Keggle questions

[02stangguy]

Hey everyone. New to the forums and new to all grain brewing. I have a few questions about making a keggle. I just picked up a coors light keg yesterday from the scrap yard for a hell of a deal and am turning it into a keggle. So far I have cut the top off and thas that. I plan to have a 1/2" stainless steel coupling welded on and attach a stainless ball valve. I believe I have that part down but before I do that I am worried about the stain marks inside. The keg seems to have been sitting in the scrap yard for some time and someone had taken the all out of it so there was still some beer and water sitting in it. There are brownish streaks running down the side of the keg and I don't know how to get them off. Any ideas? Also I plan to make a false bottom using a mesh stainless steel screen but I have some questions about that as well. How does the false bottom stay in place? I would think that during boiling and storing that it would get bumped around and let someone the grain under it. And one last question. Is it safe to use teflon tape inside the keggle? And if I solder some copper tubing for my pickup tube is that safe as well?

I have another idea that will save me a few $ but I'm not sure if it will work. If I took a 1/2" nipple and put it through the side of the keg, put a thick o ring on, teflon taped the threads then put a nut on would that create a seal? On the outside I would do the same thing. Put the oring then a nut to create the pressure and then the valve. Would I just be better off getting it welded for $20?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Search "weldless fittings " on here.

Clean it with "Barkeepers Secret", and a coarse sponge or scrubby pad, whichever is needed.

If you know someone who can Tig weld and do "sanitary welds", I would weld my fittings on.

Why do you want a false bottom in your boil "keggle"?

 

[02stangguy]

I have checked out the weldless ones and its going to be cheaper if I get it welded. The reason I thought I would need a false bottom is I read that after its done brewing and I go to drain into my fermenting bucket I want it to be as clear as possible. I imagine it will already be pretty clear though after being transferred from the mash tun. Maybe I'm just really confused haha. Help a guy out

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Many folks "whirlpool" in their boil kettle while chilling, to help get the "trub", hot break and cold break debris in a cone in the center of the kettle, and then drain it off, ( the Wort).

You'll need a pump, and more fittings added to do a whirlpool.

I use an immersion chiller, or a counterflow chiller, using gravity flow on the latter, and drain it all into my fermenter, then pitch my yeast.

It will all compact in the bottom of the fermenter, of which you can cold crash after fermentation, to help clear it more, and then take care when racking the beer out of the fermenter into my keg, so as to transfer as little stuff as possible.

Whilst chilling and carbing in the keg, it settles out more, and when ready to drink, you only get a little shot of settlement in your first pint draw.

PROVIDED, that you don't jostle your keg around, to stir up the sediment, while the keg is in service.

There is also "fining", using unflavored gelatin in the keg.

If bottling, then do some more research, because I have never bottled.

I'm not super picky about beer clarity, I just wish it to be a good tasting, refreshing beer, that meets my expectations from the recipe.

Give it hell!..........................