what are you using for heatsheilds under your valves/sightglasses?

hey guys!
so as i'm comign into the world of weldless bulkheads and such... i ran mine for the first time last night and came to the conclusion that it is going to get very very hot to the touch, and possibly melt the coating on the handle. so i need to rig up some sort of a heat sheild above the burner under the valves, but not too sure what to rig up that wouldn't either A) get way too hot (red hot) B) be too dangerous C) cost effective.

original plan was just get a sheet of sheet metal from home depot or lowes and cut it to the shape i needed (picture below, i would cut a trapezoid shape and place it in there, however with my other burner, it would not be as easy... i did search but only came up with 3-4 pictures of kegs, and i'm not using kegs

So, show me yours so i can get some ideas!

Thanks!

I use some pieces of round duct work I had laying in the garage. Cut flat pieces about 10" x 6". They curve down and I hold them in place with the pots themselves. Ghetto...but works.

With a keggle/BG-14 setup, I haven't had to worry about anything additional to protect the valves. The normal heat shield (aluminum duct work) that goes around the burner keeps most of the heat from the valves. They do still get hot, but wearing an oven mitt to open the valves is no big deal.

I prop my ice scraper (the metal blade on a long handle, I'm from MN after all) under my sight glass and it keeps it under 200, I haven't had an issue with my weldless 3 piece ball valve yet.

I don't use a heat shield either, and I curved the one that came with my Blichmann to act as a drip shield for my pump. I bought a pair of Kevlar/Nomex "Ove Gloves" and it makes handling anything hot very easy, without impeding my grip or anything like oven mitts tend to do.

BTW, that pic makes your kettle look like a great candidate for galvanic corrosion.

emjay said:

BTW, that pic makes your kettle look like a great candidate for galvanic corrosion.

Click to expand...

Only if the kettle is aluminum.

Turn the flame down? If the flame is shooting up the sides of kettle you are wasting the majority of its heat...

Can't say about the sight glass, but I have a similar valve on my kettle and I've never shielded it. After 30+ brews there is no damage/melting.

Thanks for the responses guys!

question though, what is the "galvanic corrosion"? the only thing that is in contact with the pot itself is a SS reducer, the brass on the front isn't touching the pot, there is really thin material between it and the pot

i just wrap a piece of tin foil around them, and pull it off at the end of the boil. nothing ever gets too hot to touch.

I used a thick piece of aluminum (1/8") that I had left over from when I built a race car many years ago.

The first time I brewed with a sight glass, beer was racing through the sight glass and pouring back in the top (my sight glass has a return like the Blichmann kettles).

Rivenin said:

Thanks for the responses guys!

question though, what is the "galvanic corrosion"? the only thing that is in contact with the pot itself is a SS reducer, the brass on the front isn't touching the pot, there is really thin material between it and the pot

Click to expand...

There is none.