Soldering Stainless steel

[rellot]

Thanks for the help.

 

[Huaco]

Just a word of advice...
If you like to keep your tools looking good, plan to use stainless throughout all components of this "keg tool" The flux ran down onto my zinc plated parts and pretty quickly ate the plating off. Now, am I one to care about what a tool looks like after a few uses... not at all. However, I do plan to use this tool to help others make their keggles and it would be nice if it weren't rusty and nasty looking when I gave it to them to dimple their kegs...

 

[rellot]

I want my stuff to look nice when I help people get their dimple on!

 

[Huaco]

I want my stuff to look nice when I help people get their dimple on!

Yeah, I kinda walked into that didn't I?

 

[krazydave]

How did you get flux on your tool? - that sounds worse than it is!
I only got flux on my tool when I was soldering the washers onto it. Other than that, I use the tool and only flux the coupler and vessel I'm soldering.

 

[Huaco]

How did you get flux on your tool? - that sounds worse than it is!
I only got flux on my tool when I was soldering the washers onto it. Other than that, I use the tool and only flux the coupler and vessel I'm soldering.

Once I dimpled the keg wall and sanded/cleaned it up, I fluxed the fitting as well as the dimpled wall then used the tool to drive the fitting into the hole. Some of the flux dripped onto the other parts of the tool when doing this.

 

[krazydave]

Ah... I had great success just pushing the coupler in and then fluxing. That's why it never happened to me.
I did find that you have to put some grease on that bolt though or it starts binding pretty quick!

 

[Huaco]

Yep. I lubed the threads prior to working the threads that hard.

 

[slakwhere]

i just converted some weldless fittings to soldered, but overheated some of the flux and created some black marks on the inside of the keg around the fitting. does anyone have an easy way to remove this?

 

[nate456789]

i just converted some weldless fittings to soldered, but overheated some of the flux and created some black marks on the inside of the keg around the fitting. does anyone have an easy way to remove this?

Barkeepers friend powder and scotch brite pad will take it right off.

PBW will too but it will take more work.

 

[slakwhere]

BKF it is then!

 

[lschiavo]

BKF it is then!

Get a small stainless wire brush too. I have one about the size of a toothbrush. It's great for cleaning up threads and tight areas.

 

[slakwhere]

i will keep my eyes open for one, where did you get yours?

 

[lschiavo]

By the welding supplies at the hardware store.

 

[slakwhere]

perfect, i have to go refill the 5 lb bottle anyway next week

 

[cgherrington3]

Anyone interested in selling or renting the tool out?

I only need to make a few dimples, then pass it on to the next guy or send it back to you.

No problem leaving depost via paypal.

Thanks!!

 

[adivito]

Where are you located? I would be happy to lend mine to someone local, and I'm sure others would too.

 

[ekjohns]

how hard would it be to use the keg tool on a 1" half coupling for a heating element from bargain fittings? Since it is for an element you do not really need a full. Since it is a half coupling the coupler wont be sticking out as far therefore the majority of the element would be sticking in the pot without as much in the coupler

 

[Double-R]

Hey ekjohns....Remember me
I just soldered the the lock nut to the keg..No keg/dimple tool needed.
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_38&product_id=57

 

[ekjohns]

So I have seen that done a lot and the question I have always had was does the solder ever wick into the threads? I know gravity should pull it down but since you have to use more solder to make up for the curved wall I was afraid to much would leak in and screw up the inside blocking the element from screwing in

 

[Double-R]

I was careful,and only added the "Harris Stay-Clean Flux" to the face of the nut. And to the keg.
But used the solder in the link.. What i did was,Cut a loop to match the diameter of the nut..A tad smaller actually.
Because the solder is thick.. I just placed the nut on top of looped solder,then applied heat. The thick solder filled all
the gaps caused by the curved keg and flat washer.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...word=silver+solder&storeId=10051#.UDFyu6BD6So

 

[slakwhere]

how hard would it be to use the keg tool on a 1" half coupling for a heating element from bargain fittings? Since it is for an element you do not really need a full. Since it is a half coupling the coupler wont be sticking out as far therefore the majority of the element would be sticking in the pot without as much in the coupler

i did this on my HLT and my BK. half coupler for each element.

 

[ekjohns]

any pics? where did you get your couplers?

 

[slakwhere]

got everything at Bargain Fittings if i recall correctly. half couplers in 1" for the heating elements, half couplers in 1/2" for the sight glasses and thermometers, 1/2" full couplers for the dip tubes/ball valves.

never assume that two fittings are the same OD just because they're both 1/2". the half couplers were slightly larger than the full couplers, so i had to make sure and not pull the tool quite as deep for the full couplers. otherwise bang with hammer until they're tight again

my MLT all pressed.

my HLT with pressed 1" fitting ready for solder. i marked the OUTSIDE of the half coupler so i didn't accidentally pull it through backwards.

my 5500 watt LWD element in the new fitting

HLT and BK. decided to go with wide box instead of tall box orientation, but this pic showed both options.

 

[allclene]

being a pretty good pipe swetter and a solder expert on electronics, i decided to try this method on one of my keggles as an experiment after reading this hole thread and looking at vids and pics (i made the conclusion it might be doable but was sceptical). ok so i made the dimple tool and dimpled the keg. that turned out good. unfortunatly i wanted to put a half coupler in instead of a full coupler. but the half coupler O.D. is slightly bigger than the full and it got stuck inside the large coupler on the demple tool and it came out of the keg with lots of coaxing stuck inside the demple tool coupler. i had to punch it out of the tool. so i tried again but this time i didnt push it in flush so it wouldnt stick inside the tool and i tapped it gently into place after that. i did the sanding and pre fluxing etc. just like the video on this thread. i used the map gas and made the ring of solder etc. but the solder barely flowed on one half of the coupler and was an epic failure on the other half. i tried to get the other side to flow with more flux and cleaning etc. but did not get a full ring of solder around the coupler. So now im stuck making a decision of either taking it out all together and trying again or just cleaning the thing up and welding it in like all my other fittings. not sure what went wrong on this whole experiment but it cost me for the tool making and the supplies to do this and im sitting with a useless keggle now until i fix it. So if you try this be very cautious. i feel it is a hit and miss at best. stainless just dont like to be soldered to very much in my opinion and it is a weak connection between the solder and stainless at best. Ive looked at the pics on this thread carefully and the solder just doesnt look like a good sweat connection. the solder just dont wet up on the stainless like other solderable metals. I'd be more apt to try the brazing technique if i was someone thinking of doing this and havent tried yet or at least find a friend with a wire feed or tig welder. this is just my opinion. being an engineer i naturally have that inquisitive mind and want to experiment with stuff. and i have to say this experiment failed. i might try it again but this time i am going to try sandblasting the area and the coupler first for best bondability. if that works ill let everyone know.

 

[Bobby_M]

stainless just dont like to be soldered to very much in my opinion and it is a weak connection between the solder and stainless at best. Ive looked at the pics on this thread carefully and the solder just doesnt look like a good sweat connection. the solder just dont wet up on the stainless like other solderable metals.

In my experience, stainless is only slightly more difficult to solder than copper. It takes good technique and the appropriate flux. Liberal use of the shift key is also recommended.

 

[starman]

... Liberal use of the shift key is also recommended.

Carriage return as well.

From my recollection of reading every post in this thread a few months ago, it seems most people that used map gas (especially the old 'real' map gas) didn't have success with this technique.

Standard blue bottle propane seems to work the best. I'm not sure why, maybe the higher temp of the map burns off the flux before the pieces are warm enough to draw the solder?

Having sweat plenty of copper, my keggle couplers don't look as good with wicking of solder through the joint but they've held fast thus far.

Finally, if you had a bad attempt the best bet is to pull all off and start fresh. Heat it up, pull it all out, and wipe off with a wet rag. Trying to rework a bad joint usually just makes for a mess and swearing.

 

[allclene]

Round Two!

So I took the joint apart and I cleaned up the coupler and decided to do a pre-tin experiment on the coupler. I used my bench grinder on it to make sure I had a clean
surface with no residue left from the sweating attempt and ensured I didn't overheat it or discolor it. Then I used the acetone on it afterwards and put it in a vice using
the proper flux on it and torch and tinned the hole edge of the coupler.

It looked pretty good when finished after doing a quick cleanup on it. So I decide to see how well the solder took to the stainless. I hit it with the torch to see if the
solder would stay wetted to the stainless. I only used enough heat to melt the solder (it only took a couple of seconds) and it repelled away from the stainless.
So I concluded that if you want to remove solder from your stainless fitting etc. just hit it with a little heat and the solder will repell right off it.

So in conclusion, solder don't stick to stainless. Unless someone can prove it to me, I will not believe it. And by the way thaught this was a forum not an english class
people.

 

[krazydave]

You mean the plethura of photos showing successfully soldered fittings in this thread aren't enough proof for you?

I have three kegs now with soldered fittings and have even soldered washers on to the cut off tops to make lids. Not to mention I've now made multiple soldered kegs for friends. They are all holding just fine.
Not sure what the problem is that you're having, but it certainly does work.

 

[wyzazz]

Round Two!

So I took the joint apart and I cleaned up the coupler and decided to do a pre-tin experiment on the coupler. I used my bench grinder on it to make sure I had a clean
surface with no residue left from the sweating attempt and ensured I didn't overheat it or discolor it. Then I used the acetone on it afterwards and put it in a vice using
the proper flux on it and torch and tinned the hole edge of the coupler.

It looked pretty good when finished after doing a quick cleanup on it. So I decide to see how well the solder took to the stainless. I hit it with the torch to see if the
solder would stay wetted to the stainless. I only used enough heat to melt the solder (it only took a couple of seconds) and it repelled away from the stainless.
So I concluded that if you want to remove solder from your stainless fitting etc. just hit it with a little heat and the solder will repel right off it.

So in conclusion, solder don't stick to stainless. Unless someone can prove it to me, I will not believe it. And by the way thought this was a forum not an English class
people.

Your process is flawed or the products you are using are not the correct type recommended for soldering stainless. There are many here that have successfully soldered stainless couplers to their kegs, myself included.