Soldering Stainless steel

[Huaco]

Yep, bar keepers friend! Works wonders. Just make sure to wear some rubber gloves... it'll make the top layer of your skin peel off if you use it in high concentrations like a paste.

 

[SavageBrewer]

Thanks. I trust that this advice comes from experience.


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[Huaco]

Thanks. I trust that this advice comes from experience.

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

No comment...
Lol, yeah. I was stupid and tired one night after a long day of working and then building the brewery. Next morning both hands were itching terribly and later that day the sloughing began! Hell, some women actually pay good money for a facial peel at the spa! Maybe I could turn this experience into a new business! BKF is cheep, right?

 

[lschiavo]

I wash my hands with BKF and a stainless steel brush. You guys are wimps

Seriously, get the little stainless steel toothbrush. I found it at my local Ace hardware.

 

[mendozer]

I've been reading into it and you CAN weld stainless to aluminum if you silver solder the stainless, then braze the silver onto the aluminum. Anyone done this before?

I have a 10 gallon aluminum pot that's been in my brew inventory for years and I'd love to keep using it.

 

[Black_Z28]

Does any one know if this product would work for silver soldering fittings onto a pot? It's called Forney Self fluxing silver solder. I assume I'd need to get a liquid flux as well to help the solder adhere better.

Thanks.

 

[wbarber69]

I would just get silver solder. You don't know what kind of flux is in the core of that stuff.

 

[sablesurfer]

I tried a fluxed solder and it was useless, the flux all evaporated long before enough heat to melt the solder, not sure how it works as designed (usually for small jewelry), but when putting a torch to the underside of stainless pot it just beaded up.

 

[Hunky]

About to try my hand at this. I just used some Ruby flux and regular plumbing solder (less than 1% silver) on soldering some stainless washers to the undersides of my corny keg lids for hanging dry hop teaballs. It worked fine.

But for boil kettle and all, thinking I may want to go with the tried and tested. However, I just happened to thumb through a Zymurgy issue from 1992 - Vol. 15, No. 4. It happens to state: "Don't use tin or lead for anything that comes in contact with wort or beer. Lead-free solder is less toxic, but is mostly tin, which may be bleached out by the acidic wort or beer. So-called silver solder is mostly tin, too. Avoid solder if you can." It states tin (and lead) is toxic to yeast and powerful haze formers.

Is this still a concern or has it been debunked? I am sure we are all aware of dangers of lead, but the tin thing might be interesting to know more about.

cheers, JD

 

[Ravenshead]

Actually, even lead at the levels we're talking about here is pretty benign. Someone is going to scream at me for saying this but it takes a pretty large amount of lead in your system to cause any ill effects. Remember the "mad hatters" were actually breathing lead vapors every day and the Romans were drinking from lead pipes for their entire lives before they has symtoms. That said, lead free solder is cheap and easily available so why not remove the issue?

As far as tin killing yeast or creating haze goes, I've been making well attenuated, crystal-clear beers for years on my system and all of my fittings are silver soldered. I used plain old plumbers silver solder from home depot so I'm sure it's full of tin. So little of the wort comes in contact with the solder it's just not an issue.

 

[humann_brewing]

is there any special instructions to silver soldering a lock nut for a heating element?

My thought is that I can make the hole just big enough that the element will go through and then try to size the lock nut evenly on top of the whole but how do I make it stick while soldering with the solder underneath?

 

[Bobby_M]

Clamp it in place with small C-clamps or two pieces of bar stock held together with a bolt and nut. You just apply the flux, then clamp in place. Solder doesn't have to be laid in underneath, it basically wicks into the gap between the two surfaces. The bigger issue is how you plan to protect the wiring.

 

[wbarber69]

I was gonna suggest he just grab a TC setup from you bobby. Way easier/safer in the long run.

 

[Bobby_M]

Gah!! we just sold out of the 1.5" TC enclosures. Two weeks...

 

[humann_brewing]

Thanks, I was thinking of a waterproof electrical housing like that on the kal build. Vin fact I have one but will be selling that one

 

[Auger]

I'm guessing this question has already been asked, but I don't want to search through 140 pages to find out. I have three keggles with various weldless fittings. Obviously, the holes are already drilled large enough for a threaded fitting to pass through with minimal interference. Can I solder these in place in their existing holes? If I take them apart, remove the o-rings, screw everything back together tightly then solder the joints, it seems to me like it would work...thoughts? The fittings are brass.

 

[wbarber69]

I'm guessing this question has already been asked, but I don't want to search through 140 pages to find out. I have three keggles with various weldless fittings. Obviously, the holes are already drilled large enough for a threaded fitting to pass through with minimal interference. Can I solder these in place in their existing holes? If I take them apart, remove the o-rings, screw everything back together tightly then solder the joints, it seems to me like it would work...thoughts? The fittings are brass.

I wouldn't try soldering brass to stainless the temperature is way too high for brass. You already have 7/8" holes all you need is a buttweld reducer and a long bolt or piece of all thread. I used a 1" PVC coupling for my backup. Pull a dimple in that mofo get you some stainless fittings and go to town soldering. Don't forget the stay-clean flux and silver solder. If you're going to do it do it right. Otherwise stick with what you got. Because you're going to do more damage than good trying to solder in brass threaded fittings.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I'm guessing this question has already been asked, but I don't want to search through 140 pages to find out. I have three keggles with various weldless fittings. Obviously, the holes are already drilled large enough for a threaded fitting to pass through with minimal interference. Can I solder these in place in their existing holes? If I take them apart, remove the o-rings, screw everything back together tightly then solder the joints, it seems to me like it would work...thoughts? The fittings are brass.

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB-3.html

You can even use solder to join copper or brass to stainless steel, you just need the proper flux. But there are a couple tips to keep in mind to make it work right the first time:

Use a liquid flux instead of a paste flux. The paste flux tends to leave tacky residue that is difficult to clean off. If you must use a paste flux, use it sparingly.
Use plumbing (silver) solder only. Do not use electrical or jeweler's solder because these often contain lead or cadmium. These are toxic metals.
Apply solder separately to each of your parts before joining them. This practice is known as "tinning" and makes joining the parts easier.
Heat the parts, not the solder. Play the flame all around the joint to get it good and hot before you apply the solder. This allows the solder to flow evenly over the joint.
John Palmer

Yes. When you solder Aluminum you need to use a special flux to do it. The one you need to get is Harris Stay-Clean Aluminum Flux. You use it to solder Aluminum to Aluminum and it also works very well joining Aluminum to copper, brass and stainless steel. Use it with Harris Stay-Brite solders.

It is offered on ebay.com - AUMINUM-Soldering-Flux-HARRIS-Stay-Clean-4-oz

I hope this helps.

From Harris products....
Stay-Clean® Soldering Flux
For virtually all metals other than aluminum, magnesium or titanium. Use with Stay-Brite solders or practically
any other solder with a liquidus below 700° F. Not recommended for electrical of electronic applications.
Meets Commercial Spec. A-A-51145C.

From Harris web site....see drop down for metals to be soldered...
http://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/en/Products/Alloys/Soldering.aspx



Stay Brite 8 solder, and Stay Clean liquid flux should work.

 

[wbarber69]

Good info, bear in mind the question was referring to soldering in threaded brass fittings. And they would most likely turn white hot before the stainless was ready.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Good info, bear in mind the question was referring to soldering in threaded brass fittings. And they would most likely turn white hot before the stainless was ready.

Interesting, thanks!
Maybe best to scrap the brass and use stainless....I thought it could be done, perhaps I'm mistaken. I thought the low melt point of 430 degrees F was what made the Stay Brite 8 so versatile and easy to use with only a simple propane torch and many metal types.

 

[wbarber69]

But the thin wall of the threaded fitting will get hot a lot faster and the flux and solder will try to climb up the threads. I was using weldless fittings before I went soldered. I didn't have to change my hole sizes, just a good dimple. Sure you could possibly achieve what you're going for. But then you're stuck with brass if you ever decide you want to upgrade. To me soldering in the brass when it's already working just fine weldless, seems like a lot of trouble to go to that isn't really that necessary if you're not going to upgrade to stainless. And remember its a lot easier to grab onto a coupling when it comes time to torque down your fittings. I assume you're using 1/2" brass nipples in your weldless setup. Which means you probably drilled a 7/8" hole. Which is just slightly too large, unless you use hex nipples, to solder to. Unless you intend to use brass couplings, where you'll still need to make some sort of dimple tool…

I have no experience soldering brass to stainless. I have soldered brass to copper, but that's a whole different story. And I've seen many times where the brass got too hot and wouldn't hold the solder well.

 

[Auger]

Good to know, thanks. I do have one SS coupling that I can try out for a test fit in the existing hole and see how it does, whether it would be a good candidate to try and dimple and solder. Between the three keggles I think i have 5 weldless fittings and they've all leaked to some degree at one point or another.

 

[Bobby_M]

It will work just fine. You're only heating to 450F give or take. Stainless to brass is no problem for Harris stay clean flux.

Tightening the fittings back together in the same way they were used in a weldless configuration will be very strong and the solder is just filling in the leak gaps.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Sure you could possibly achieve what you're going for. But then you're stuck with brass if you ever decide you want to upgrade.

Not really stuck at all, one benefit of soldering over welding is that it can be undone pretty easily...heat it up and remove...not so easy with a welded fitting.

 

[humann_brewing]

So what is the suggested method to silver solder a 1/2" coupler into a kettle. I have seen Bobbys video to put in the welding spud but that doesn't seem like a good option in I want to put a ball valve on a kettle. My guess is that you get that dimple thing which I don't have and get it so that the couple is held in place just with the pressure of the hole but without the dimple thing, are there other options?

 

[wbarber69]

Dimple tool

 

[P-J]

Dimple tool

 

[humann_brewing]

Dimple tool

View attachment 227259

thanks, ordered one, that should be easy enough I suppose, not need to get some silver solder and flux

 

[wbarber69]

All the info to build one is on this forum. I was able to build mine pretty cheap since I already had the washers, nuts, all-thread, and 1" PVC coupling lying around. And although crude and cheap I was able to get 6-7 good dimples made with the same setup before I totally caved in my not quite thick enough washers.
Take your time, keep it straight and don't pull it all the way through, and you'll be golden.

 

[Hunky]

getting old gives you the right to be cranky. It ain't for wimps. I'm there soon. (already, by some standards).

On topic: just soldered in some half couplings (for temp sensors) on two kettles. One keggie and one kettle. Double checked, but managed to solder one in backwards. Expletive deleted. Easy to fix, but cranky inducing.