Closing off Keggle Vent Holes in Mash Tun

[dmcmillen]

First of all, I know a ton has already been discussed about doing this. I also saw the explosion of the keg made without vent holes in Michigan -- pretty scary, although that was on the boil kettle, not the mash tun.

I have a single tier Brutus 10 type system with 2 pumps in my basement. The stand is open except for a 10" sheet metal skirt on the front and sides to keep from getting burned. There is a large vent hood over the stand with a fan I run during mash if applying heat and throughout the boil I have been wrapping my mash tun with reflextix, but whenever I have to apply heat (always relatively low, never high and always while recirculating), the heat coming up from the skirt holes eventually destroys the reflextix. I have just purchased a sheet of armaflex to use and don't want to destroy it.

So I was thinking of blocking the 4 vent holes on my mash tun. I figure that if I apply heat it is always relatively low and for short periods of time so there wouldn't be much of a risk. Oh, I'm using natural gas.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[wilserbrewer]

You can close off the vent holes on the side of the keg. The famed keg explosion was due to the drain holes in the very bottom rolled rim of the keg, they are two different holes, take another look at the exploding keg warning thread.

 

[wilserbrewer]

The hole you NEED is the small round hole in the very bottom of the kegs rolled rim. The vent hole in the side of the keg can be closed off.

 

[dmcmillen]

Thanks. I figured that out after I posted. I had forgotten about the small drain holes on the bottom.