Welding vs Weldless

I am in the midst of converting a keg and was wondering if using weldless materials (spigot, site glass) works just as well as having them welded on. I ask because finding someone in my area to weld may not be the easiest task. Also, where would you order these items from? Cheaper the better but I also need quality. Thanks again everyone. Best brewing related website by far!

 

Most people use weldless I would say....they work great.
Check out bargainfittings.com and brewhardware.com

 

Thanks. I will be ordering from somewhere tonight. Have to get this thing put together soon! Im having withdrawals.

 

I've only used weldless plumbing parts on both of my keggles, but they've worked with no problems.

I bought my parts from bargainfittings.com and have been really happy with their customer service.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

Yeah, Im liking their prices and the feed back I'm seeing. So now I am going to order my spigot and site glass. They cant get here fast enough. This is my first conversion so if anyone has any tips or warnings I would appreciate it. Im a bit of a perfectionist so hopefully I can get this done.

 

Take this for what it's worth. I'd personally want to use a welded coupling for the ball valve drain only because it's a joint that is going to get flexed over and over by operating the valve. I'm not saying weldless doesn't work fine, it does and that's the only reason I sell them.

On the sight glass side of things, I have never had a single report of the weldless versions of the kit leaking. Keep in mind I've sold a lot more of the compact version so that's what I'm most confident in at the moment.

 

Bobby, when you get a chance can you check your messages? Thanks

 

Was typing out a long response... coming in a couple minutes.

 

I had one I got from northernbrewer with a very slow drip....it wasn't enough for me to ever bother fixing...

That said, I did go through later and replace all my weldless fittings with welded ones.

Getting a tig welder had a lot to do with that tho.

 

If you decide to go weldless, this is a great reference:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/kettles-overview

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/hot-liquor-tank?page=4

Buying the shims he talks about allows a nice, tight connection.