New to brewing -- Keg Conversion / TIG Welding?

[carpenike]

Hi All,

I'm getting into home brewing, went through a full / all grain brew process with a friend and am hooked. So I've started looking at hardware and getting setup to do all grain brewing. I went in being OK spending the money on either a Blichmann or Sabco kettle/keggle and then started looking around at the converted kegs that people have done. I'm currently sourcing for three kegs local and had a question. Is it worthwhile to have the connection ports TIG welded onto the keg or are the conversion kits OK? I've found someone who will plasma cut the top and TIG weld three connectors for $120/keg; is this reasonable?

Thanks!
Ryan

 

[Kee]

I can't speak specifically to the kits, but either method is fine. It boils down to personal preference and execution. TIG welding is great if done properly, but if welded from the outside and not purged (with argon) the weld can "sugar" on the inside. leaving an unsightly mess.

 

[Fedora]

Is that 120 for cutting drilling and welding three kegs or one? For three its a good deal as long as he knows what he's doing. For one? Meh.

Did you ask if he likes beer?

 

[tjr3000]

Welding tends to vary in price depending on location. I dont see it listed in your profile, so not knowing where you're at, it sounds like an okay deal, depending on the answers to the previous question.

 

[carpenike]

Thanks,

I'm around 30 minutes outside Baltimore, Maryland. He claims to have worked with several folks building their E-HERMS systems and stated upfront that he uses argon to blowback and prevent sugaring.

120/keg with 3x connectors per keg.

360 seems a little high... But if I get the kegs for cheap it's still less than the Blichmann...

 

[grathan]

I tig welded my hlt. it is starting to rust inside. My conversion kits on the kettle will last forever though.

 

[carpenike]

So if you were doing it over again would you weld it?

 

[grathan]

I wouldn't without back-gassing the welds, but even then I would suspect it's not a great way to bond. Tig produces a great amount of destructive heat that destroys the properties of the metal. The fittings are usually pretty thick metal so getting the weld to bond to them vs' the thin pot requires extra heat. I am by no means a welder. I have maybe a few hours experience, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Silver-soldering is the route I will go in the future. Propane doesn't get hot enough to destroy your pot (evidenced by the fact that people brew with propane).

The reason I wouldn't use weldless is the possibility of bumping the fitting and creating an unexpected leak. The risk here is fairly small unless you move the pots around to clean them though.


That said, I think the $120 is reasonable. Though I have some reservations about it rusting, I would ask about a guarantee. Also I plasma cut the tops of one of my kegs and it is not a perfect circle.

 

[Transamguy77]

I have all weldless fittings on all 3 of my keggles, bought a $10 hole saw at Lowes and drilled them all. Bought all my sight glasses and thermometers from Bobby at Brewhardware. If you are dead set on welding then weld them up, after doing some research of my own I chose weld less.

 

[carpenike]

OK thanks. Been reading the electric brewing guides and I like how they attach things. Anyone know if you can use one of the Standard Round Knockout Punch kits to put holes in a keg or is it too thick?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Jphillips13]

I cut kegs with an angle grinder and cutoff disc. I lucked up and my grinder has provisions for the handle on the back perpendicular to the disc. If you have a grinder you can cut perfect circles using the valve port in the center as a guide. I've even been cutting some for my lhbs and bartering for items he has in the store.
There's videos on YouTube and even at least one thread on here about how to do it.


Sent from somewhere using Home Brew

 

[carpenike]

Thanks!

Found the thread -- looks good to me... How have you been cutting holes in the sides / bottoms for valves / thermometers / etc?

I cut kegs with an angle grinder and cutoff disc. I lucked up and my grinder has provisions for the handle on the back perpendicular to the disc. If you have a grinder you can cut perfect circles using the valve port in the center as a guide. I've even been cutting some for my lhbs and bartering for items he has in the store.
There's videos on YouTube and even at least one thread on here about how to do it.


Sent from somewhere using Home Brew

 

[grathan]

The step bits from harbour freight will go through pretty easy with a hand drill, but to get a larger hole you should use a drill press and a hole saw instead. I can't comment on a punch out as I've never used one before.