Can I use 430 stainless for brew kettles?

[marvin_yorke]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about building a bigger size brewery for a while, but finding proper kettles seems to be a problem. I'd like to get 100L sized kettles to brew about 70L at a time, but it seems to be almost impossible to find something this big in 304 or 316 stainless in this country (I'm form Russia). The biggest 3xx stainless vessels I can find are 50L and that's what I'm using now. They seem to be really good kettles, relatively thick-walled and cheap. Just they're too small.

Talking about 100L vessels, the best thing I've came up with for the moment are these stainless drums:

They're made of 430 stainless, about 0.9mm thick. I'm thinking to use 100L drum for HLT, 100L for BK and 200L cut in half for MLT. I could braze all the seams with silver solder and polish the interior to make them more sanitary, but is 430 steel appropriate for brewing applications? As far as I understood, it's less corrosion resistant than 304/316, but I haven't seen a word cons about using it for brewing beer. It's said that most often this steel is used for other food processing applications but nothing says that it could not be used for beer production. Has anyone dealt with 430 stainless kettles? Is it worth it or should I look for 304 (although it seems that it would be much much more expensive to get here)?

Regards,
Max

PS: I'm going to use it 1 to 3 times a week at most

 

[cantrell00]

430 is used in kitchens all of the time. It is not as corrosion resistant as 304/316.

Other that Fe , it's primary alloying element is Cr. Does not contain Ni. It is basically 304 SS without the Ni.

 

[marvin_yorke]

Yeah, I've already figured it out. The question is, by how much it's less resistant and which special measures (if any) should I take to safely use it in brewing applications?

 

[ZebulonBrewer]

In brewing, where we (in general) clean up every time, you should be in great shape. The issue of *less* corrosion resistance is going to come up if it is being weathered outside, or with chemical/water contact over extended periods of time. If you do get some rust spots (as all SS can gather over time), you can fix it with some acid solution and elbow grease (barkeepers friend if that is available in Russia).

Happy Brewing

 

[Devin]

One bad thing about using those drums as a kettle is that the drums have seams. Those will be a bear to keep truly clean and corrosion free over time, I imagine.

 

[marvin_yorke]

One bad thing about using those drums as a kettle is that the drums have seams. Those will be a bear to keep truly clean and corrosion free over time, I imagine.

Sure, that's why I'm going to solder the seams (would prefer welding though, but 430 SS seems to be real pain in the butt in terms of welding) and then polish the inside. Should be fine

 

[cantrell00]

Sure, that's why I'm going to solder the seams (would prefer welding though, but 430 SS seems to be real pain in the butt in terms of welding) and then polish the inside. Should be fine

I'd verify that the solder will adhere also... It should but I'd confirm.

 

[Devin]

Sure, that's why I'm going to solder the seams (would prefer welding though, but 430 SS seems to be real pain in the butt in terms of welding) and then polish the inside. Should be fine

Oops. I didn't read your first post carefully enough. My bad.