Greenlee punch in a keggle

[IronHorsePilot]

Has anyone used a Greenlee punch on a Keggle project? Im curious if it is too think for the punch. Id really like some clean holes as I plan on using the weld-less fittings in my setup.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[microbusbrewery]

I have and it works fine.

 

[IronHorsePilot]

I have and it works fine.

Great! I was worried they would be too think.

Thanks for the reply. I found a post after I posted this question that said they had used them. The search comes up quite extensive.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I used the harbor freight one... after 7 punches it failed... I'd be willing to bet the Greenlee is built to last

 

[microbusbrewery]

Great! I was worried they would be too think.



Thanks for the reply. I found a post after I posted this question that said they had used them. The search comes up quite extensive.

It's definitely too thick on the skirt, but everywhere else it should work fine. I found that out the hard way on the skirt when we were trying to add some venting (for exhaust gases) on my buddy's keggle. I ended up snapping the bolt in half.

 

[MNSmitty]

Another Greenlee punch user. Its awesome. I burned up a couple unibits before I broke down and bought one. You can have a nice clean hole in your keggle about 30 seconds.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Another Greenlee punch user. Its awesome. I burned up a couple unibits before I broke down and bought one. You can have a nice clean hole in your keggle about 30 seconds.

But, ya' still gotta' drill a hole in it first..........

 

[mabrungard]

I used the harbor freight one... after 7 punches it failed... I'd be willing to bet the Greenlee is built to last

Hmm? That wasn't my experience with those punches. My set is still going strong after a dozen holes. Since I'm not making my living with this tool, it didn't matter if it was not going to be able to make hundreds of holes. For the price, it is heads and shoulders above the cost/benefit of a Greenlee tool.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Hmm? That wasn't my experience with those punches. My set is still going strong after a dozen holes. Since I'm not making my living with this tool, it didn't matter if it was not going to be able to make hundreds of holes. For the price, it is heads and shoulders above the cost/benefit of a Greenlee tool.

Its possible that mine was just defective... But it wasnt just the punch that failed on me. By the end on the last punch, the bolt that is used for the smaller ones, snapped clear in half! Thickest I had gone through was the Keggle. Also the bearings on the retaining ring on the bolt also broke as well. I would still say though, that the Harbor Freight version was still worth it to me as the cost of the Greenlees are a bit expensive for a one-off or even 10-12 holes to make it worth it.

I'd still buy the Harbor Freight one over the Greenlee

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Buy the Horror Freight one, put a quality grade 8 bolt in it, and oil the threads.
Granted, the punch part is not as good a quality as the Greenlee, but for a homebrewer project tool, it should last a long time.

Provided, that you don't use an impact wrench on them........

 

[MNSmitty]

But, ya' still gotta' drill a hole in it first..........

True. But that was never the issue for me. That was the easy part.

 

[Anticlimaddox]

I'm assuming you are talking about this kit? Which I was going to pick up and replace the bolt as suggested...
http://www.harborfreight.com/knockout-punch-kit-91201.html

1/2" seems fine for some fittings but several on Bobby's site require a 7/8 or 13/16 hole. I guess you could use 1" for 7/8 and 3/4 for the 12/16 and just be a little loose? Use a flat gasket instead of the round? Or am I trying to be too exact?

thx // brian

 

[Stealthcruiser]

I'm assuming you are talking about this kit? Which I was going to pick up and replace the bolt as suggested...
http://www.harborfreight.com/knockout-punch-kit-91201.html

1/2" seems fine for some fittings but several on Bobby's site require a 7/8 or 13/16 hole. I guess you could use 1" for 7/8 and 3/4 for the 12/16 and just be a little loose? Use a flat gasket instead of the round? Or am I trying to be too exact?

thx // brian

The tighter the fit, the better..................:cross:

I know they are pricy punches, but a Greenlee of the size you need , will be there for you, from now on, with proper care.

As they say, "Buy once, cry once".

 

[dave3210]

Just found this thread. My Greenlee 13/16 punch broke in half on the first use.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Just found this thread. My Greenlee 13/16 punch broke in half on the first use.

I'm guessing the bolt broke? That happened to me when I tried to punch a hole through a keggle skirt. We were trying to make sure combustion gases were able to vent well. The skirt is way too thick though.

Was it a new punch? The only thing I can think of is it must have been old (and dull) or defective. If it was bought new, I'm sure Greenlee would replace it. If not, they sell new bolts, but if it's dull, it might break again.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Just found this thread. My Greenlee 13/16 punch broke in half on the first use.

Post up a pic of it.

"Greenlee" brand, or a Horror Freight wannabe?

 

[augiedoggy]

good experiences here with the harbor freight kit... just punched a bunch of holes through the 16gauge steel enclosure I bought with no issues.

 

[dave3210]

Actually the bolt was good. The cutting part on the inside of the keg wall broke in half. Probably simply a defective one. Greenlee has fully refunded for it no problem.

 

[Polobeers]

I have drilled a BUNCH of holes in keggles with the same greenlee unibit and a 10 volt cordless hitachi drill. Just use cutting oil use the slow speed on the drill works fine. The worst part is getting the initial hole then when it starts cutting it takes no time just stop every so often to oil the bit.

 

[Joon1975]

I used this knockout punch that was recommended to me here on homebrewtalk. I used it on three kegs. I used the 13/16” for all my 1/2” bulkheads or compressions. I purchased it from eBay and took about 3 weeks to get. It works really good and had no issues.

 

[golfindia]

I've used a greenlee punch to make lots of holes in kegs. The punch teeth are fine, but it is a PITA to get the round plug off the tool. The threads on the bolt where the plug ends up are starting to get worn. I think greenlee makes a more expensive "slug splitter" version that splits the round plug. Probably better but cost prohibitive.

 

[day_trippr]

I used a Greenlee 730BB-13/16 on five Blichmann kettles with no problems. It's not sold as a "slug splitter" or "slug buster" though I never had to pry to slugs out. And while that punch line isn't intended for stainless steel, it's advertised for up to 14 gauge mild which is almost 2mm, roughly double the wall thickness of the kettles. So I rationalized that it would be fine...and fortunately it was.

This was all before Bobby's video blowing holes with that carbide hole saw appeared. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to do that sixteen times

Cheers!

 

[kilohertz]

Holy shiny kegs batman! What did you do to get that beautiful look on your kegs? I would love to make mine look like that. I'm just starting my little garage brewery and I should probably polish them before starting the cutting, drilling and such.

Thanks!

PS after another coffee and a little thought, it turns out the "search" function works pretty well. DOH! Seems this is a pretty popular thing to do. Now to get the supplies and start buffing.

 

[augiedoggy]

I used a combination of harbor freight step bits and a greenlee style punch kit from there later once I discovered they had them. I drilled and punched multiple holes in 5 different kettles and kegs this way plus 2 control panels and have to mention the hurdle I had to overcome was switching to a drill with more low speed control as I discovered the slower the better when it came to cutting without dulling the bit and hardening the stainless... once I did that they cut like a hot knife through butter.

when it came to making my keggle I really regretted cutting the top off before I saw Bobby M,s bottom drain adapters for utilizing the sanke top as a bottom center drain which would have been great since I brew with electric...

PS I just saw this thread is more than a few years old and I commented already..