Soldering Stainless steel

[tigmaster]

if theres anything that pisses me off bad is seeing people solder stuff....but damn dude you did a killer job on that....

 

[Flomaster]

if theres anything that pisses me off bad is seeing people solder stuff....but damn dude you did a killer job on that....

Tigmaster, like I said in your thread going rate was $75 an hour to have it tigged locally at a fab shop. not sure how long it takes to do one coupling, but for my broke ass, a step bit, keg tool, and Harris Stay-Brite solder and flux kit was much cheaper.

-=Jason=-

 

[tigmaster]

for sure....it takes me about 35-40 min per coupling....thats hole drilled prepped and fitting tacked backpurged welded and polished!

 

[the_bird]

Tigmaster, like I said in your thread going rate was $75 an hour to have it tigged locally at a fab shop. not sure how long it takes to do one coupling, but for my broke ass, a step bit, keg tool, and Harris Stay-Brite solder and flux kit was much cheaper.

-=Jason=-

... 'course, weldless is even cheaper; mine's never leaked.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Only problem with weldless is it can't be flush and won't work as a bottom drain.....

 

[Bobby_M]

Well, flush is relative. The height of a locknut would leave like 1/2 oz of liquid in the bottom of a keg. I'd still solder it because I think it's better overall, but being flush is not necessarily the biggest reason for me.

 

[johnodon]

How about this hex nipple?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stainless-Pipe-...165?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf1e94925

Does it look like there is enough surface area on the hex nut to cover the hole?

It looks like there may be some non-threaded area. If so, couple washers on the inside to take up the non-treaded space + jam nut will make a nice tight union.

John

 

[kklowell]

On this subject... my local dealer for the Harris liquid solder only carries it in 16 ounce bottles and those are $17. If I would ever use that much, which I won't, I wouldn't mind buying the pint, however, I will never use more than a couple of ounces in the rest of my life. Do any of you know who sells smaller quantities?

 

[Flomaster]

On this subject... my local dealer for the Harris liquid solder only carries it in 16 ounce bottles and those are $17. If I would ever use that much, which I won't, I wouldn't mind buying the pint, however, I will never use more than a couple of ounces in the rest of my life. Do any of you know who sells smaller quantities?

you can buy online or look for another distributor local who might have the "kit" which has solder and flux i paid $6 and change for mine.

see if you have a local "airgas" store thats where I bought mine from

EDIT:http://www.airgas.com/customer_service/site_locator.aspx

i just check out location near Lowell MA and it looks like there are a few locations near you.

-=Jason=-

 

[Bobby_M]

$9 for a hex nipple is way out of control. Even after my markup, I'd probably sell them for around $4.50 if I decided to go that route.

You can buy Stay Brite 8 kits with the flux for under $10.

 

[lumpher]

Tigmaster, like I said in your thread going rate was $75 an hour to have it tigged locally at a fab shop. not sure how long it takes to do one coupling, but for my broke ass, a step bit, keg tool, and Harris Stay-Brite solder and flux kit was much cheaper.

-=Jason=-

that's why i learned to solder.

 

[GreenMonti]

here is my second attempt at the coupling soldering.

I'm very happy with the way this turned out. I didn't use anything to clean it up, I just wiped it down with a damp rag and a little flux.

-=Jason=-

I'm confused. Why can't this be used as a bottom drain? It looks like it wouldn't leave any in the kettle.

Are folks worried about the solder melting?

 

[wyzazz]

I'm confused. Why can't this be used as a bottom drain? It looks like it wouldn't leave any in the kettle.

Are folks worried about the solder melting?

I believe they were talking about not using a traditional weldless assembly as a bottom drain. As for the solder melting, I'd only be worried if I accidentally dry fired the kettle, then again I wouldn't use a bottom drain on a NG/LP rig either.

 

[nostalgia]

I used my soldered-up system for the first time last night. The bottom drains are really nice Every drop comes out of the kettle, and one fewer pokey thing inside the kettle to hurt myself on when cleaning.

The solder joints performed as they should. Quietly and leak-free Now we'll see how they stand up to years of abuse.

-Joe

 

[DrinknBuddy]

Anyone have pics of an aluminum pot soldered they want to post up? Or start another thread on?

 

[Ricand]

Meh.. I was all about soldering all of my fittings. Long term, if anything like a valve is on the fitting, mine cracked. Fixed it.. looked beautiful, nice wetting up the sides of the joint, huge flat surface on a hex fitting to solder.. cracked again. Fixed... cracked. TIG welded for $20 each at a local shop here in Ca and no more troubles. All my main valves are now TIG, and now one of my soldered thermowells just started a candy stalagmite on the last brew. Maybe I just don't know how to solder stainless, but the joints always look so pretty then they develop hairline cracks.

 

[Ricand]

$9 for a hex nipple is way out of control. Even after my markup, I'd probably sell them for around $4.50 if I decided to go that route.

You can buy Stay Brite 8 kits with the flux for under $10.

Or you could buy this really pretty one from MMC for only $21.80 each..

 

[bwiens]

I just pulled my first two fittings and I have to say this is really easy once you have the things you need. I Used a 1/2" bolt instead of the 5/8" because I had no way to enlarge the washer or tapered fitting. It still worked fine, but it is harder to center the pull to get an even flare. I am going to try on more thing before breaking down and getting what I need to enlarge the fitting and washer. Didnt take a picture of it, but it is basically the same as what was posted by nostalgia.

The liquid flux and solder from the kit mentioned earlier worked great along with the idea of wrapping it around the fitting twice. Two rings of the solder seems to be the right amount.

When I pulled it I first did the tapered fitting and the I reloaded with a coupler that I got from More Beer and used it to pop out the tappered fitting since it is slightly smaller in size than the tappered fitting or the ones I bought from buyfittingsonline.com. Checking the actual size in a test hole would be recomended since not all of them are the same size. I wanted a nice tight hole so it was snug in there. The coupler from More Beer was to small, not sure about the ones from other sources. Of course this is based on the tapered coupler from McMaster.

Stopped by my local big box tonight. Picked up a tungsten carbide bit for my Dremel, which allowed me to open the tapered coupler up enough for the 5/8" bolt to pass through. So I was able to finish the tool properly.

Left to right parts are:

5/8"-11 x 4 1/2" bolt
5/8" washer
3/4" to 1/2" stainless steel butt-weld pipe fitting
1" stainless socket weld low pressure coupling
1/2" washer (drilled to 5/8" with the step bit)
5/8" washer
5/8"-11 nut

 

[Flomaster]

yeah my 3/4 x 1/2 reducers OD was a hair larger than my 1/2" coupling OD so I didn't pull the tool all the way through I probably stopped right at the top where it start to straighten out.

-=Jason=-

 

[BrewBeemer]

It would be great if all your couplings had the same OD and you turned down the stepped reducer allowing for a .010" interference fit.
This makes for a much stronger joint than a gap filled solder joint.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I have noticed that the 1/2" couplings from mcmaster-carr have the perfect diameter to go with the reducer for the flaring tool (also from mcmaster-carr). However, the 1/2" couplings from bargain fittings are slightly too small while the coupling from austinhomebrew that I have is much too large. Like Flomaster advised, if the fitting is slightly smaller don't pull the reducer completely through.

 

[Flomaster]

yeah i started my pull and got a flare started, then removed the reducer and replaced with the coupling. once it gets started the coupling will do a fine job of centering its self and being pulled through.

-=Jason=-

 

[Scut_Monkey]

yeah i started my pull and got a flare started, then removed the reducer and replaced with the coupling. once it gets started the coupling will do a fine job of centering its self and being pulled through.

-=Jason=-

Approximately how far did you pull the reducer through before you replaced it with the coupler? Did you grind down the the end of the coupler at all to allow it to pass through easier?

 

[nspaldi0]

I finally got around to testing out the keg tool. I got the flare tool pulled all the way through and looked good. I tried my 1/2 inch coupler, but it was much too large to pull through like Scut monkey said about his Austin homebrew couplers. I purchased mine from ferguson. I'll just order some from mcmastercarr. Anyone have a part number for quick reference?

 

[Flomaster]

just replace the reduce on your keg tool with your coupling and tighten er down it WILL pull through

tighter is better... hrm.... well thats what she said.

-=Jason=-

 

[nspaldi0]

I did crank down on it until the washers on the outside started crushing inward under the stress. I'll try applying a heavy dose of flux to help with lubrication. It's on a test vessel so I'm not concerned with messing it up.

 

[Jmurm]

I want to put a electric element into a keg with out cutting the top off the keg. so there will be no access to the inside, would you recommend that i solder a fitting onto the side, or is it possible to just thread the keg shell and screw it in?

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I want to put a electric element into a keg with out cutting the top off the keg. so there will be no access to the inside, would you recommend that i solder a fitting onto the side, or is it possible to just thread the keg shell and screw it in?

I personally can't think of an easy way to do this but to solder or possibly weld one a fitting on the side for the element to thread in to. There have been some users that have welded fittings on the side for this reason. Why are you trying to do this while leaving the top in place? I do hope you are removing the spear at least.

 

[P-J]

I want to put a electric element into a keg with out cutting the top off the keg. so there will be no access to the inside, would you recommend that i solder a fitting onto the side, or is it possible to just thread the keg shell and screw it in?

That is not very hard to accomplish. If you are going to use the keg with the spear in place, just remove it temporarily & replace the spear when you get done with the element install. If you don't need the spear, remove it.

Drill the hole for the element and use a step bit to make it a "good" fit for the element. Tie a small nut to the end of a strong cord and drop it through the top of the keg. Move the keg around so that the nut & cord end come through the element hole. Loop that through the end of your element and drop it back into the keg. Invert the keg so that the small nut now comes out the top.

Next trick is to place your element nut over your louped cord and drop it into the keg. It will fit through the spear hole and will follow the string loop to the element port and then over the end of the element. Place the element through the element nut and thread it into place. (this might take a little fiddling) Once the element is placed and tightened, just pull the cord out and you are good to go. BTW, the element gasket provides the seal on the outside of the keg so it will be a leakproof connection.

It almost took longer to describe than to do. Hope it helps.

 

[nostalgia]

Hey guys! I was building a Grant yesterday and decided to take a video of drawing the dimple and soldering the fitting. Hope you like it

Click through for glorious 720p high-def.



-Joe