Possible to drill and tap a stainless pot?

[Britinusa]

As the title says, is there a reason i cant buy a stainless steel pot and drill a whole and install a valve, maybe using cork washers to take the heat?
I wanted a pot that i can open a valve to transfer the water to my mash tun rather than picking up a heavy pot full of hot water.

 

[DustBow]

use a step bit or hole punch, probably thousands of threads and pics detailing the work here on this site
check out brewhardware dot com or bargainfittings dot com for help

 

[brussum]

I did it, but drilling the hole through SS was a royal PITA. I bought a valve from my LHBS and it works well. I think the gasket is a heat resistant silicon rubbery thing. Either way, it maintains a perfect seal despite my terrible hole drilling abilities.

 

[oceanselv]

Drilling through stainless will create a lot of friction and heat. These can be minimized by using a oil based lubricant. In a perfect world you would use an industrial cutting oil with some chlorinated paraffin. However, since you are only going to be doing this once, a good amount of a vegetable oil will suffice. Go slow and add copious amounts of vegetable oil at the tool work piece interface and everything should work out fine.

 

[duboman]

You can certainly do it but be forewarned it is a slow, tedious process and you need a step bit as mentioned and lots of lube to keep things cool. FYI, step bits are pretty pricey and if you only plan on doing this once IMO the price of the bit makes it less worthwhile to DIY.

If you have a machine shop or welder/fabricator near you inquire with them if they will do it for you and what they would charge. That is what I did and they took care of it for me for $10.00, The bit at Lowe's/Depot was $45 and I wasn't paying that for a one time deal

 

[Britinusa]

We have our own business running school buses, Ill have one of my mechanics do the drilling for me I think, I know they have step bits.
Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[Bobby_M]

Drill yes, tap no. You could probably tap some of the really high quality aluminum pots that are like 5mm thick.

 

[Britinusa]

Sorry my British terminology again, When i said tap i meant install a tap or valve

 

[Bobby_M]

Ah... like tapping a cask.. Got it.

 

[USAFSooner]

+1 for Bobby's stuff. I bought one of his weldless sight glass kits to install in my Brew Kettle and it's been a big help being able to just chuck the water filter over the side of the BK and just watch it fill up vice measuring the water out with a 1 gallon pitcher. Also VERY useful when lautering and being able to shut off the MLT at 6.5 gallons instead of over sparging and getting weak beer. I installed it into a 44 quart Bayou Classic Stainless Steel kettle. Use oil, apply firm pressure to the drill, use a step bit and cut SLOW.

FYI: The sight glasses can be trimmed with a pipe cutter, just make sure to cut it before you get the fitting all torqued down and installed.

I'll be picking up a valve and bulkhead from him for by BK soon because siphoning 5.5 gallons of wort into the fermenter is getting old. Would really like just to be able to flip the valve and let it rip. Just got to come up with a good filter/screen solution.

 

[Transamguy77]

+2 to Bobby's stuff, I have his sight glass w/thermometer in my HLT and BK. very quality pieces and I agree with the above post as to knowing how much without measuring. Check out Bobby's YouTube channel he has a video for installing all his products in kegs and kettles. I think he sells the step bit you need for a reasonable price.