1st step to AG

[kleinbeer]

Got given a couple of kegs today through sheer luck i ran into a work mate who was getting rid of the kegs from his old mans pub. He was just gonna throw them.

The Question is now what.
I know ive got to cut the tops out and i have acces to a plasma cutter at work or just the angle grinder at home.
But what size vlave should i put in, is weldless better than getting them welded.
1 is for the HLT and the other the wort boiler. Should i put in pick up tubes from the valves if so whats the best way. Also how do i filter the boiled wort.

any suggestions would be good

 

[torpshootr]

I agree with beer4breakfast. My boil kettle has two 1/2 in couplers welded in.

One is for a 1/2 in SS ball valve. I use a pickup tube and false bottom on the inside of this coupler. I only use leaf hops so the false bottom works great for me. If you intend to use pellet hops than you'll need something other than a false bottom - like a hop stopper.

The other coupler on my boil kettle has a 1/2 in SS tee that is used to connect a 1/2 in MPT thermometer and a sightglass like in this photo.

Some people will tell you that a thermometer is not too useful on a boil kettle, and I would agree except that I also use my boil kettle to preheat my strike/sparge water, so it is useful to me.

Good luck in putting together your system.

Cheers,
Ken

 

[the_bird]

Some people will tell you that a thermometer is not too useful on a boil kettle, and I would agree except that I also use my boil kettle to preheat my strike/sparge water, so it is useful to me.

I'm thinking of installing one since I use an immersion chiller.

Nice score, BTW! The angle grinder works fine and is an easy job, but if you have access to a plasma cutter, that'll probably be even easier.