copper kettle project

[GranillaNutz]

between a 2 yr old daughter, a nagging wife, and alchoholism... mabye i' will finish this someday...

after a lot of crimping and pounding and heating, got the bottom for one about ready... hopefully i can get two, at least 10 gallon pots, and tops for them out of this sheet... if not i got more. i'd rather make one for free than pay a grand for one... or even 50 bux... free is allways better... and it keeps my brain occupied...
i will keep this adventure updated as well as life will allow me... any input or criticism is welcome.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

not to be a downer man... but if you are struggling with alcoholism, I am not sure this is the hobby for you. I love beer, but a man should know his limits.

Peace and good luck

 

[BrewTaster]

not to be a downer man... but if you are struggling with alcoholism, I am not sure this is the hobby for you. I love beer, but a man should know his limits.

Peace and good luck

Spoken truth. A spectacular hobby, but only if you know your limits.

This may sound weird though, but prior to brewing I drank too much, no doubt about it. Now that I am brewing I find myself appreciating the craft of beer, the effort involved etc. No more cheap swill for me. As such I have cut down my drinking alot!

 

[donaldson]

This man's about to craft his kettle! :rockin:

 

[GranillaNutz]

thank you donaldson... at least somebody has a sense of humor... i didn't think the word "alchoholism" would be taken so seriously... alchohol is the LEAST of my problems... el oh el... i've been to AA before, but it was because i failed a drug test for my job for marijuana... and AA told me that if i've EVER takin a sip of alchohal i was considerd an alchoholic... mabye i should tone my humor down for the more serious people out there... i would say that i'm not an alchoholic, but another thing they said at AA was "denial is the first step to admitting you're an alchoholic"
i love to drink beer, and i'm still a productive member of society.. i've never been in jail for an alcholic related crime, nor do i beat my wife or child... sooooo i think i'm doing allright... hopefully i've cleared this up for yall... cheers

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

thank you donaldson... at least somebody has a sense of humor... i didn't think the word "alchoholism" would be taken so seriously... alchohol is the LEAST of my problems... el oh el

Ha! And if it WERE, it wouldn't be anyone else's damn business anyways. The least of which would be a bunch of homebrewers focusing their efforts on making alcohol!

I love the idea for the project, can't wait to see it take shape. How are you going to attach the sides to the bottom? Do you solder those together just like copper tubing, or is there some other method involved?

 

[GranillaNutz]

i'm going to rivet them with copper split rivets first then weld them with copper rods using an oxy acetylene torch so it's all copper and no solder... solder would fail with the heat of boiling and more important, most solder contains contaminants that i don't want in my beer...

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

i'm going to rivet them with copper split rivets first then weld them with copper rods using an oxy acetylene torch so it's all copper and no solder... solder would fail with the heat of boiling and more important, most solder contains contaminants that i don't want in my beer...

Wow, very cool...can't wait to see more pics of the project!

 

[amishland]

besides looking cool, are there any benefits or cons of a copper brew kettle?

 

[GranillaNutz]

pros:
supperior thermal distribution
cons:
possibly poisend from improper cleaning

 

[ChemE]

Pro (if you want maltier beer): An increased rate of Maillard reactions.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Sorry Gran!

I didn't get the sarcasm.... weird

For some alcoholism is not a joking matter and I apologize for taking you seriously on that note.

Your project sounds awesome!!!! We want to see pics

 

[MrNate]

That is s**t hot, man - I love it! Is the plan just to solder up the joints? Did I miss you saying how it would all go together?

 

[Jaybird]

pros:
supperior thermal distribution
cons:
possibly poisend from improper cleaning

Is it just me . Or does the CONS out weigh the PROS????
It does look killer though. I am willing to bet your the only on on here that has hand made copper kettles.
JJ

 

[GranillaNutz]

well the idea is to do it like this guy did... but on a larger scale
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcw2_n7tP5k]YouTube - Copper Frustum Construction[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOz6--oa3d8]YouTube - Copper Pan Construction[/ame]

 

[slnies]

Where did you get the sheet copper?

 

[GranillaNutz]

my boss's shop... had a lot left over from a house that was being renovated, that house got destroyed by gustav so the original plan got aborted... apart from doing electric work, i do a little bit of roofing too, and mechanic work, and welding, and woodworkin, and etc. etc. etc.
just found that my local scrap yard could sell me a 3x10 sheet for 60 bux... 30lbs worth at 2.00 a lb... they buy it at 1.00 a lb right now

 

[GranillaNutz]

my progress so far...

got most of the rivets in that i need... i may put more... it's pretty tedious hammering rivets together one by one... mabye next weekend or tomorrow if i have time, i'll break out the torch and get to finishing this one... i should have enough copper to make 2 more with tops and bottoms..
so far here's my tool list... (all of which i borrowd from my mother in law so if u don't at least have these tools... u shouldn't try to do anything by urself):
lil raggady ball pin hammer
rubber mallot
another lil ragady hammer (all three of which had to have been over 80 years old)
a fabric tape measure out the sewing box
a benzo mapp torch (that's for those hot saturday nights i guess... iuno what she's doin with that)
drill with small high speed drill bits
xm radio on track 14 bluegrass junction
pack of marlboro lights
and a nieghbor that hates to hear me hammerin
so far i've spent 6 dollars on a sh!tload of copper rivets

 

[Warrior]

pros:
supperior thermal distribution
cons:
possibly poisend from improper cleaning

A lot of old commercial breweries use copper kettles. Yuenglings original brewery downtown uses the old copper kettles.

 

[B-Dub]

You can not get poisoned from improper cleaning unless you forget to rinse the kettle.

 

[dunleav1]

Any progress on this kettle?

 

[D-Boss]

I am VERY INTERESTED in this project. Im a plumber who works with a lot of copper and solder, always wondered if it was even possible. Please give us some details on how you are join the metals, I am not familiar with copper rod. Been dreaming of a large scale brew set up, how big could you make a copper kettle?

 

[B-Dub]

I worked with an old copper kettle (1950's?) from Germany at Portland Brewing. It was 130 BBLs.

The mash tun was copper as well with a brass false bottom.

You could see brass rivets in some of the spots along the seams.

I love copper kettles! No caustic! Just power washing once a week.

 

[sudbuster]

HEY, GranillaNutz!!!
BUMP, BUMP.....

 

[olcurt]

i have a friend who is great with copper.
How did this go from here?

 

[lincoln]

some where on http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ i remember a thread discussing how to tin the inside of large stil..eehem pots (purely a historical discussion) basically tin was used due to its higher melting point. the tin plug and pot was heated until the tin got mushy and was ran around the inside.

Your probably a better welder that i am because i would not try and OA a thin copper sheet with copper filler. I only mention it as a second option.

still an awesome project

link

 

[Catt22]

So, the last we heard from him was in December 2008. That's nearly two years ago, WTF?

 

[Mpez]

Maybe he was poisoned by that copper kettle. Bah Duh Dum..

 

[martinworswick]

why would he be poisoned by a copper kettle? everything i've read suggests there is no problem with copper on the pre ferment side of things,can even be beneficial for yeast.

 

[Mpez]

You can't. It was a joke. Read the thread.