. Thanks.