How to add permanent volume markings to a kettle (illustrated)

[kyt]

You could go back and etch more but if your tape is off you'll be able to tell.

 

[Yesfan]

You could go back and etch more but if your tape is off you'll be able to tell.

That's what I was thinking. The number, since they were stencils, would be much harder to line up. The lines would be the ones I would be most concerned.


On another subject. Have anyone of you guys noticed any surface rust after etching? Check out the before and after pics on my 3 gallon pot.

before

after

Sorry about the glare, but the Y, K, and W, show up best on the pic. The places where I had the most "white" in the letters is where I see the most rust.

I know there has to be iron in order to have rust. This looks like surface rust to me. I place a magnet around the pot, but no attraction so I'm confused. I don't care so much about the outside of the pot, but It's also on the inside numbers too, so I'm worried about doing another brew in this pot.

 

[kyt]

IDK I can't address your concerns but I'd like a good response to this inquiry as well. Mine isn't rusting but if it were to...

 

[Huaco]

Are you re-passivating after the etch? You can make a paste of citric acid and cake on the side with HOT water in the vessel. Should be over 140F i think to passivate properly... something to read up on.

It will draw the Chromium Oxide back to the surface and make your Stainless Steel pot "Stainless" again.

 

[stpug]

Regarding rust/coloration issues:

This is something I've been waiting to see some folks talk about. The repassivation sounds like the method most likely to prevent it from happening. I suspect that every alloy will be different since many are different percentages of each material and everyone treats their pots differently. I thought it was chromium that creates the oxidized layer on the surface but Huaco says nickel - either way, whatever it is would be good to encourage. I had also read about the citric acid paste method and placing in a hot oven for a period of time (30 minutes maybe).

Then again, maybe it's just staining from all the stouts and porters you been brewing

 

[kyt]

My small stainless pot is not nickel coated on the inside.

 

[Huaco]

I err.
That was late night advice after a long day at a chili cookoff. I was exhausted...
The protective layer is Chromium Oxide.

 

[pelipen]

I tried to replicate the citric acid passivation process outlined in this document.

http://www.astropak.com/downloads/technical_papers/boeing_passivation.pdf

It definitely changed the appearance of the etching, but not to degrade visibility. I haven't seen any issues with rust, but I can't really prove it was because of the process.

I used a very soggy layer of paper towel and some dams to hold the fluid in place.

I'm not sure if I took before and after pics.

 

[Squad1Guy]

I just did this today and it worked as promised (Sorry about the blurry picture )

 

[kyt]

Looks good!

 

[brewn4fun]

Just need to add numbers or maybe not

 

[beerrab]

A ratio of 1/4 vinegar to 1/4 tsp salt worked
Could you clarify please is this a 1/4 cup vinegar to 1/4 tsp

Or are they both a 1/4 tsp ?

Thanks

 

[morbster]

1/4 cup to 1/4 tsp. He clarifies later on in the thread.


Sent from my spaceship in low orbit.

 

[kyt]

What I'm wondering now is, would this etched surface provide a nucleation point for boiling?
Is John Palmer on this forum?

 

[dlaramie08]

What I'm wondering now is, would this etched surface provide a nucleation point for boiling?
Is John Palmer on this forum?

Experiment: test un etched bottom of pot and time it to boil. Etch the surface and time to boil and compare the times.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Yesfan]

Are you re-passivating after the etch? You can make a paste of citric acid and cake on the side with HOT water in the vessel. Should be over 140F i think to passivate properly... something to read up on.

It will draw the Chromium Oxide back to the surface and make your Stainless Steel pot "Stainless" again.

I didn't do that, so maybe that's the issue. I've noticed my 5 gallon pot hasn't rusted either (at least not yet). That kettle is from Northern Brewer and the 3 gallon that's rusted was from Walmart.


Even though it's been a while since I etched that kettle, could I still fix the rust issue by re-passivating or have I waited too long? It was a cheap pot to buy, so I have no problems replacing it if I have to.

 

[Huaco]

Heck... it's cheap to do. Clean off all the rust, try it and give your report here!

 

[Yesfan]

Could one use Star-san to re-passivate? Seems like I read that in this thread.

 

[kyt]

Clean with barkeeper's friend to get the rust off. I was told stainless would repassivate with contact to air, but aluminum will not. There was no need to use acids. This was true for my Spike kettle, but I haven't had any trouble out of my Target brand 7qt pot, which I'm using right now, so we'll see if my new etchings have any issues.

 

[kyt]

For those wondering, I have done nothing to repassivate this pot after etching it. I brewed in it last night, washed it with soap and left it on the counter wet to dry over night, no rust. I'll be making kombucha in it shortly as well. Still looks the same as it did the day I etched it.

 

[RadicalEd]

If memory serves, one week of exposure to air is sufficient to re-passivate stainless steel. This can be accelerated with an acid, of which the most commonly available to homebrewers is Star San. Give it a wipe with some mildly diluted Star San and let it sit an hour, if you're in a rush.

 

[kyt]

An excerpt from a conversation I had with Ben Caya from Spike Brewing

A little Bar Keepers Friend will passivate the spots and you shouldn't have any issues going forward. Just remember stainless is mostly composed of Iron so don't be alarmed if you see any small spots show up. BKF works wonders on SS!

 

[sablesurfer]

Finally getting around to this. One pot done, one more tomorrow night.



ps...this is supposed to be the nine gallon 2weld pot from AIH, measurements show the gallons to be 1.5" apart. Not sure if anyone has numbers to disprove this, but i guess to late now huh?

 

[kyt]

That looks good, I really like those numbers!
Doesn't matter if they're off a little. Heat expansion is going to change the volume anyway.
Now you'll be able to estimate much better than having nothing at all!

 

[Bobby_M]

Finally getting around to this. One pot done, one more tomorrow night.

View attachment 191987

ps...this is supposed to be the nine gallon 2weld pot from AIH, measurements show the gallons to be 1.5" apart. Not sure if anyone has numbers to disprove this, but i guess to late now huh?

One thing I've found over years of putting sight glasses on various pots and barrels is that you can NEVER trust the geometry of a suspected cylinder if you want your marks to be accurate. Calibrating with one gallon at a time is the only way.

 

[sablesurfer]

Well, if I get ready by this weekend, I can report back here if my measurements are close. Have a 5 gal IPA kit and a 5 gal dark wheat that got delivered yesterday.

ps...i did do water measurements from 1 to 5 gal. Then 6, 7, 8 are based of those physical distance measurements.

 

[Perzellbrewing]

ps...i did do water measurements from 1 to 5 gal. Then 6, 7, 8 are based of those physical distance measurements.

It could be the picture, but it appears that 6,7,8 are further apart than 1,2,3,4,5. As others have said, would definitely test with water first.

 

[lafolielapper]

sub'd

 

[sablesurfer]

It could be the picture, but it appears that 6,7,8 are further apart than 1,2,3,4,5. As others have said, would definitely test with water first.

Oh, yeah that would just be the angle of photo. They definitely all measured out to the 1.5" In fact they "should" be measured to the bottom of the line being the gallon point. I debated putting the number higher than the line so I could see it coming, but was easier to the side.

 

[sablesurfer]

Small pot etched last night. Dimensions made me change up the markings.

(Experience notes so far: 1) First time I just dumped pink salt into vinegar, no measuring of that. It was the most active etching. Not sure if extra minerals or just a lot of salt. 2) Second time I did measure and used table salt. Etching was slower and much less defined than first. Probably less defined because liquid had time to get under the tape. 3) Used just plain blue painter's tape pressed down super hard with back of finger nail. Seemed to work fine and got decent edges. 4) I think use of qtips also makes it a bit uneven. Probably would have been better with some kind of tight foam, maybe make up wedges cut to shape? 5) I just used a 9volt with scrap 16guage wire left over. Taped wires to battery, pot handle, and to qtip, worked fine.)

 

[kyt]

2-L markings that get wider as they go up. I numbered increments of 10.

 

[sablesurfer]

2-L markings that get wider as they go up. I numbered increments of 10.

Wow, show off.

 

[sablesurfer]

Oh, since I posted the question a while back, thought I would post an answer.

YES...hot water takes up more volume than cold. My small pot had to go through some soldering so I wanted to run another water tight test. Decided it was a good time to also test my etch lines, see how close they are.

I measured in 4gals of tap water. It came to about a 1/8" below my 4gal etch line. Sigh. Oh well. I plugged in the pot and heated up to boiling. Around 180 the water was now up above the bottom of the 4gal bar. So, it rose about 1/4" from 60f to 180f. (This is a very tiny pot compared to most brew kettles, so the difference is probably more dramatic.)

Another GREAT! thing about the etching lines. Boil off! Wow I could see exactly how much liquid I was losing as it heated. From 180-210 the liquid level dropped back down to almost 1/2" under my etching. By time the test was done I could visually see that I had lost about half a gallon.

Crazy, but cool.

 

[coldcrash]

Awesome DIY--thanks itsgus!

Did mine this afternoon. So easy, permanent solution!

 

[Sunkenwall]

Great diy. Did one of my corneys just to pratice

 

[sablesurfer]

Great diy. Did one of my corneys just to pratice

Assuming you used something bigger than a qtip. Did you have to change out the solution any or the etching tool? I found the qtip to get nasty and the wire to get really corroded just doing the gallon marks.

 

[1fast636]

Found what I'm doing Sunday got plenty of old chargers laying around, had any one done the inside of a keggle interested to see how well you can see it, maybe if I'm feeling artsy ill do a logo or something too we shall see

 

[ClaudiusB]

Assuming you used something bigger than a qtip. Did you have to change out the solution any or the etching tool? I found the qtip to get nasty and the wire to get really corroded just doing the gallon marks.

I used a foam brush to hold a good amount of solution, a good solid copper wire and never changed out the solution (12oz.).
Never changed the brush since all material builds up around the copper end.

 

[ultravista]

Can someone post photos of the inside of their keggle w/etching?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Can someone post photos of the inside of their keggle w/etching?

Post # 354.........You are # 359.........It's a kettle, but the same effect on a keggle.