some more keg to keggle conversion questions

I acquired a 15.5 gallon Sanke keg, and now have some questions to convert to to kettle.

1) Cleaning..where can I find "bar keepers friend" for cleaning out the old keg for the first time? Is it only available online, or might there be some local specialty shops I should check?

2) I'm going to get a weldless valve kit. What's the difference between bronze and Stainless valve kits? Will I have to worry about bronze putting in any off flavors? Depending on the answer above, I'm guessing this is what I will need?
Weld-B-Gone Basic + KETTLE Conversion- Brass with 1/2" Barb :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

3) I understand I need a syphon tube attached to the valve kit to drain the wort. I'm having a problem finding that, though. Am i supposed to build it myself? There are no pre-made ones that I can purchase? Closest I've seen is this, but it's out of stock. What are the alternatives?
Bazooka T Sanke Adapter :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

4) Do I need a way to filter the trub so it doesn't clog the valve? I'm planning on using an immersion chiller and not a counterflow chiller (so there's nothing to clog except the valve)...is it still needed in this instance?. If I do need one and get something like a bazooka filter, will this filter out hops or would I still need to use hop bags?

5) I was planning on doing large immersion chiller (50ft of 1/2 coil?). Is this good enough to cool within the keggle in a reasonable amount of time? Even if I grow to 10 gallon batches? Or do you really need a counterflow chiller?

Thanks in advance for the help. Really looking forward to moving to all-grain.

I buy Barkeeper's Friend at Smart & Final. Any restaurant suppy place should have it. I prefer the liquid version over the powdered cleanser.

Stainless is nice...easy to clean, durable, looks great. Brass works just fine though. It may have some surface lead...some don't worry about it, others pickle their brass in vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.

Check out Bargain Fittings to save some money on weldless kits. I've ordered from them a bunch of times, they ship very quickly.

A dip tube can be as simple as a length of copper tubing, attached to the coupler and gently bent to reach the center of your keggle. I'm sure there are commercial ones available.

Many people use a bazooka tube or other strainer within their keggle. Others jam a stainless steel scrub pad under their dip tube. It's nearly impossible to strain out pellet hops this way, unless you also have some whole hops to form a filter bed. I use a nylon hop bag rig, so very little hop solids make it into the wort. There is no right/wrong way to do it...you just need to find the solution that matches your workflow, ingredients and methods.

I think a 50' coil of 1/2" copper would be more than adequate to cool 10 gallon batches.

great info. Thanks! (especially the link to the cheaper fittings)

bdaddy said:

5) I was planning on doing large immersion chiller (50ft of 1/2 coil?). Is this good enough to cool within the keggle in a reasonable amount of time? Even if I grow to 10 gallon batches? Or do you really need a counterflow chiller?

Click to expand...

We have a 50' 1/2" immersion chiller and it takes about 20 minutes to go from boiling to mid-60s on a 15 gallon batch, and most of that time is after the wort reaches 85 degrees or so. I would imagine that you will be quite pleased with the performance on a 5 or 10 gallon batch.

Here is a pic of ours if you are interested. Our kettle is very wide, hence the shape.