I would try the solder, JMO.
Element position in kettle
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A boil kettle doesn't really need to be sanitary weld, but that's your first clue that it might be ugly. For all your trouble, I doubt you want a but ugly weld to remind you of this struggle.
I agree with trying the solder job. You have nothing to lose except for some time and a learning experience.
OP
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Hello
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I'll try to solder since I've ordered the stuff and picked up the torch. The welder does stainless welds. I actually don't know if sanitary is prettier, I should use google a little. 
But supposedly this guy will stop whatever job he is doing and do my job real quick for a lot less than others have quoted me. We'll see. I will solder first. there may be a way to move the thing down ever so slightly to get more surface area.
What a pain in the asscakes! It was one hole...I had one job! haha
But supposedly this guy will stop whatever job he is doing and do my job real quick for a lot less than others have quoted me. We'll see. I will solder first. there may be a way to move the thing down ever so slightly to get more surface area. What a pain in the asscakes! It was one hole...I had one job! haha
Lennie
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Sanitary just has to be very smooth so there are no crevices for gunk to stick in and harbor bacteria. Not an issue on a brew kettle. That is a good backup plan if the soldering doesn't work. Good luck.
ChocolateMaltyBalls
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Good luck
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After watching the videos and such I was confident I could do the solder. Unfortunately though, the area at the top posed as a problem and the solder just ran down through the hole.
I ended up taking it to a welder. Now, it's not pretty at all and I'm very okay with that. I just need it to be leak free and of course not rust or anything like that.
I filled it with nearly 6 gallons of water before a small leak showed face. I cannot figure out why it is leaking though. While not pretty, the weld shows no signs of any weak spots. I reset the gasket twice and still had the issue. The only thing I wonder is if the off set of the flange has anything to do with it. When I took out the heating element, the gasket was bone dry. that leads me to believe there is a leak somewhere else.
Could the way the flange sits offset (see interior pic) actually allow water to come through and leak out? It's so hard to say but I'm stumped. I could go back to the welder, but there is very little area allowed for the TC clamp. If there is any more metal added there, that clamp won't fit. Then I'm back to being hosed.
See the bottom pic where at the bottom of the flange you can see part of the pot sticking up. This is the area that makes me wonder if it's a problem.
I ended up taking it to a welder. Now, it's not pretty at all and I'm very okay with that. I just need it to be leak free and of course not rust or anything like that.
I filled it with nearly 6 gallons of water before a small leak showed face. I cannot figure out why it is leaking though. While not pretty, the weld shows no signs of any weak spots. I reset the gasket twice and still had the issue. The only thing I wonder is if the off set of the flange has anything to do with it. When I took out the heating element, the gasket was bone dry. that leads me to believe there is a leak somewhere else.
Could the way the flange sits offset (see interior pic) actually allow water to come through and leak out? It's so hard to say but I'm stumped. I could go back to the welder, but there is very little area allowed for the TC clamp. If there is any more metal added there, that clamp won't fit. Then I'm back to being hosed.
See the bottom pic where at the bottom of the flange you can see part of the pot sticking up. This is the area that makes me wonder if it's a problem.
augiedoggy
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Dont hate me for suggesting this but jb weld is also completely food grade when cured so you could always trying wiping a very thin skim coat across the weld to plug any pin holes you may not be seeing....
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I don't hate you for that. I love JB weld! In fact, if it can't be done with duct tape, it's JB weld. Now, I should do that on the outside, right? Sorry to sound dense, I just want to be clear. I think the suggestion is great. In fact, I wonder if I could have gotten away with just using that in the first place. ;-)
augiedoggy
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It is food safe for direct contact so you can use it inside the kettle especially if your just skim coating the surface but either inside or outside should work.
I actually plugged the end of my stainless thermowell for my conical with JB weld after researching whether it was in fact food safe and found it is, After it cures of course.
I though about using it instead of welding or soldering but I dont think I would trust it without drilling small holes for the jb to have something to really grab onto and hold it... soldering or welding or even weldless would likley work better than just the jb weld but maybe not.
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@ augiedoggy thanks. I will try that. I'll do the outside first, let it set and then fill with water. I think I can fill with water before it cures but I just have to let it set...I think. I'll have to read the package again.
Is all JB Weld the same? This is what I use since I don't go through it quickly. I used it on my IC for my elbow. It worked great.
Is all JB Weld the same? This is what I use since I don't go through it quickly. I used it on my IC for my elbow. It worked great.
rudylyon57
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It looks like you are so close to getting a seal! Have you considered grinding a flat on the gland nut so it clears the rib on the kettle ID? If possible, that solution would be simple, clean and quick. In any case good luck.
The best luck I have had with silver solder is to swage-in the fittings before soldering. The depression makes a great place for the solder to form a nice bead. I think there are a few videos on the method out there.
rudylyon57
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Hey...sorry for last post of mine...I did not see the last few posts showing that problem was solved via TIG.
flatulentfox
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You already have the silver solder supplies, right? That would be the best solution to try and plug any holes i would think, assuming you know where the trouble spot is.
OP
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I haven't been able to figure out where the leak is though. It just ran down and dripped from the bottom. Nothing was visible using a bright light shining on the kettle so it is hard to say.
Obviously you need to isolate the leak. Try wiping it dry and chasing it up the kettle. It could be coming from the weld, the gasket, or the threads on the element.
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I received my TC end cap yesterday in the post. It will be easier to move the kettle around without the heating element being in there with the long cord. It also eliminates one object that could be the source of the leak. I opted to wait for the cap before I JB welded anything. I'm close here and more hopeful that I don't have to buy another pot thanks to Bobby_M's radius flange and all of your help.
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I applied the JB weld on the exterior only at about 2:30 yesterday, so it's not quite at 24 hours. It feels slightly tacky still, which I've never noticed happening before but everything I've used it on was to basically secure something to another object and there was little to no JB weld exposed.
I put about 3 gallons of water in the kettle just now and I believe I am leak free. I'm going to give it the full 24 hours and fill the kettle up with at least 8-10 gallons to see if the leak shows face under more weight of the water. I'm hoping it doesn't, of course. The next step would be the heat test, which I hope goes well.
I put about 3 gallons of water in the kettle just now and I believe I am leak free. I'm going to give it the full 24 hours and fill the kettle up with at least 8-10 gallons to see if the leak shows face under more weight of the water. I'm hoping it doesn't, of course. The next step would be the heat test, which I hope goes well.
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@bobby_m and @wilserbrewer I ran a heat test yesterday and got to about 150F before I had to shut down and get to a meeting, but so far the JB weld on the outside seems to have held. I can't thank you all enough for the help in saving this kettle. The flange works very well and I'll likely go this route if I opt to upgrade my BK to match the HLT.
I'll be doing a wet run in the next couple of days as well and I now have to order a pump hardware kit for my second pump.
Oh and how can I forget the guy who told me JB Weld is food safe (it really is)? @augiedoggy Though I didn't bother applying it inside because I figured if the outside worked, why put it in there? Now I can take my pennies I didn't have to spend on another kettle and buy the HERMs coil.
I'll be doing a wet run in the next couple of days as well and I now have to order a pump hardware kit for my second pump.
Oh and how can I forget the guy who told me JB Weld is food safe (it really is)? @augiedoggy Though I didn't bother applying it inside because I figured if the outside worked, why put it in there? Now I can take my pennies I didn't have to spend on another kettle and buy the HERMs coil.
augiedoggy
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@bobby_m and @wilserbrewer I ran a heat test yesterday and got to about 150F before I had to shut down and get to a meeting, but so far the JB weld on the outside seems to have held. I can't thank you all enough for the help in saving this kettle. The flange works very well and I'll likely go this route if I opt to upgrade my BK to match the HLT.
I'll be doing a wet run in the next couple of days as well and I now have to order a pump hardware kit for my second pump.
Oh and how can I forget the guy who told me JB Weld is food safe (it really is)? @augiedoggy Though I didn't bother applying it inside because I figured if the outside worked, why put it in there? Now I can take my pennies I didn't have to spend on another kettle and buy the HERMs coil.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=195002
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Well, now I'm beyond words. I left water in my kettle over two days. I figured it would be okay and it would let me see if a small leak forms. However instead it's rusted. Prior to use I did hit it with barkeepers friend. I assume BKF will take off the rust but what can I do it stop this?
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433767664.011823.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433767664.011823.jpg
thatjonguy
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Yikes. That doesn't look good.
Was it passivated after welding?
It looks to be more than surface rust at this point but who ever do the weld is the one with whom you need to talk.
Was it passivated after welding?
It looks to be more than surface rust at this point but who ever do the weld is the one with whom you need to talk.
PatrickGoss
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It looks like it is limited to the weld area. Did you have the port put on at a local shop or buy the kettle like that?
From some searching, it seems that this is a function of it not being a 'sanitary' weld. Apparently it's supposed to be purged of oxygen before the process, otherwise oxidation can happen.
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?36604-Sanitary-TIG-Welding
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?36604-Sanitary-TIG-Welding
Although with that much rust, I wonder if the rod he used was stainless.
PatrickGoss
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I am going to say it wasn't stainless rod. If it is stainless rod just done without a proper gas shield, a grind and polish followed by some of the previous neutralizing treatments would improve things. Being an electric kettle, I would entertain cleaning it up and painting the weld.
Rust is somewhat like ink, a tiny bit can leave a huge stain. I think that weld could be cleaned with a grinder, or stainless wire wheel and show improvement. Of course perfection is not possible in this instance. Passivate agian with a paste of BKF and use the kettle, and most importantly....
perhaps the guy that welded it could clean it up, but then again maybe he has already done too much
"don't leave water in the kettle ya nut"
perhaps the guy that welded it could clean it up, but then again maybe he has already done too much
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I do not believe he used a stainless rod. He also picked up a wire brush and a grinder that suggested to me it was used for everything. So once you use say a wire brush, even if it were stainless, and you touch it to carbon steel or something, I think going back to stainless makes things bad.
I don't want to return to him to do anything else to the kettle now.
That being said, if I clean it up best I can and re-passivate it with BKF (which I did but evidently not good enough) is this salvageable?
I don't want to return to him to do anything else to the kettle now.
That being said, if I clean it up best I can and re-passivate it with BKF (which I did but evidently not good enough) is this salvageable?
thatjonguy
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That is doing just about everything wrong when welding stainless. Carbon cross contamination, wrong materials and what we can assume is improper technique. A sanitary weld should look like a stack or row of dimes overlapping.
I wouldn't let him near it again. I would take it to someone else. If they can't tell you what a sanitary stainless weld is like, then they no touchy.
*In my limited knowledge of welding.
I wouldn't let him near it again. I would take it to someone else. If they can't tell you what a sanitary stainless weld is like, then they no touchy.
*In my limited knowledge of welding.
augiedoggy
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Maybe skim coat it with some jb weld on the inside?
I was thinking that same thing, but first I need to clean it up. I'd like to clean it, passivate it, and see if it does it again. I wouldn't be leaving water in there for 2 days again. There was no need to do that I suppose, but I figured if it was going to show a leak, it would do i under pressure of 8 gallons.
augiedoggy
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true... my element has a steel base that hasnt rusted surprisingly but I dont leave the kettle full of water overnight I did that in my HLT before I swapped the element to one with a brass base and it rusted pretty bad overnight.
orangehero
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The spatter suggests that the hack just hit it with a regular MIG weld.
If so, you'd have to cut all of the welded area off for it to stop rusting. Probably not worth the bother.
If you don't have connections it's a huge task to find a competent welder who does sanitary stainless steel. Even then it can get very expensive. A proper weld will be essentially sanitary anyway.
If so, you'd have to cut all of the welded area off for it to stop rusting. Probably not worth the bother.
If you don't have connections it's a huge task to find a competent welder who does sanitary stainless steel. Even then it can get very expensive. A proper weld will be essentially sanitary anyway.
At the very least get your money back if you paid the "welder".
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PatrickGoss
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The kettle can be used as is (rust won't hurt you), I believe Bobby was just saying get your money back from the hack that did a crappy repair.
As for repairs: a careful clean up and passivation may help. Cutting out the old and paying someone for a correct weld is best. I would clean up the weld area and coat it in jb weld or an appropriate epoxy. I know por15 would handle the environment, anyone know if it is food safe?
As for repairs: a careful clean up and passivation may help. Cutting out the old and paying someone for a correct weld is best. I would clean up the weld area and coat it in jb weld or an appropriate epoxy. I know por15 would handle the environment, anyone know if it is food safe?
augiedoggy
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I do not believe por15 is food safe
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Okay. JB Weld is, so I will likely run a nice coat over everything after I clean things up. First though, I will clean up, re-passivate and do another run. You see, I left the water in the kettle for 2 days, technically 3 because it was the third day that I dumped it and saw the rust. I'm wondering if it will rust like that just through normal use and me not being stupid and leaving water in there.
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