Sight Glass Spillover Help

[brewsme]

Hello fellow brewers! I have a question I'm hopping you guys have experience with. I recently converted a keg into a keggle and I installed a sight glass per the instructions. I used this for the first time this weekend and was very disappointed when I couldn't tell what my volume was during the boil because wort would boil out of the sight glass spilling on to the ground.

The sight glass I have is from bargainfittings.com:
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=83

What do you suggest I do to stop wort spilling out of the sight glass and tell what my volume is during a boil?

I'm thinking switching to this sight glass might help since it's capped:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/weldless-sight-gauge-16.html

But before spending more money on this project I wanted to get some expert advise...

Thanks in advance!

 

[BargainFittings]

Hello,

You need to shield your fittings from the flame wash so they don't boil.
A piece of tin under the kettle beneath the sight gauge will keep the bulk of the heat off so it will not boil and gush out the top.

Also a good idea to shield your valves and thermometers to keep from burning up the plastic handle and seals.

 

[Rob_B]

Use a heat shield, it can be as simple as a piece of sheet metal slipped under the keggle sticking out far enough past the sight glass. Also check out Bobby_M's YouTube page for a cool solution. One other thing I noticed to reduce the boil over from my sight glass was to turn down the heat a little, just keep a good boil without going crazy.

 

[bovineblitz]

Use a heat shield, it can be as simple as a piece of sheet metal slipped under the keggle sticking out far enough past the sight glass. Also check out Bobby_M's YouTube page for a cool solution. One other thing I noticed to reduce the boil over from my sight glass was to turn down the heat a little, just keep a good boil without going crazy.

Do you know which video features that solution? I've tried a bunch of related keyword searches but haven't found it.

 

[samc]

I'm thinking switching to this sight glass might help since it's capped:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/weldless-sight-gauge-16.html

If it was truly capped, don't you think something would explode? Shielding as others have suggested is the solution.

 

[Bobby_M]

The kit you linked is not going to solve your problem. The top must be vented to work correctly and you'll still get boiling in there.


http://www.youtube.com/brewhardware#p/a/u/1/c5p-JYSLXRA

 

[Spartan1979]

Here's my heat shield, but I do need to increase the diameter of the opening.

You can have a return to the kettle at the top of the sightglass.

 

[brewsme]

Great video Bobby! Thank you all for the suggestions and photos!!

 

[wyzazz]

A simple piece of tinfoil underneath the sight glass has always done wonders for me, and if you're an outdoor brewer you can also hit the fitting with the hose every once in a while to keep it from boiling.

 

[BargainFittings]

A simple piece of tinfoil underneath the sight glass has always done wonders for me, and if you're an outdoor brewer you can also hit the fitting with the hose every once in a while to keep it from boiling.

I squirt mine with starsan when I forget to slip the shield under mine.

 

[wyzazz]

I squirt mine with starsan when I forget to slip the shield under mine.

Is there nothing that StarSan cannot do!

 

[brewsme]

What do you think about adding a piece of sheet metal (shroud) to the inside of the burner so the heat is trapped inside and not spilling around the side of the keggle? It looks like I can use the existing bolts for the legs to do this really easily.

 

[eltorrente]

Here you go. Tin Foil. Simple, effective, cheap:

 

[WHYB]

@ eltorrente, here let me jam this piece of junky looking tin foil on my $300-$500 brewing setup! Couldn't resist sorry.

 

[eltorrente]

@ eltorrente, here let me jam this piece of junky looking tin foil on my $300-$500 brewing setup! Couldn't resist sorry.

LOL

Agreed - but it works awesome, and it's disposable, too!