help hole in home brew kettle

[jamescb77]

so i got a hand me down turkey fryer and pot well went to do a test run and there is a pin hole in the bottom of it is there any easy way to fix this besides maybe welding. Posibly an epoxy or something similar also the whole is on the very bottom so it needs to be heat resistant. thanks guys jamescb77

 

[wildwest450]

I would think some JB weld would do the trick.

 

[k1v1116]

if the hole is in the bottom then its exposed to direct heat? if thats the case glue may not be a good idea. In theory if the pot will still sit flat with something protruding from the area where the hole is, you could drill it out larger and use a stainless bolt with soft copper washers as seals. Ive done stuff like that in other diy projects and had excellent seals.

 

[justbrewit]

i had the same thing happen, i left my chiller in my turkey fryer for a bit and the copper ate a hole in my pot. heres what i did:

took the lid which i don't use anyway, cut a small piece off of that. then i took a hand held butane torch that i have and heated the area with the hole. i then crammed that little piece into the hole under more heat. after i got the piece to stick i turned the pot over and heated it from the inside and mashed the hole as flat as possible. basicly i hammer welded the hole shut!!! i've made 2 batches since the repair job and still no leaks. hope this helps!!!

 

[jamescb77]

well upon further inspection the inside of the pot on the bottom is pretty pitted up just one hole all the way threw unless you guys think i could take some jb weld and smear it all over the inside of the pot i think ill have ot throw it away. if i smear the jb weld all over the bottom when it heats up is it going to let out chemicals into my brew?
what about this stuff http://jbweld.net/products/water.php
also it says the normal jb weld is non toxic and can withstand heat of 500 degrees

 

[wildwest450]

what about this stuff http://jbweld.net/products/water.php
also it says the normal jb weld is non toxic and can withstand heat of 500 degrees

That water weld is only good to 300f. If your going to toss the pot anyways, id try smearing some jb weld on it, it may just work.

 

[jamescb77]

i know that the jb weld will hold up i just don't want to lose a whole batch of beer because it tastes liek crap because of this. i guess i could boil water in it for a while let it cool and taste it and see if there is any off flavors in it. it's not toxic so it shouldn't hurt me might just taste bad

 

[WBC]

Go find a stainless pot or keg and use a weldless drain kit. Better yet have a commercial welder weld in a 304 stainless 1/2 inch pipe union in a keg. Make sure he understands that this weld should be free of defects on both sides of the weld and the pot is food grade for brewing and you need a good job.

 

[jamescb77]

thats my next goal as i need to find a pony keg i don't want a full 16 gallon boil pot and i don't have a chiller yet so that is a big step i already have a weldless drain kit as there is one on this pot. im going to go get some jb weld and see how this works ill let it setup boil some water and see what happens

 

[nathan]

a pony keg? If you want that size, just go get a turkey frier pot. Mines about 8 gallons.

 

[jamescb77]

well i know im waiting to try and find a pony for free. if im going to buy something ill just buy a big stainless pot just trying to get some freebies right now. funds are tight. i have a fullsize keg that i can get for free just don't really want a 15 gallon pot to do 5 gallon boils also since i don't have a IC i can't really ice bath a whole keg

 

[justbrewit]

you can take that full size keg and cut it down to the size that you need. just because its a full keg doesn't mean you have to leave it that way. cut off about 1/4-1/3 of the top of it and you will have just a hair bigger than a pony keg. a pony is 7 1/2? gallons, if you cut off 1/3 of the full size you will still have a 10 gallon brew pot.

just my 2 useless pieces of copper

 

[jamescb77]

thanks man this is what im probably going to do know i just have to adress the issue of a chiller as i still don't have one nor money for one right now might have to hold off on ful boils for a bit im going to do a partial tomorrow and then i will just wait till i get a IC so i can do a full next time

 

[justbrewit]

i got my copper from an air conditioning place. i got a 25-30' of 3/8" and a 25-30' of 1/4" for 20 bucks

not a bad deal. i haven't done anything with the 1/4" yet, but i'm thinking of either making a jockey box or making a second coil to sit in the middle of my main coil of my chiller

 

[BrewBeemer]

We talking an aluminum pot here?
I had one that's still in use 5 years after
I drilled a couple #30 holes thru the pinholes
and riveted aluminum rivets in the holes.
As said above over 5 years still in service, no leaks
and a cheap fast fix. Call me cheap.

 

[jamescb77]

well i JB welded the whole bottom of the pot already tomorrow im going to do a boil of water let it cool and taste it. JB welds website says it can take heat of up to 600 for 10 minutes and 500 all day and that it's non toxic so if it doesn't leach a flavor i think i should be good to go