Holes in AL brew pot

[farmskis]

Hello all! Quick question. I am looking at setting up my new pots and i am curious with AL pots what is the best way to get the holes for the Weldless fittings? I am afraid that the Greenlee punches will not work on the thicker AL pot and that drilling or hole saws will not leave an adequately smooth hole. Does anyone know if the punches will work or if drilling is adequate?

 

[brew_ny]

I did my Aluminum pot with a hole saw and it work great

 

[ong]

Yeah, hole saw works fine.

 

[farmskis]

That is good to hear! The aluminum must help. I have heard of some people having a hard time drilling the stainless.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Compared to SST, aluminum cuts like butter.

 

[douglasbarbin]

Punches, unibit, or hole saw should all work fine. Aluminum cuts easily compared to stainless steel.

 

[Bailey_Brew]

I didn't have any problem with using step drills on my aluminum kettle. Use some oil and go slow.

 

[farmskis]

Do any of you using aluminum puts use them in a electric set up? Any issues with cleaning them? I'm looking at putting together my electric setup and I know I can save a little on the budget with aluminum but if it causes me issues than it saves I will spend the extra on stainless.

 

[eelpout]

Yep I got two 1500w in my 8 gallon mini batch aluminum.
No problems at all

 

[masonsjax]

I drilled one of my aluminum pots with a spade bit and it worked fine. Aluminum is really easy to drill.

 

[vincentAlpha]

Just remember to use some oil, Al may be easier but a little cutting oil never hurt anyone.

 

[baulz]

I used a step bit and oil and it was a little rough looking. A couple minutes with a hand file and sandpaper cleaned up the hole nicely.

 

[IslandLizard]

Undersize the hole a little and then bring it to exact size and nicely round with a file and/or sandpaper around a (tapered) dowel.

 

[dhewgill]

I used a punch on my aluminum pot and it worked very well - just as well as on thin wall stainless.

 

[farmskis]

Was that a Greenlee punch? The pot wall was not too thick for the punch? If the punch works I think that is easiest. Leaves the cleanest hole imo.

 

[douglasbarbin]

Was that a Greenlee punch? The pot wall was not too thick for the punch? If the punch works I think that is easiest. Leaves the cleanest hole imo.

I used a cheap harbor freight punch on a couple of my Bayou Classic stainless steel kettles and it worked great. A Greenlee would be better, I suppose.

 

[dhewgill]

Was that a Greenlee punch? The pot wall was not too thick for the punch? If the punch works I think that is easiest. Leaves the cleanest hole imo.

It may have been - I borrowed it from the machine shop at work. No problem at all going through the aluminum. My biggest concern was that the thicker material left in the punch at the end would bind up and be hard to get out, but it came out without any issues.