My Keggle. There are many like it, but this one is mine!

[cabot]

My keggle is my best friend. It is my life.

I must master it as I must master my life.

My keggle without me is useless. Without my keggle, I am useless.

I must heat my keggle true.

I must boil harder than the bugs who are trying to infect me.

I must boil him before he infects me. I will...

My keggle and myself know that what counts in brewing is not the efficiency we attain,

the gravity of our wort, nor the starters we make.

We know it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My keggle is human, even as I, because it is my life.

Thus, I will learn it as a brother.

I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories,
its sights, and its boil-off rate.

I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage.

I will keep my keggle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready.

We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God I swear this creed.

My keggle and myself are the defenders of homebrewing.

We are the masters of our enemy.

We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until there is no enemy, but BEER.



I just picked up my keggle from the welder (he cut and welded it all up, and provided parts (ball valve and siphon tube) all for a 6-pack of homebrew (Edworts Haus Ale!). All in all it cost me about $25 bucks from nothing to keggle! I couldn't be more excited. I will be christening it next Sunday, making an irish stout and another batch of haus ale. As far the keggle creed...I just watched full metal jacket and found that after changing a few words, it is quite fitting Below, beer p0rn.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

That poetry should be in a sticky somewhere

 

[shecky]

I think cabot needs a rubber room.

 

[HenryHill]

Nice value on the welding work.

I had the 4 skirt holes filled in with laser cut 'buttons' of some 16g stainless sheet metal to prevent flame leakage from heating the sides of my keggles, possibly burning any insulation I may add.

I don't understand why the cutout of the bottom skirt for the plumbing and valve. Doesn't this just cause a hot spot for possibly burning the wort?

 

[cabot]

Henry, to tell you the truth, I'm not positive. The guy was reccommended by everyone I knew as being the best man for the job. I told him what I wanted and what I was going to be using it for, and he took some liberties. I guess the only way to know for sure will be to make some beer!

 

[IrregularPulse]

Nice value on the welding work.

I had the 4 skirt holes filled in with laser cut 'buttons' of some 16g stainless sheet metal to prevent flame leakage from heating the sides of my keggles, possibly burning any insulation I may add.

I don't understand why the cutout of the bottom skirt for the plumbing and valve. Doesn't this just cause a hot spot for possibly burning the wort?

This is a horrible idea! There is a thread on here warning that if you do not have holes in your skirt to go drill them NOW! There was a group brew day where condensation had appearently formed in one guys non holed skirt and the heat from the boil combined with the and nowhere to vent steam, exploded his keg sending shrapnel. Noone was hurt. it was true with pictures. I'll see if I can find it.


Here you go

 

[McKBrew]

This is a horrible idea! There is a thread on here warning that if you do not have holes in your skirt to go drill them NOW! There was a group brew day where condensation had appearently formed in one guys non holed skirt and the heat from the boil combined with the and nowhere to vent steam, exploded his keg sending shrapnel. Noone was hurt. it was true with pictures. I'll see if I can find it.


Here you go

This doesn't apply to the big holes in the skirt. There are tiny holes that should be drilled into the bottom of the rolled portion. The unvented ones were heating up and the air inside expanding causing an explosion.

 

[HenryHill]

This doesn't apply to the big holes in the skirt. There are tiny holes that should be drilled into the bottom of the rolled portion. The unvented ones were heating up and the air inside expanding causing an explosion.

Yeah, the holes I was referring to were the four large holes in the skirt face, not the small vent holes in the rims. I had seen the thread with the warning long ago.

cabot, you may want to contact the welder and have him SAVE that piece that was removed-you may well want it re-welded into it's place.

 

[cabot]

Will do Henry, thanks for the headsup!

 

[IrregularPulse]

This doesn't apply to the big holes in the skirt. There are tiny holes that should be drilled into the bottom of the rolled portion. The unvented ones were heating up and the air inside expanding causing an explosion.

Yeah, the holes I was referring to were the four large holes in the skirt face, not the small vent holes in the rims. I had seen the thread with the warning long ago.

cabot, you may want to contact the welder and have him SAVE that piece that was removed-you may well want it re-welded into it's place.

Oh, my bad. I thought you were talking about the small ones. Good deal then.

 

[BierMuncher]

...My keggle and myself know that what counts in brewing is not the efficiency we attain, the gravity of our wort, nor the starters we make.
...

...and it doesn't matter what we look like or how smooth our edges are. And it doesn't matter what meany things some jealous folks might say about us...just because we are.........different......and we're not going to get upset when people make fun of our birthmarks...no we're not.

...because...we're smart enough, we're good enough...and doggon it, people like our beer.

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

I still laugh inside every time I see yours posted BM.... I just can't help myself! I sill say this- it is soooo much nicer then my non existent keggle!

Good deal on the welding- It will serve you well, as you will it.

 

[double_e5]

My keggle is my best friend. It is my life.

I must master it as I must master my life.

My keggle without me is useless. Without my keggle, I am useless.

I must heat my keggle true.

I must boil harder than the bugs who are trying to infect me.

I must boil him before he infects me. I will...

My keggle and myself know that what counts in brewing is not the efficiency we attain,

the gravity of our wort, nor the starters we make.

We know it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My keggle is human, even as I, because it is my life.

Thus, I will learn it as a brother.

I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories,
its sights, and its boil-off rate.

I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage.

I will keep my keggle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready.

We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God I swear this creed.

My keggle and myself are the defenders of homebrewing.

We are the masters of our enemy.

We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until there is no enemy, but BEER.

Jesus H. You just gave me a flash back from boot camp.

 

[stevenryals]

I'd take the walmart sticker off

 

[hcarter]

Spent any time in the military?? If ya did, thanks for your service. ( I wanted to but I can't....disabled) If ya didn't, then...well, um...nice writing!!

 

[cabot]

Hcarter,

I myself have not served. Let it be known that I mean no disrespect to anyone who has served, with this writing (which is the creed of a US Marine with some words changed) It just so happened to fit nicely with our obsessive hobby. You're a good man for making the gesture just the same!

 

[pompeiisneaks]

I forgive anyone for being a marine, cuz their service is still just as valuable as any us army infantryman's like me

(btw, just kidding we always like to slag on each other... I'm sure some marines will have some nice ribbing to fire my way too.... If we each didn't think we were superior than the other, I think there'd be bigger issues

Prost/cheers/huzzah to all in the armed forces

HOOAH!

 

[double_e5]

I forgive anyone for being a marine, cuz their service is still just as valuable as any us army infantryman's like me

(btw, just kidding we always like to slag on each other... I'm sure some marines will have some nice ribbing to fire my way too.... If we each didn't think we were superior than the other, I think there'd be bigger issues

Prost/cheers/huzzah to all in the armed forces

HOOAH!

ARMY =

Aint
Ready to be
Marines
Yet

And its OORAH!!!

By the way, anyone who had served is alright by me (I guess if you call the Chair Force serving. Zing!).

 

[pompeiisneaks]

LOL, I hadn't heard that one before nice!

well then, lets start the ribbing... You know why the marines were created right? To give the Navy dance partners

/me ducks

:O

 

[cabot]

call me crazy, but isn't the dance partner thing a double edged sword? *edit, I get it now...crapping on marines and navy at once...* My gramp, who was a marine in WWII always told me this one:

A marine is in the bathroom using the urinal, and a sailor comes in to use the urinal next to him. When the marine is finished he heads for the door and the sailor says to him, "In the navy, they teach us to wash our hands when we use the bathroom." to which the marine responded, "In the marines they teach us not to piss on our hands."

*gong*

 

[Catt22]

The cut-out section below the valve was a very bad idea IMO. The valve will be subjected to intense heat exiting that opening. The valve will become red hot and very likely will be damaged by the heat. Any hoses connected to the valve will likely melt. Have the welder patch up that hole asap. The skirt on these keggles gets extremely hot and stays that way long after flame out. I would expect the valve to stay just as hot for nearly as long.

 

[cabot]

Catt22,

I am aware that the valve will get hot. I was assured by the welder that no damage will come of it. I will be attaching the nipple to the valve after the wort has been cooled, and removing it after it has been drained. (I am wearing welding gloves to handle the keggle). Aside from those concerns...is there anything seriously wrong with having that hole there?

 

[Catt22]

I'm gonna guess that the valve will be seriously damaged by the intense heat. I don't know how that particular valve is constructed, but most ball valves I have seen have some type of a nylon (or maybe teflon) seat that the ball rotates against. There is probably some kind of a non-metal stem seal that may also be destroyed by the heat. That valve is going to get really, really hot! You could cool the valve down after the boil by spraying it with water I suppose, but what I don't understand is why that section was cut out in the first place. It serves no purpose that I can see.

 

[cabot]

To that, I have no answers. Although a theory. I think he might have initially tried to pipe the valve through the actual bottom of the keg, and that's where it would plumb through...then realized you can't do that because there is a f'ing flame there. I'll have to ask him about it in the morning. Thanks!

 

[Catt22]

Now all you have to do is get him to correct it without embarrassing him or pissing him off! Good luck with that! Yes, draining from the bottom center does seem appealing until you realize that the wort in the piping would get severely scorched very quickly.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Without getting a beating that welder must not be a brewer or has any clue about brewing is my opinion. What was he thinking making a large cut out for the flame and hot burner gases to escape thru? I would ask or almost demand that the welder get this problem taken care of. Best to smile and talk to him first. Hey best of luck, get it fixed.

 

[bendavanza]

Ask him to weld up those drain holes in the sides of the skirt, too. (not the little ones in the rolled area that was previously discussed)

 

[beerthirty]

As previously mentioned, the valve will get hot. No big deal as you stated welding gloves. What bothers me is that this same heat will cause boiling issues in the nipple and valve causing vapor lock making it difficult to drain the keggle. It will also cause the loss of available BTu's which can be used to start or maintain the boil. I would have it welded up.

 

[Catt22]

We haven't heard back from Cabot yet. Do you think the welding guy shot him in anger when the engineering was questioned? He may be simmering in the kettle as we speak!

 

[tokolosh]

I say screw it. The welder was extremely nice, gave him the ball valve and labor for (practically) free. Least cabot could do is trust the guy on ONE batch of beer. If it has all of these shortcomings, then he'll at least have proof of experience to go back with to the welder (with 2nd six pack in hand).

 

[cabot]

I'm alive! Sorry. I was out of commission for SWMBO the 14th. I'm back and I appreciate all of your feedback! I'm leaning towards tokolosh's suggestion. I'm a stubborn bastard and need to see most things for myself, although I don't doubt you all have valid points, I'm going to see how it goes with a batch and then make my peace with the welder in question. I'll let you all know how it turns out (assuming I survive boiling with my keggle) ..and I stated somewhere above, the nipple will be added to the valve after the wort has been cooled and removed after drained for using another time. IE: It's not on the valve while the keggle is being heated.

 

[Catt22]

It can't hurt to give it a try as is. The worst thing that could happen would probably be damage to the valve. This way you can explain to the welder that there was actually a problem rather than speculating that there could be one if it doesn't work out. He did do the work and supply the materials nearly for free and that should be taken into consideration for sure. Maybe it will work just fine.