Keggle anyone?

[Domantori]

I have a dual flow regulator so I purged the entire keg. Tried using blue painters tape over the coupling that was being welded and it just melted. Switched to high heat aluminum tape and that didn't work either. Finally crammed steel wool in the coupling but I would not try to pass these off as sanitary welds. There is minor sugaring on the backside to my dismay but nothing hideous. You can kind of see the light sugaring in the attached pic. I took a tiger disc to the inside to try and make it as clean as possible.

Also, I used my lighter to make sure argon was present. Had the flow meter set at 10 cfm then dropped it to 5 cfm after I ensured argon was flowing to the backside.

 

[schm2054]

Just wanted to jump in and note that this guy does awesome work! Plus he is completely reasonable and nice as all get up. No leaks at all from his welds. Would definitely and still might ask for his services in the future.

 

[Domantori]

Just wanted to jump in and note that this guy does awesome work! Plus he is completely reasonable and nice as all get up. No leaks at all from his welds. Would definitely and still might ask for his services in the future.

Thank you for the kind words drew! Hope you are enjoying your keggle. You were a pleasure to do business with as well!

 

[bad67z]

Domantori, I have a couple suggestions to reduce your argon consumption. I am not the originator of these ideas just passing them along.

First, get a brass or ss nipple that fits to your hose to the ss couple/bulkhead on the outside.





Second, use a aluminum soda can with the top cut off, cut into a "daisy" configuration. make a relief hole and duct taped to the inside over top of your fitting an as your backer.




This way you don't have to flood the entire keg with argon to make your weld(s). I'm unable at this time to locate a picture of this set-up, hope my description is clear enough.

 

[Domantori]

Domantori, I have a couple suggestions to reduce your argon consumption. I am not the originator of these ideas just passing them along. First, get a brass or ss nipple that fits to your hose to the ss couple/bulkhead on the outside. Second, use a aluminum soda can with the top cut off, cut into a "daisy" configuration. make a relief hole and duct taped to the inside over top of your fitting an as your backer. This way you don't have to flood the entire keg with argon to make your weld(s). I'm unable at this time to locate a picture of this set-up, hope my description is clear enough.

Thank you for the idea! I will for sure try it as argon is not cheap.

 

[Domantori]

Domantori, I have a couple suggestions to reduce your argon consumption. I am not the originator of these ideas just passing them along. First, get a brass or ss nipple that fits to your hose to the ss couple/bulkhead on the outside. Second, use a aluminum soda can with the top cut off, cut into a "daisy" configuration. make a relief hole and duct taped to the inside over top of your fitting an as your backer. This way you don't have to flood the entire keg with argon to make your weld(s). I'm unable at this time to locate a picture of this set-up, hope my description is clear enough.

My only concern is the threads getting too hot and not being able to get the purge nipple back out. Have you used this purge method before?

 

[Domantori]

I wonder if I just threaded the purge nipple in 1/2 - 1 turn and kept it away from the heat affected zone if it would be ok? One way to find out I guess.

 

[bad67z]

I have used fitting made of both metals, without any issue. The gas passing thru the fitting cools it. I'll post some picks the next time I weld up some bulkheads.

 

[Domantori]

I have used fitting made of both metals, without any issue. The gas passing thru the fitting cools it. I'll post some picks the next time I weld up some bulkheads.

Cool. Thanks. Did you thread the fitting all the way in? Did you buy the fitting as is or make one up?

 

[bad67z]

Cool. Thanks. Did you thread the fitting all the way in? Did you buy the fitting as is or make one up?

I made them up myself. I think you can get the brass fittings @ Lowes or HD, the stainless ones can be ordered from Western Enterprises at your local welding distributor. I'm planning on adding inert gas quick disconnects to my purge line to make it easier to thread the finning onto the bulkheads. I have quite a few keg to convert.

 

[Domantori]

I made them up myself. I think you can get the brass fittings @ Lowes or HD, the stainless ones can be ordered from Western Enterprises at your local welding distributor. I'm planning on adding inert gas quick disconnects to my purge line to make it easier to thread the finning onto the bulkheads. I have quite a few keg to convert.

Thanks!

 

[Domantori]

Sold to rich g! Thanks rich.

 

[Domantori]

Wanted to add one thing to prospective welded keggle buyers. Make sure they are leak tested before picking them up. I leak tested this one and found a small leak on the weld. You can see the void in the first pic at the two o'clock position and the repair that was made in the second pic. Leak tested again and all is well. Just something to watch out for.

 

[Domantori]

Next up: Brutus 10 build. I'm excited!

 

[bad67z]

Very good Domantori, looking forward to your build. I need to get moving, I have about 8 Keggles to convert and sell.

 

[Domantori]

Very good Domantori, looking forward to your build. I need to get moving, I have about 8 Keggles to convert and sell.

Thanks bad. You've got some work to do! Btw, I picked up a barbed fitting like you suggested yesterday and am going to use that purge method if/when I do another keggle. Thanks for the idea!

On another note, shipping to California from st.louis for the keggle was $100. Ouch! Just a idea for what shipping costs for people who wonder.

I am doing a stainless brutus 10 build for a member here shortly and am excited about getting to work!

 

[bad67z]

Thanks bad. You've got some work to do! Btw, I picked up a barbed fitting like you suggested yesterday and am going to use that purge method if/when I do another keggle. Thanks for the idea!

On another note, shipping to California from st.louis for the keggle was $100. Ouch! Just a idea for what shipping costs for people who wonder.

I am doing a stainless brutus 10 build for a member here shortly and am excited about getting to work!

Have you checked out your local alloy recycling facilities? I have come across some really good deals when building projects out of stainless or aluminum.

 

[Domantori]

Have you checked out your local alloy recycling facilities? I have come across some really good deals when building projects out of stainless or aluminum.

The customer is providing the material but I will check them out on future builds. Thanks!

 

[Domantori]

Brutus 10 has begun! Got a lot of the cuts done and one coupling welded to the gas beam yesterday. Lots of more work to go today!

 

[Domantori]

Lots of progress today.

 

[BiggieB400]

Bad

Great idea for the back purge. I've seen folks use the sintered bronze vent fittings to act as a diffuser for back shielding. Aluminum foil works well for piping. You always need a vent to prevent the pressure from creating a weld blow out. Argon is heavier than oxygen, so you can use that to your advantage too

 

[Domantori]

Making good progress. Man there are a lot of welds on this damn thing. Frame is all welded and working on burner mounts now. There is light (and fire) at the end of the tunnel!

 

[bad67z]

Looking good D! Nice welding table.

 

[Domantori]

Thank you sir

 

[Domantori]

Update: so, things have gone south but maybe someone can learn from my mistakes. My partner (who is a 15 year UA fitter and a damn good welder) fit the rig up and tacked everything. Unbeknownst to us until now, he forgot to weld the side support beam nearest the gas beam. The gas beam was tacked and I did all of the finish welding. So, a leak test was done and failed miserably. Couplings were all good but it was leaking out of the front beam. We were stumped. After cutting off the gas beam, we then found the problem. Problem solved? Nope. After finding more leaks and welding accordingly, we just could not get the damn gas line air tight. So, we discussed with the customer and decided the safest way is to hard pipe the line behind the beam. Couplings were cut off and small pieces were welded over the holes.

I feel like a failure but I know we tried everything we could. Safety of the customer is first and foremost so at least we can all sleep well at night.

Point of this ramble: make damn sure you and your fabricator pressure check the gas line if you are building a Brutus 10!!

 

[Domantori]

Forgot a few details. We cut the gas beam out and seal welded square caps on both ends. We then welded the beam back onto the frame.

One thing I will do differently next time is either raise or lower the location of the gas beam so it is independent of the side supports. It may not be aesthetically correct or to the original plans, but I feel that it will cause less leakage issues.

 

[Domantori]

My partner and I are going to start making Brutus 10 stands (both stainless and mild steel). We will take the lessons learned from the last one and ensure a quality product. If anyone is in the market for a stand (any design you can dream up), please contact me to discuss. We will be happy to ship. We are also thinking about doing conical fermenters. If it is metal, we can weld it! Thanks all.

 

[snackson]

Upgraded to Vendor status now? Looking forward to seeing your products on here!

 

[Domantori]

Thank you sir! We can be found under "two nice guys welding" in the sponsor section. Thanks for any support we can get.