Mild Steel vs Stainless Steel

[Steampunk]

Has anyone used mild steel for a brewstand? or is everyone using stainless?

 

[BargainFittings]

Lots use mild steel for brewstands. My 50 gallon rig is mild steel with high temp paint applied to it.

 

[smakudwn]

I used Mild Steel with BBQ grill paint on it.

 

[outside92129]

I used mild steel for 80% of the stand, stainless for the bits in the fire and stainless where kegs rest (so there's no paint to flake off).

 

[day_trippr]

Has anyone used mild steel for a brewstand? or is everyone using stainless?

Just thinking about all the stands I've seen posted in the forums I'd guess at least 85% are mild steel. I have a half dozen sticks of mild 1.5" square 14ga tubing sitting in my shop waiting to be chopped up and welded into a single tier rig...

Cheers!

 

[socalboomer]

mild steel is great, lots cheaper, easier to weld . . . my old stand was all mild steel (old post we found buried in the back yard, plus pieces from an old exercise machine. . .) and my new one will be made from an old standalone server stand, which is all mild steel.

 

[hampdenbrewing]

I constructed my stand using mild steel 1 1/2" .083 wall square tubing. Seems very sturdy, yet light in weight. The tanks (60 gal.) are being mocked up before additional bracing is welded in. It still needs to be painted and will use something corrosion/chemical resistant.

 

[Welderbydaybrewerbynight]

I build a lot of fabrications for food grade places and unless it has to be stainless why pay the higher price? Stainless is 2 to 3 times more costly than carbon and much harder to work with but is sure is pretty lol

 

[starman]

That is one huge soup can!

I started brewing just as an excuse to buy stainless thingies.

 

[davefleck]

I've got a mild steel frame, 100 yr old 3/8" thick angle steel. Salvaged from an old sugar mill. It's beautifuly rusted, I sealed it with clear coat

 

[Steampunk]

What about 16 gauge steel 1.5. Inch tubing. Any issues?

 

[day_trippr]

What about 16 gauge steel 1.5. Inch tubing. Any issues?

It's strong enough, the question is how good a welder are you?

Cheers!

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

75% of the stands we build are mild steel.

1.5" x 16 gauge:
what is the total span? what size kettles? what is the design?
The vertical height is your main concern. Adding a vertical brace from the upper to lower rail will add very little support unless the bottom rail is on the ground.
Tripper is right on target about welding thinner gauge steel.
I recommend you use 1.75 square tube and use MIG and not flux core. If you are new to welding and really want to do this, make sure you have lots of grinding wheels and patience.

 

[Crimsonwine]

Mild Steel is the way to go...especially now with the price of metals...

This is my Brutus 10.

 

[Shockerengr]

mines fully mild steel angle iron. not painted either...tho i've always meant to....the boiled over sugars have leant a nice durable patina to it

 

[stevehaun]

Mine is built with mild steel. It is finished with an iron oxide layer.

 

[lehr]

If you can afford stainless it's the only way to go, no rust ,no paint,easy to clean.
Pat

 

[user 246304]

Just thinking about all the stands I've seen posted in the forums I'd guess at least 85% are mild steel. I have a half dozen sticks of mild 1.5" square 14ga tubing sitting in my shop waiting to be chopped up and welded into a single tier rig...

Cheers!

Yes, tortured over this. As I get closer to being able to startup, the last remaining chunk - and it's a big one - is the stand. Going stainless v. mild is a pretty significant leap. If I did want stainless, guys on Miller site recommended stainless flux core wire, something I didn't know existed.

As to my wanting to build a stainless stand, allow me to present one welder/brewer's view:

I'm a brewer too. What is the reason you want the stand for the brew kettles to be made out of stainless? I made one for a buddy of mine that is a hard core brewer. Used square steel tubing and a dusting of spray paint. I only use one kettle and sparge with ladle. What sort of brew kettles are you planning to use?

Might just have a black sooty look to the welds when you're done, but it just wire brushes off. I still say you're pole vaulting over a mouse turd, but I've been accused of over engineering things a time or three too.

I don't want to be involved with mouse turd in any way. My welder said mild will outlast me. Does it really suck that much? Please tell me, no, it doesn't suck that much. Only a little.

 

[day_trippr]

Lol - still on the fence and now digging into ancient history to help push you off?

You've read my saying this before but I'll say it again: I'd go with stainless if I were to do it again.
And that's with a stand that was designed to go easy on the coating (ie: with the integrated SS Floor Burners).
That coating (and the curing thereof) was such a righteous PITA that it ate up any savings over SS tubes.

Any stand that rests the kettles on the frame with the burners below is going to eat paint and then will rust if not maintained.
No, it's not going to rust to the point of being unsafe, it'll just become unattractive...

Cheers!

 

[user 246304]

Lol - still on the fence and now digging into ancient history to help push you off?

Hahahah. Why yes, yes I am. No, I was combing the subject again and this thread came up. No malice aforethought, or wicked craftiness.

You've read my saying this before but I'll say it again: I'd go with stainless if I were to do it again.
And that's with a stand that was designed to go easy on the coating (ie: with the integrated SS Floor Burners).
That coating (and the curing thereof) was such a righteous PITA that it ate up any savings over SS tubes.

Any stand that rests the kettles on the frame with the burners below is going to eat paint and then will rust if not maintained.
No, it's not going to rust to the point of being unsafe, it'll just become unattractive...

Cheers!

OK, thanks for the reminder, trippr. (You probably know by now, but I actually do forget the ^&%$ out of stuff, all the time). This is actually a serious question, because I think this is where my welder was pointing. Functionally safe, if ugly as sin? I think this is what he meant when he said, it will last 20 years untreated. Do you agree with this?

I have to also say, I'm pretty certain this isn't my last stand. Not even sure it's the max I'll do in brewlength, as nuts as that might be. So perhaps that figures into things too. This fence is getting pretty narrow....

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Functionally safe, if ugly as sin? I think this is what he meant when he said, it will last 20 years untreated. Do you agree with this?[...]

20 years untreated? Sure, assuming it wasn't left outdoors to fend with the elements - at least using 16ga or thicker.
It comes down to frame design: with stainless you can get away with murder and have cross members directly in the flame plume, with mild if you don't want burning paint fumes and maintenance issues the design options rapidly narrow. Hence my build around a pair of Blichmann floor burner assemblies.

tbh, if the coating thing hadn't gone so FUBAR cost-wise I might be less enamored of stainless frames

Cheers!

 

[user 246304]

OK, thanks for hanging in there with me on this, trippr. The cross members is especially a great reminder but I hear you. I always did, guess I'm bummed to have to wait to get going, to save for a different kind of steel. But it really is the only sensible thing, after all is said and done.

Don't quote me though. I tend to vacillate. Have you noticed?

While we're here, and I'm vacillating - for some reason, that drop-down back vent build has always made me uncomfortable...don't like gallon vessels sitting only on 3 cross members. And with vanity, I don't really like the look (!). I see the obvious benefit in terms of exhaust. Brewer's Hardware states this is the better solution to the issue of venting, better than shims or some other means of raising the vessels. Still, I like the structural supports of my original plan, and can live with the shim. Sorry if I've asked you this already, but what do you think, if having to choose between the two (and OP, apologies - I won't hijack any longer after this. Thanks for your indulgence).

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Mild steel is totally fine. Paint it or powdercoat it. Stainless is totally fine too. It is purely a choice of money and welding ability/availability. If you have a TIG, you can do either. If you (or your welder) can electrically passivate the stainless welds it will look even better (no blue/black/brown discoloration of the welds and no need to "regrain" it after cleaning the welds). If you are limited to MIG or stick, it's going to be mild steel.

I went with mild, had it powdercoated wrinkle-black for $100. The pieces that the kettles rest on are painted with black BBQ paint. But I've never used the burners, only electric so far. Had stainless been less costly, I might have used it. Either would have been roughly the same about of labor effort.

 

[user 246304]

Thanks Doug. One thing trippr raised with me is just how bloody difficult it is to truly "heat proof" with coating - and how costly it is to do it, these graduated periods of heating the unit in a professional garage dedicated to the practice. That's what drove me to stainless initially, anyway. Then I see stuff like your rig, a ton of mild steel rigs with coating - say, Ruby Street - and I....vacillate. I hear trippr's wisdom on the incredible amount of localized heat when you're throwing hi-pressure propane on a painted surface. But man, it is seriously more expensive. So I'm truly undecided. Part of me thinks, if it will get me going, and keep me going for 5 years, by then I'll have another plan in place anyway, and the few hundred committed to the mild, rotting frame, amortized, isn't a big deal. I literally don't know.

Incidentally your rig looks absolutely beautiful. Really clean, polished, obvious you put a lot of care in its design and build. Do you mean, just the coating job cost $100, or the rig, all in? (!) Thanks for the photo and another thought, Doug.

BTW, my welder's quote:

Labor: Mild, $650 + tax, ss, $780 + tax
Material: Mild, $200 + tax, ss, $430 + tax.

On material, it should be noted he quoted for 11 gauge, for some reason, when I asked for a 16 gauge job. He's been busy and I'm not ready to rock, so no rush on a revised quote, but there it is. Probably $100 less or so, so:

Mild: $750 + tax, ss $1110 + tax.

PS: On ss and MIG - what about solid core stainless wire and proper gas (forget Helium tri-mix, I found out - way too expensive, I found. But an Ar mix?); or, as I found out, flux core stainless?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Thanks Doug. One thing trippr raised with me is just how bloody difficult it is to truly "heat proof" with coating - and how costly it is to do it, these graduated periods of heating the unit in a professional garage dedicated to the practice. That's what drove me to stainless initially, anyway. Then I see stuff like your rig, a ton of mild steel rigs with coating - say, Ruby Street - and I....vacillate. I hear trippr's wisdom on the incredible amount of localized heat when you're throwing hi-pressure propane on a painted surface. But man, it is seriously more expensive. So I'm truly undecided. Part of me thinks, if it will get me going, and keep me going for 5 years, by then I'll have another plan in place anyway, and the few hundred committed to the mild, rotting frame, amortized, isn't a big deal. I literally don't know.

Incidentally your rig looks absolutely beautiful. Really clean, polished, obvious you put a lot of care in its design and build. Do you mean, just the coating job cost $100, or the rig, all in? (!) Thanks for the photo and another thought, Doug.

BTW, my welder's quote:

Labor: Mild, $650 + tax, ss, $780 + tax
Material: Mild, $200 + tax, ss, $430 + tax.

On material, it should be noted he quoted for 11 gauge, for some reason, when I asked for a 16 gauge job. He's been busy and I'm not ready to rock, so no rush on a revised quote, but there it is. Probably $100 less or so, so:

Mild: $750 + tax, ss $1110 + tax.

PS: On ss and MIG - what about solid core stainless wire and proper gas (forget Helium tri-mix, I found out - way too expensive, I found. But an Ar mix?); or, as I found out, flux core stainless?

The $100 was just for powder coating.

The frame itself was about $250 in materials (1.5" square stock) including the expanded metal shelf and some prefab gussets and locking casters. Sadly, I paid retail from a local metal supplier and bought much thicker wall stock than I needed. Had I shopped around and used a thinner gauge, it would have been much less. According to my 3D CAD software's stress analysis package (solidworks/cosmos), if all the kettles were full, my highest stress point in the frame was something like 17% of its limit.

Honestly, I plagiarized the Sabco "Brew Magic" frame (and a few of their plumbing concepts) and made a few changes to it to suit my quirks and desires. I love being on wheels, being portable and using less space in the garage when its not in use. plumbing is valved and hardlined so i'm not changing around hot sticky dripping tubing. The control box was chosen to bolt onto the end of it with a couple weld on tabs, rather than mount on a wall with cables everywhere. I can also toss it in the truck and brew with friends elsewhere. One power cord and a cold beer, and i'm in operation.

If you are going with flame, you definitely will need BBQ/Fireplace grill paint in those areas directly next to, or in contact, with flame (some will use engine paint, I don't recommend it). Regular paints and powder coatings will not handle it. BBQ paint works great and is made for that kind of abuse.

SS is fine with flame but will discolor over time in those areas. Cleaning and polishing only work up to a point. If SS reaches 800F, it will lose it's corrosion resistance and will rust after that but can be corrected with chemical-electrical (electrolysis) passivation. Google up pictures of converted kegs over burners. Kegs are made of solid 304 stainless steel, they do discolor near the bottom. Another thing to be aware of with stainless is if ferrous metals (steel, etc) scratch it, that scratch is no longer stainless and you should expect a rust streak until repassivated.

I have never used the burners. It is an electric system. I put the propane parts on it (about $150 more) so I could boil on propane while mashing another batch when we do multi-brew days. I wanted to keep it useable on a 30 amp line (standard garage dryer outlet). You cant fire two heating elements at the same time unless you go 50 amps. I also thought I might get impatient waiting for water to heat up, or maybe faster rise times for step mashing. Lesson learned, there is really no reason for propane Another bonus, electric is cheaper overall and I don't have to refill propane tanks. Also no fiddling with flame to hold a temp and I can brew indoors and not die. Wind, rain and cold can kiss my butt.

Welding stainless with a MIG... Don't go there, trust me. I don't care what gas, what core, or where the moon is. Just remove that thought from your brain cells If you have a MIG, get some standard argon/co2 MIG gas and some good wire (Lincoln wire from home depot is actually a very good wire). I prefer .030 or 0.035 for tubing and square stock. Practice until you feel ok. Learn your feeds, settings and motions. Measure twice, cut once. Tack weld first, measure and check everything 3 more times. drink a beer. Come back the next day and finish weld it.

Prices... If I had all the raw material in front of me (stainless or mild steel, doesn't matter) I could cut, fit, jig, tack, weld and clean up the frame in a day and have it into powder coating the next day. Figuring a 7 hour day, your fabricator is at about $140/hr including welding gas, wire or rod, and maybe a TIG tungsten. I'll leave that choice of value up to you. In my opinion, its ok for a "one-off" job. Maybe a little high, but i'm in an engineering and fabricating mecca of Southern California. Other parts of the country are much different.

I'll throw this out just to convolute your mind. After you get done laughing, think about it for 3 seconds... Screw building a frame at all. Get a $60 counter top from home depot or a steel workbench from harbor freight. Take the money you saved on the frame and propane system and go electric. Pay your welder to mount a couple 2 inch tri-clamps into your kettles for heating elements.

Here's one more thought that you might consider... Complete frame and propane everything, throw your kettles on it and go. About $1400: https://brewmagic.com/products/brew-magic-low-pressure-frame/

You doing research and planning first is awesome. Take as long as you need and don't be in a hurry. Ask 5 people for opinions, you'll get 12 answers. It's all good.

 

[Shockerengr]

several years down the road on my mild steel frame....still unpainted, still in good shape. For the most part it's developed a patina and is in pretty good shape. I switched to electric along the way so not dealing with the heat from the flames anymore, but still get plenty spilled on it.

 

[user 246304]

Wow, thanks Doug, and Shocker. Now I'm even more uncertain than before. .

Doug, hadn't even thought of the discoloration and effect of stainless taking heat like this. Totally recall, yes. My first rig was keggles, on a 1 x 1 2 tier (HLT high) frame. And the kegs took on this coloration, had never thought about that and ss generally until you mentioned it here. Thanks. So - dumb question, probably - but is that a problem? I mean, can you blast the heck out of your stainless grillwork/gussets/supports, obtain all this coloration, and keep rolling on? I suppose it comes down to the same thing - if you can live with rust (I'm not a fan of having to periodically passivate, any more than having to periodically re-coat mild) - why pay the surcharge for ss?

If using mild, you mention that the bbq paint works really well. You mean, it takes the heat (forget how hot it is coming out of a hi-pressure banjo), and doesn't peel, etc.? One concern I had was using my tri-ply Spike vessels, nice ss vessels, and dealing with peeling and goop. Looking for an improbably clean solution.

Thanks on the electric suggestions. I had a very early thread (for me) in which I queried the same topic. It wasn't easy for me, but ultimately I opted for flame. My Spikes are all based on that, with 1/2" joined to valves and camlocks. We'll see. I do actually love brewing outdoors, even in extreme weather, but I know electric commands so many good points that yep, not an easy decision.

MIG - lol. I mentioned my first rig (what, 18-20 years ago). My first and only time. Flux core, no gas. Tack? What's that? By the time I got done, I'd made a toboggan, not a brewing frame. Thankfully it wasn't bad enough I had to scratch the thing as the curve towards the later welds was mild enough. But one word screamed out: noob. Wish I had some pics to show you, but they got lost over the years.

And yes, Shocker and Doug, untreated mild. It lived on a farm here in S. Wisconsin and definitely felt the pain. Rusted up moderately, I'd guess I called, but to be honest I did even know enough to give it a second thought, and kept on brewing.

Thanks for the additional info, guys. I'm seems there remain things to recommend both steels, and I'm still pretty dang lost. If there's enough to recommend stainless (and I don't know there is, at this point - sorry, trippr. You've spent considerable time in generously giving your thoughts), maybe the idea has to be, marginal benefit for marginal cost.

I'd love to do what you're recommending, Doug. I don't own a Mig but I don't think it would rent for that much. Weird that I recall this but I think I actually used .030 on that first rig. Ugly welding (she was actually called "Ugly Betty"), but it worked. This time, I am definitely taking my time, though now that I have basically everything else gathered together, I'm dying to start.

One question I probably know the answer to already. Can one learn to TIG on his own? I'm asking because it's not just about this project, but it's a skill I'd love to learn and actually become decent at. Building brewery things. Problem is, with our tech college, you can't even take welding 1 if you're not in the professional welding program. So everything would have to be self-taught.

One book I read said, don't even think of it till you master oxyacetylene. Thoughts?

Edit, forgot: Shocker, you mention patina, which points to a question I've had. Can you basically just deal with a mild frame like you would a black steel frying pan?

 

[Shockerengr]

You can learn to do anything on your own, just depends on how much work you are willing to put into it (and how easily you can pick stuff up by reading vs demonstration). I TIG'd mine, but that was more a function of having access to a TIG and not a MIG at the time. I hadn't done too much welding prior to making it and mild steel is pretty simple to get started with if the joints are tight.

As for the patina, yeah, you could try to season it, although it'd be easier to paint. most of the patina mine had was from spilled wort baking on - was a surprisingly decent finish. Now how much of that was a lucky accident vs repeatable process - I won't venture a guess, but my original intent had always been to paint it, just never got around to it and it fared far better than I originally expecting. I think the fact that it was able to dry out relatively quick after brewing helped a lot.

 

[user 246304]

Doug, thanks for pointing me to the Sabco. Taking another look, I find this intriguing:

Baked enamel gloss black frame, with the stainless steel inserts, much like range inserts, that can be lifted and cleaned regularly.

Re-posting, crappy draft for my welder, but wondering if we can do a mild steel/black coating, with this raised stainless insert that not only keeps the ss vessels in contact with ss only but raises them to provide needed heat exhaust?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Doug, thanks for pointing me to the Sabco. Taking another look, I find this intriguing:

If you are a welder, designer and have shop equipment and time, it would cost less of course. But it you are paying a fabricator, just go with something that has years of proving under its belt and has already been through the "prototyping" stages. It will save a lot of those "oops, I should have done x, y and z"

 

[user 246304]

If you are a welder, designer and have shop equipment and time, it would cost less of course. But it you are paying a fabricator, just go with something that has years of proving under its belt and has already been through the "prototyping" stages. It will save a lot of those "oops, I should have done x, y and z"

Gotcha, well considered and point taken in. Basically it's come down to my draft above, probably raising the kettles of the struts by simple 1 x 1 shims, or the rear-vented idea proposed by Brewer's Hardware, I think it was. I have a draft but not uploaded. This, basically:

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, that BrewMagic stand is clearly set up for keggles.
Looking at how they fit together those inserts wouldn't work at all with flat bottom kettles...

Cheers!

 

[SoCal-Doug]

fwiw, that BrewMagic stand is clearly set up for keggles. Looking at how they fit together those inserts wouldn't work at all with flat bottom kettles... Cheers!

Good catch! I wonder if they have a provision for flat bottom kettles, or would do some sort of modified option. Taller rests or eliminating the inner lip would take care of it.

 

[user 246304]

Good catch indeed. Thanks, Trippr. But seeing them did make me think of that kind of a solution - removable, sturdy ss insets that would support a vessel.

OTOH, I see a ton of pro and frames here that are red or black, seem to be powder coated, maybe, with the elevated grillwork in matte black - BBQ paint, I believe.

 

[socalboomer]

One question I probably know the answer to already. Can one learn to TIG on his own? I'm asking because it's not just about this project, but it's a skill I'd love to learn and actually become decent at. Building brewery things. Problem is, with our tech college, you can't even take welding 1 if you're not in the professional welding program. So everything would have to be self-taught.

One book I read said, don't even think of it till you master oxyacetylene. Thoughts?

Tig mainly requires different equipment, and costs more, and requires Argon and such, and is more touchy, honestly. MIG is easier (and easier to screw up), flux core (basically MIG without gas) is cheapest and about as easy as MIG, and just as easy to not get a good solid weld.

Best advice - find someone to weld it for you, and take classes at your community college. That way you use their consumables (rod, wire, etc.) and work on machines that are configured properly (probably the most problematic thing - how to configure your machines properly impacts the penetration and such) and have someone look over your shoulder to tell you to fix things.

 

[user 246304]

Thanks socal. I actually used flux core for the first (and only) time when I built my first frame, 20 years ago, in 1 x 1. Absolutely no training. Local gas store traded the MIG for some beer when it got finished, lol. Functionally, well, OK. But man, was it UGLY. I was a complete doof with thing.

Thanks on the TIG v. MIG notes. I actually do have a welder lined up but at something like $1200 for the ss job (I forget the mild quote), that's gonna hurt though he comes highly recommended. I get the sense from SocalDoug (I'm a SoCalPaul - Ventura. Lotta dudes from home country here!) what the welder wants to charge may be a touch high, but probably reasonable given our market. Recommended by my best friend's wife, the guy is insanely busy so I know he's good. Just the last big bullet I have to bite, before finishing it all out and get started brewing.

Bummer on the community college thing. They don't do it, at least anywhere around here. You have to enter the welder's track program, a set series of courses to become an entry-level pro. I was really bummed as I'd hoped to pick up gas, stick, MIG and TIG. Now that I think of it, maybe I just un-de facto retire, roll back the years, and get started, lol.

Thanks again.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I personally do not think your quotes are high. I do fabrication and can say that I would be near that. I made mine out of mild steel. It is a 3 tier, 25 gal setup. I made mine out of 1 1/2” x 1/8” angle and 1/8” flattened expanded metal. I use 2-20 tip NG jet burners and a 30 gal cooler MT. I brew exclusively outside and my rig stays outside. I bought a nice tarp and cover it. I’ve done nearly a 100 batches on that thing. I just painted it for a second time about 3 weeks ago after 7 years. My burner shrouds are 1/8” plate. They were really the only thing rusting. I just used high temp paint. I couldn’t bring myself to buy stainless. I have all the things for mig and tig. It was still too much for me to justify. If I were to build a stand again, it would be a 2 tier. I would make it out of 1x1x1/8” square tubing. I would make my heat/wind shrouds from stainless. I just made a guy a stand like this and the tubing was $65 a stick. If your wanting a show piece, then spend for stainless. It does look nice. Just my $.02

 

[casualbrewer]

You can weld stainless with a stick welder but it just won't be as pretty as TIG. Will be just as strong or stronger though. Watch some YouTube vids of people running stick on stainless.

 

[user 246304]

I personally do not think your quotes are high. I do fabrication and can say that I would be near that. I made mine out of mild steel. It is a 3 tier, 25 gal setup. I made mine out of 1 1/2” x 1/8” angle and 1/8” flattened expanded metal. I use 2-20 tip NG jet burners and a 30 gal cooler MT. I brew exclusively outside and my rig stays outside. I bought a nice tarp and cover it. I’ve done nearly a 100 batches on that thing. I just painted it for a second time about 3 weeks ago after 7 years. My burner shrouds are 1/8” plate. They were really the only thing rusting. I just used high temp paint. I couldn’t bring myself to buy stainless. I have all the things for mig and tig. It was still too much for me to justify. If I were to build a stand again, it would be a 2 tier. I would make it out of 1x1x1/8” square tubing. I would make my heat/wind shrouds from stainless. I just made a guy a stand like this and the tubing was $65 a stick. If your wanting a show piece, then spend for stainless. It does look nice. Just my $.02

OK, great information. Gives me some things to consider - thanks. Per below, I don't want to spend any money on the frame that I don't need to - it can sure be used in other brewing needs. I am strongly leaning to stainless because of what I thought was a better functionality, durability, across time. Like I say below, and like the brewer I've been in touch implied, if uncoated mild could hold for 20 years as an outside (protected) rig, there'd be zero question for me. I've got round heat shields in ss from Brewer's Hardware already - is there a problem joining ss to mild, anywhere? Because I'm also thinking of making only the "hot" parts stainless, and keeping the rest mild.

I can see this decision is going to take longer than I'd originally thought, lol.

Thanks again.

 

[user 246304]

You can weld stainless with a stick welder but it just won't be as pretty as TIG. Will be just as strong or stronger though. Watch some YouTube vids of people running stick on stainless.

I'm not worried at all about aesthetics, just looking for functionality. If uncoated mild really could hold up 60 gallons across its frame for 20 years, I'd completely be down with that. If using a standard electrode on stainless, I know it will be ugly but I thought that was taboo, mixing stainless and mild in a weld, because you'll induce corrosion. Funny you say this though because I'm reading through some books and the first "tig" machine they show is an ancient buzzbox. Looks like I need to read the chapter, and check out the vids. Thanks.