Keggle parts list for welded fittings

Hi,
I recently got a sanke from a local club member. I found a great welder who can provide sanitary welds at a $60/hour rate. Obviously, I would like to minimize his time. I would like to cut the top off, and step drill the holes to mount a spigot and one of BobbyM's welded sightglass kits.

I was hoping anyone who has done this can provide the lengths they find useful for the 1/2" NPT female coupler and 3/8" NPT female coupler. Can I find these at a local hardware store or should I order them online? What size of through-hole do I need (i.e. how big of a step-bit)? Also, any tips you can give me for making things easier for the welder would be great.

Cheers.

Harborfreight has step kits for dirt cheap. The largest hole you'd need for a 1/2" coupling would be 7/8" or maybe a full inch if it's a high pressure coupling. I think the OD for a 3/8" coupling is 3/4".

Stainless Steel Fittings is the cheapest source I know of but with shipping, it might be best to find a large dedicated plumbing supply locally. Mine was able to get stainless in one day and the prices were great.

My guess is that the welder would have time to cut the top and weld 3 couplings in. If you want to reuse the cut top as a lid, have him tack weld 4 stainless washers overhanging the edge of the removed top.

I like 1/2" couplings nice and low for bulkhead drain and thermometer and you can put a 3/8" coupling in as low as possible for the sightglass. You may not want a thermometer now, but this very well might be your hot liquor tank in the future. A 1/2" NPT plug is cheap enough.

Thanks for replying Bobby. It seems from the site you mentioned that NPT couplers don't seem to vary in length. Is that right? Also, I have heard of 316 SS being better for this application. Is that what you would recommend too? (You've got me thinking on the thermometer port.)

Couplings don't vary in length, only nipples do. I was under the impression that beer kegs are 304 so that's what I used in the fittings. I really don't know for sure. Don't forget that you'll need a 1/2" close nipple between the coupling and your ball valve.

Make sure you tell the welder how far into the keg you want the couplings to sit. A few guys around here have had trouble where the welder put the coupling flush to the inside and they were unable to use the inside threads without chase them out with a tap first. I'd recommend either half in/half out or just have about 3/8" sticking out of the front of the keg. The ball valve is already going to stick out a ways, no reason to make it worse.

A local club member offered to do the work for $25 for TIG welding and he takes the top off with a plasma cutter. What do you all think is a reasonable quantity of beer to give this guy in addition to his $25?

Two six packs ought to do it. Mix it up.

Hey Bobby.. .one question in regards to the location of the temp gauge. You said as low as possible, but I noticed that the temp gauge is a little higher than the other 2 couplers on your keggles. Would having them all welded at the same level (as low as possible) be an issue? Thanks

Also Bobby, any word on when the dual temp gauge/sight glass might be ready for sale? As you might have guessed I am looking for a welded set up as opposed to the weldless on your site.

The thermo location is just a bit higher in mine because I used thermos with 6" probes because I got them cheap. I didn't want the probe to hit my siphon tube on the drain so it's about 1.5" higher than the drain. It's still well under the wort level of 5 gallons.

The thermo/sight kits I had only worked weldless because the probe was so short. There's really no benefit to running a TEE when you have cheap welding labor, just make each accessory run on its own port.

While the customer service at stpats.com is horrible, they do have some cheap thermometers.

Old thread -I know- but instead of creating a new thread...

I was planning on going weldless but have decided to weld the fittings. When I was going weldless I found a website that sold fitting for keggles. All I needed was the
-Kettle Bulkhead
-Sightglass combo kit with a 6" stem thermometer
-Stainless dip tube

If I got to a local plumbing shop, can you give me a list of items to ask for. I like the idea of the thermometer and sightglass added.

Thanks!