I need help!!!!

[hoppygirl]

So I am trying to complete a boil kettle keg conversion. I have the top cut off a hole drilled and a weld-less spicket kit on. Now I'm looking at options for a false bottom and pick up tube. I am able to find you tube videos on installing them but to be honest I really don't know how the pick up tube works. It looks like the false bottom goes on the bottom using the curve of the keg under the out flow ball lock. But how do you get the liquid to flow up the pick up tube and out of your kettle? I feel stupid that I don't know this yet-but what cha gonna do?

 

[Reelale]

Your tubing, and having the receiving vessel lower than your keggle creates a siphon. It won't work well, if at all, without the tubing.

 

[Dan]

I think you're asking how does the liquid flow "up hill"?

This is a terribly unscientific answer but. The volume of wort in the keg will create enough pressure to push the wort up hill to the ballvalve. Once the wort starts flowing it will create (wrong word probably) a siphon and pull every last bit of wort out of the keggle to the lowest level of the dip tube input beneath the false bottom

 

[sonex]

once you open the valve you create a siphon it will continue to flow as long as you leave the valve open. You can not how ever get the beer to flow if the wort level is below the top of the dip tube. So its important to not close the valve when the beer gets below the dip tube b/c there will be no way to start up the siphon again.

 

[hoppygirl]

Thanks all!!! Saved me (once again) from going to the brew shop and asking stupid questions. Pick up tube it is!

 

[Golddiggie]

For a boil keggle you don't need a false bottom at all. Just use either this, this, or maybe this inside the keggle, depending on how far from the bottom the ball valve sits. The 1/2" NPT to 1/2" compression fitting and dip tube combination makes it easy. You just install it through the keg wall into the ball valve on the other side. Eliminates the need for extra fittings too. I've been simply going hand tight on the dip tube nut on my keggles (the side going to the ball valve is installed with pipe tape and wrenches so no leaks there). With the Delrin sleeves you don't need to wrench ferrules onto the tubing between the nut and threads. This makes installation far easier. You also don't need to worry about o-rings getting pinched and cut (which is the other option).

As already mentioned, you'll create a siphon from the dip tube outside the keggle, through the ball valve, once the liquid level is higher than the body of the ball valve. It's also easy to maintain the siphon with even a short length of tubing outside the ball valve going towards/into another vessel.