How would you fix this?

[canmorebrewguy]

Hello all,
I have happened upon this plate chiller and it is in need of some repair. The fittings caused a galvanic reaction and corroded the front plate. I thought about building it up with a tig weld then machine it all but that is a huge amount of work. Has any one used aluminum epoxies? This corrosion is only on the water side, that is why I don't think it would hurt to use a epoxy.

Thoughts?

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[kh54s10]

IDK, but I don't think I would coat it with anything. If you do it will insulate somewhat and reduce heat transfer. That is pretty thick, so I would just grind off some of the scale and leave it alone otherwise.

What was that made for?? I am not sure I would use it for brewing.

 

[canmorebrewguy]

IDK, but I don't think I would coat it with anything. If you do it will insulate somewhat and reduce heat transfer. That is pretty thick, so I would just grind off some of the scale and leave it alone otherwise.

I am not to worried about the outside, it is the inner plate where the stainless plate seal against that is a problem. There is quite a bit of aluminum missing and I don't this the plates will seal unless I fix it.

It is from my families dairy farm, it has only seen milk but it has been sitting for about 8 years.

 

[ITV]

I suggest sand blasting and using an automotive epoxy to build back up, sand smooth and give it fresh coat of paint.

 

[nobadays]

The water cooled vanagons used to have pitting problems on the heads. Obviously not that bad.... but my mechanic used to fill the voids with JB Weld - I'm guessing this is an epoxy of some kind - then sand it flat again using sandpaper wrapped around a plate of glass then rubbing the head across that.

Since it is the water side, I'm with you, I don't think it would hurt to use the epoxy. If you have the equipment to mill it flat you could take a bit off before you epoxy it to lessen the depth of the holes...maybe. lightly soda blast to clean it up?

Good luck on it. Cheers!

 

[kh54s10]

It is from galvanic reaction of steel and aluminum. You might look into installing a sacrificial anode in the works. Boats use zinc anodes. Water heaters have anodes. I don't know if you could find something that would fit inside. I guess you could use an epoxy to build it back up until sealed. Watch your costs. It might take more to fix this than it is worth.

If you know a good welder (well) you could have him/her add some aluminum then mill it level. If you have to pay someone it would probably be too expensive.