20g Stout/Kal Build and Bar

[sandyeggoxj]

Wow. That's a new one. I had read that people didn't like the size but welding sections together? I love my tanks, but some of thier QC stuff makes me scratch my head sometimes. I'm glad I replaced from the start.

A bottom drain on the domed boil kettle is a great idea. I would have happily modified my stand for it if I had thought of it. For now I just use the shop vac to clean it out but a dump would be even easier.

Yeah every bend has 2 welds where they inserted an elbow instead of bending the tube. And then halfway through the coil they ran out and started with a new length of tubing. Overall the quality seriously disappoints me. But who is really a competitor?? I wanted 30 gallons, bottom out mlt and a combo whirlpool/bk. Stout was the only company that could really do it. They accomplish the task and the price was good.

 

[BayerischBier]

sub....

 

[bpmpg]

Awesome work! I hope my (lack of) craftiness comes at least a bit close to your work. I'm thinking of mounting my panel like yours in order to make it able to move/monitor from other angles. How did you mount the panel(not VESA) to the tv mount (VESA?)? Also how has it worked out?
Thanks,
-pg

 

[November]

I made an adapter out of pre-perforated steel bar from home depot. I ran 4 pieces in a square and bolted the panel through the corners, then bolted two cross pieces to the square and bolted the tv mount to those pieces.

I'm out of town right now but I will see if my wife can snap a picture of it tonight.

It has worked great.

 

[olse0230]

I used the Barkan E340 TV mount. The arms are adjustable and was very easy to mount the panel to it.

 

[bpmpg]

that would be awesome if you could show me how to do it...may have to rig up something similar!
-pg
p.s. sorry it took a bit to respond, been busy with the new baby!

 

[The-Wall]

I had a horrible experience with Stout tanks and kettles, I ordered 3 kettles from them, the mash tun had a hole punched in the bottom and then plug welded, it was such a poor repair that I complained, they offered a discount but I did not trust the longevity of this vessel and sent it back for a replacement. When the replacement arrived everything looked great... until I put water in it, within 20 minutes there was a ring of rust around the bottom drain. I got on the phone, they suggested barkeepers friend, it took the rust off, then I passivated the area with an acid that my local brewery uses to passivate their equipment, I put water in it again and within 20 minutes rust began to form, within 24hrs the ring of rust was huge, I cleaned and acid washed 2 more times to no avail.
I wanted my money back at this point, they agreed to give me a refund for all 3 kettles and they sent prepaid shipping labels which was great. When the tracking info showed that the kettles arrived at their location I called them to ask when I could expect my refund, they told me it may take 2 weeks as their bookkeeper was part time and did not work every day, I called them 2 weeks later Rich told me he would write a credit memo to the bookkeeper, I thought this strange, why had he not done this 2 weeks ago? he told me it would be another week. I called again in a week and was told he would write the credit memo today, what??? he still hadn't done a thing. I called again the next day and was told that they would send a check that very day, at this point I'm not believing a word of it.
Luckily, I paid for these kettles through Paypal, I called them and put a claim against Stout tanks and kettles, later in the day Stout tanks and kettles called me and said they sent the refund check, still not believing them, I continued with the claim, Paypal agreed that I should be refunded the price of the kettles AND shipping charges. In a day or two, I got an email from Stout tanks and kettles saying they have put a stop payment on the check they sent because I had put a claim to Paypal and they would pay that way. The refund check came but was for the price of the kettles minus $250.00 for shipping costs, I continued with the claim through Paypal and in the end they got ALL of my money back for me!

 

[November]

that would be awesome if you could show me how to do it...may have to rig up something similar!
-pg
p.s. sorry it took a bit to respond, been busy with the new baby!

Sorry, I forgot until tonight to post the picture. Here it is.

 

[November]

I had a horrible experience with Stout tanks and kettles, I ordered 3 kettles from them, the mash tun had a hole punched in the bottom and then plug welded, it was such a poor repair that I complained, they offered a discount but I did not trust the longevity of this vessel and sent it back for a replacement. When the replacement arrived everything looked great... until I put water in it, within 20 minutes there was a ring of rust around the bottom drain. I got on the phone, they suggested barkeepers friend, it took the rust off, then I passivated the area with an acid that my local brewery uses to passivate their equipment, I put water in it again and within 20 minutes rust began to form, within 24hrs the ring of rust was huge, I cleaned and acid washed 2 more times to no avail.
I wanted my money back at this point, they agreed to give me a refund for all 3 kettles and they sent prepaid shipping labels which was great. When the tracking info showed that the kettles arrived at their location I called them to ask when I could expect my refund, they told me it may take 2 weeks as their bookkeeper was part time and did not work every day, I called them 2 weeks later Rich told me he would write a credit memo to the bookkeeper, I thought this strange, why had he not done this 2 weeks ago? he told me it would be another week. I called again in a week and was told he would write the credit memo today, what??? he still hadn't done a thing. I called again the next day and was told that they would send a check that very day, at this point I'm not believing a word of it.
Luckily, I paid for these kettles through Paypal, I called them and put a claim against Stout tanks and kettles, later in the day Stout tanks and kettles called me and said they sent the refund check, still not believing them, I continued with the claim, Paypal agreed that I should be refunded the price of the kettles AND shipping charges. In a day or two, I got an email from Stout tanks and kettles saying they have put a stop payment on the check they sent because I had put a claim to Paypal and they would pay that way. The refund check came but was for the price of the kettles minus $250.00 for shipping costs, I continued with the claim through Paypal and in the end they got ALL of my money back for me!

Wow. Glad you got your refund. That is pretty messed up. Makes my little blemishes look like nothing.

You would think that they would have their own QC person in China to inspect this stuff before it comes over. At the very least, they should open it and inspect before shipping to the customer.

Good luck with it.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Another brewer on this site OrangeHero had an issue, although not as bad as yours, with Stout. If you read the forums, you will see a few issues pop up about the build quality with Stout Tanks.

The redneck in me loves the shiny bling-factor that Stout has, as well as the bottom drain port/ domed bottom to them. However, I look at things from a longevity stand-point and who can I trust. Ultimately, I went with Spike brewing for my Kettles. Ben over there pretty much backs up everything. I have had no issues with my kettle, but he was great to work with, and promptly replied to my concerns and questions. The quality was second-to-none and I know that my kettle is going to last for as conceivably long as I continue to brew.

Now if Spike ever started making coned bottoms on their kettles like Stout, I would be willing to bet that every person on the fence about purchasing a Stout or a Spike would easily purchase from Spike. All-in-all, my boil kettle is awesome and I couldn't be happier.

 

[augiedoggy]

I had a horrible experience with Stout tanks and kettles, I ordered 3 kettles from them, the mash tun had a hole punched in the bottom and then plug welded, it was such a poor repair that I complained, they offered a discount but I did not trust the longevity of this vessel and sent it back for a replacement. When the replacement arrived everything looked great... until I put water in it, within 20 minutes there was a ring of rust around the bottom drain. I got on the phone, they suggested barkeepers friend, it took the rust off, then I passivated the area with an acid that my local brewery uses to passivate their equipment, I put water in it again and within 20 minutes rust began to form, within 24hrs the ring of rust was huge, I cleaned and acid washed 2 more times to no avail.
I wanted my money back at this point, they agreed to give me a refund for all 3 kettles and they sent prepaid shipping labels which was great. When the tracking info showed that the kettles arrived at their location I called them to ask when I could expect my refund, they told me it may take 2 weeks as their bookkeeper was part time and did not work every day, I called them 2 weeks later Rich told me he would write a credit memo to the bookkeeper, I thought this strange, why had he not done this 2 weeks ago? he told me it would be another week. I called again in a week and was told he would write the credit memo today, what??? he still hadn't done a thing. I called again the next day and was told that they would send a check that very day, at this point I'm not believing a word of it.
Luckily, I paid for these kettles through Paypal, I called them and put a claim against Stout tanks and kettles, later in the day Stout tanks and kettles called me and said they sent the refund check, still not believing them, I continued with the claim, Paypal agreed that I should be refunded the price of the kettles AND shipping charges. In a day or two, I got an email from Stout tanks and kettles saying they have put a stop payment on the check they sent because I had put a claim to Paypal and they would pay that way. The refund check came but was for the price of the kettles minus $250.00 for shipping costs, I continued with the claim through Paypal and in the end they got ALL of my money back for me!

wow that really does look bad!
My girlfriend purchased my 12.5 gallon conical from stout tanks through ebay and the quality was is great.

I noticed you can now but the same exact conicals as stout sells from at least one other vender now on ebay from time to time. Here is a link to an 8 gallon conical which is identical in every way to the 12.5 gallon one I got from stout only smaller and sold by a different distributor.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-S...611?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3397b8acf3

Its my understanding that stout is just a distributor for the Chinese goods and may not have as much control over the manufacturing or design as we think... (SS brewing also buys their products from china but appears to have control and focus over design and consistent quality) my guess is stout struck a deal with a seller on alibaba to distribute their products and now the manufacturer is branching out to other middlemen in the states..

I have seen the same poor quality reported with many other stainless products like bayou classic kettles. there are even pictures on amazon of the kettles that were so thin they came with pinholes throughout the surface.
when I compare the 2 bayou kettles I own to the quality of my stout conical the conical is leaps and bounds better... and considering they are both considered the bargain priced products for what they are you have to expect things like imperfect welds and such as long as it doesnt effect use which was not the case in your situation.

 

[BayerischBier]

My girlfriend purchased my 12.5 gallon conical from stout tanks through ebay and the quality was is great.

KUDOS!!
Mine agreed on the 50amp breaker in the garage thus she will be able to run a pottery kiln/furnace on it too....