Soldering Stainless steel

[cantrell00]

The key there is the drill press.

 

[brewman !]

This will test how good my soldering skills are with my fermentation vessel triclover setup.

How does one drill holes in tri clamp caps ? They are pretty thick, especially the 4" models.

Did you solder that Triclover on to the keg ? How is the technique different from doing a small fitting ? Do you still just heat the fitting ? All the way around at once ? Or do you have to heat the keg too ?

Did you cut the hole the OD of the fitting or the ID ?

Thanks !

 

[wbarber69]

To drill holes in stainless you will need to go to the hardware store and find a drillbit. Preferably one that says its for metal. Low speed is a priority and a bit of lubrication can't hurt. And if you are wondering if you should drill the hole according to the inside diameter or the outside diameter of a fitting, well that one should explain itself. It'll be kinda hard to fit a pipe through a hole that's only as large as the hole in the pipe. Yes you can use a standard hole saw. Yes it's faster and easier to use a punch but you still have to drill a hole to use a punch.

 

[brewman !]

To drill holes in stainless you will need to go to the hardware store and find a drillbit. Preferably one that says its for metal.

You obviously know very little about drilling SS, especially thick SS. Its one thing to drill a hole in thin vessels, another totally different thing to tackle those caps.

Low speed is a priority and a bit of lubrication can't hurt. And if you are wondering if you should drill the hole according to the inside diameter or the outside diameter of a fitting, well that one should explain itself. It'll be kinda hard to fit a pipe through a hole that's only as large as the hole in the pipe.

You have two options putting a large triclover fitting on a keg lid.

1) drill the hole the same size as the ID of the fitting, which would allow the fitting to sit on top of the keg lid. This would make a horizontal joint between the fitting and the keg.

2) drill the hole the same size as the OD of the fitting, which would allow the fitting to slip through the top of the keg lid. It would have to be held in place to solder. This would make a vertical joint between the fitting and the keg.

Yes you can use a standard hole saw.

No, you cannot. It will have to be bimetal at the very least. Some come carbide tipped. Thus my question.

Yes it's faster and easier to use a punch but you still have to drill a hole to use a punch.

By punch I assume you mean a punch and die. How practical do you think it would be to buy a punch and die for a 4" Triclover fitting ? Not very.

 

[orangehero]

Use a bimetal hole saw indicated for drilling metal. I recommend getting a slightly undersized hole saw and opening the hole up with a round file and dremel. Hole saws are not very precise.

If you can't fit the stainless vessel under your drill press, it's possible to use a low speed high-torque drill. I have the 1/2 in. Heavy Duty Low Speed Variable Speed Reversible Drill from harbor freight I'm very happy with that I also use to power my grain mill. First use the hole saw to make a clean perpendicular hole through a 2x4, preferably with a drill press. You can then use this 2x4 clamped to the pot to guide the hole saw, preventing it from walking and perpendicular to the wall. Make sure you clamp the pot down well as the torquey drill can throw the pot around if the hole saw catches.

 

[cantrell00]

Bobby @ brewhardware.com sales a sanke fermenter conversion kit that would eliminate having to do all of this yourself..

Very reasonably priced I might add. $34.00

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/sankefermenterkit.htm

 

[brewman !]

Bobby @ brewhardware.com sales a sanke fermenter conversion kit that would eliminate having to do all of this yourself..

Very reasonably priced I might add. $34.00

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/sankefermenterkit.htm

I want a 4" port on my fermenters, for adding fruit, dry hopping, ease of cleaning and for immersing a chilling coil right into the beer.

FWIW, it doesn't cost much more for a 4" ferrule, cap and clamp. The only downside is you have to cut the cut and solder or weld it on. I've been dreaming of using Sanke kegs with a 4" triclover on them for fermenting forever. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

FWIW, I got my solder and flux today.

 

[iamsblack]

I would remove the spud and solder the nipple with two nuts in place. A spud does not permit an interior connection.

After thinking about it for a few days I had to suck it up and realize you are/were right. I reused the lock nut and the stainless close nipple and soldered in place. Works awesome and now I don't have those annoying shortcomings of the weldless bulkheads - rotating the entire fitting while trying to tighten one side, cutting the gasket and creating a leak at the most inopportune times.

Another ugly but strong and leakfree job! Love this soldering solution.

And a pic of my updated HLT thanks to Bobby's gear.

 

[jimmayhugh]

This techniques also works for TC diptubes:

 

[lschiavo]

After thinking about it for a few days I had to suck it up and realize you are/were right. I reused the lock nut and the stainless close nipple and soldered in place. Works awesome and now I don't have those annoying shortcomings of the weldless bulkheads - rotating the entire fitting while trying to tighten one side, cutting the gasket and creating a leak at the most inopportune times.

Another ugly but strong and leakfree job! Love this soldering solution.

And a pic of my updated HLT thanks to Bobby's gear.

It is not beautiful but looks very solid. I get some pock marks in my seams that eventually leak slightly. I have seen the same thing in most pictures posted. It must be technique. What did you do to get yours looking so solid?

 

[wbarber69]

It is not beautiful but looks very solid. I get some pock marks in my seams that eventually leak slightly. I have seen the same thing in most pictures posted. It must be technique. What did you do to get yours looking so solid?

If you're getting leaks and pock marks you need to sand and clean more thoroughly.

 

[lschiavo]

If you're getting leaks and pock marks you need to sand and clean more thoroughly.

I went all out on cleaning and sanding (I understand the principals of soldering). I think the pock marks are left from boiling flux. None of the joints I have soldered really leak. Some (with the pock marks) have developed a slow seepage over time. I now recognize those little bubbly pock marks as a flaw in the joint and will not have them.

 

[wbarber69]

You can always add flux after you apply solder if it's getting a little dingy along the way. Sometimes all it takes is to push the pock marks out with a little extra solder. Acetone helps a lot with the prep work.

 

[iamsblack]

It is not beautiful but looks very solid. I get some pock marks in my seams that eventually leak slightly. I have seen the same thing in most pictures posted. It must be technique. What did you do to get yours looking so solid?

I used a sanding flap disc on a grinder to scuff up around the hole in the keg as well as the backside and edges of the locknut. As you can see, the integrated "washer" of the locknut is in most cases embedded in the solder - it's a thick, strong joint. I did brush more flux after I believed I had the joint heated to where I thought it needed to be.

For me, what appears to be super strong is simple. Now getting a truly strong joint that is beautiful, that is the art. I prefer to error on the strong ugly side. Well, except for my wife.

 

[brewman !]

Does anyone have ideas on pulling a flange for a 4" triclover ferrule on a Sanke keg to make it a fermentor ? You can't put a tapered fitting on the inside like you can on a kettle.

I'm putting the 4" triclover ferrule on the bottom of the keg, using it upside down. I'll cap the filler port with a 2" triclover cap and use it for draining when cleaning in place, etc.

Could I create an internal flange by pulling a tapered fitting right through the keg by pulling it with a piece of threaded rod going through the filler port ?

 

[floormatg]

So I tried my hand at this today. The first coupler went very well, the 2nd not so much...

I wasn't thinking when I pulled my dimple through, and I put the nut on the inside. I was pushing my ratchet in the same direction and it pulled the dimple tool through crooked. I tried the fitting and the solder just fell through the tear in the stainless...
Any suggestions on fixing this? I considered maybe putting in a 3/4" coupling, but this is right at the bottom for a sight glass so there isn't much room to spare. Is there something I could put there to make the solder fill the gap instead of running through?

edit; I was thinking of trying to somehow close the hole a bit (un-dimple) with something a bit bigger than the current hole, and hopefully that would close the gap to a more manageable size. Then drill it out a bit with a step bit and hopefully try again. Is this a recipe for disaster or what?

 

[BargainFittings]

Is this after pulling the coupling?

You can probably bridge the gap with a bit of copper to get the solder to fill in properly.

I split one like that and ended up hammering it back down and soldering on a hex nipple.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Can you massage it closed slightly with a hammer. Then try bending the flare straight by attaching something to the coupling? Or hammer it closed and re pull the dimple straight. You should be able to rework it, and the solder will repair the tear in the stainless.

 

[floormatg]

I tried bending it back with a hammer. The split part would go back together but there was no way I would be able to 'undimple' this hole without causing more damage, it ended up just pushing in around the hole. I ended up just soldering a nut on there. Not the nicest solution but it is still pretty strong, I plugged it to leak tested it and put a lot of force into it, it's definitely stronger than it need to be. I'll probably end up doing the elements the same way. Here's a pic with it fixed, and the 3rd hole also done. Now for the bottom drain!

View attachment 1427414282161.jpg

 

[cantrell00]

I had the same problem and ended up soldering a stainless washer on the inside of the kettle drilling a hole large enough to push the fitting through and resoldered on the outside.

 

[epcgordy]

The last one I did did the same thing. I just used a hammer & chisel to tap the split as tight as I could get it to the coupling. Then I used a little plumber's putty to seal around the dimple, and the solder did the rest. The putty got a little smokey as I was soldering, but it stayed in place long enough to let the solder harden. Once it cooled, cleaned up with some BKF, and its like it never happened!

 

[wilserbrewer]

When trying to shape steel with a hammer, it is absolutely critical to have a hand anvil or dolly held behind the work area to absorb the energy and locally deform the metal. Body shops use tools like these...but any hefty piece of steel will do in a pinch, like the head of a small hand sledge.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-7-piece-...BuBkGt7dIBrOjUlSsuzMHEu7BBXTlVf6hMaAr338P8HAQ

 

[BargainFittings]

Butt joined a Camlock A and Sanke D coupling nut together.

EDIT - I did this to be able to use a pump to clean and transfer from keg to keg.

I drilled out two sanke couplings for higher flow and use a sump pump to clean / sanitize and a magnetic pump or co2 pressure to rack from keg to keg.

 

[wbarber69]

Butt joined a Camlock A and Sanke D coupling nut together.

EDIT - I did this to be able to use a pump to clean and transfer from keg to keg.

I drilled out two sanke couplings for higher flow and use a sump pump to clean / sanitize and a magnetic pump or co2 pressure to rack from keg to keg.

Is there a nipple under that connection? Or is it just solder?

 

[BargainFittings]

Is there a nipple under that connection? Or is it just solder?

Just solder. Butt joint. The coupling nut that screws on the Sanke connetor is chromed brass. I sanded the face pretty aggresively and did the same to the mating face of the A camlock. Fluxed it well and used silver solder. I applied 90% of the heat to the A coupling and touched the joint briefly just when the the flux began to smoke.

The solder flowed easily and formed a nice join. I put the fittings in a vice and gave them a pretty hard hit to see if they would part.

They did not.

 

[snowman_fs]

Has anyone tried to solder in a street elbow through a keg wall or bottom? With the female end forming the typical flare we see in this thread.

I'm thinking about a bottom drain to my HLT and the tight turn seems beneficial to let an eHLT sit flat on a surface.

I'm thinking pre drill/punch/draw to the appropriate size and then hook the elbow through and pound the female end into place.

Edit: I just checked and there is not enough bottom clearance to let the keg sit flat with a street elbow. I'll order a 45 and see if I can move up the curve and make it fit.

 

[floormatg]

The last one I did did the same thing. I just used a hammer & chisel to tap the split as tight as I could get it to the coupling. Then I used a little plumber's putty to seal around the dimple, and the solder did the rest. The putty got a little smokey as I was soldering, but it stayed in place long enough to let the solder harden. Once it cooled, cleaned up with some BKF, and its like it never happened!

Thanks for the tip! Apparently it's not my method, I split the MLT in the exact same spot, and I'm assuming I will split the boil kettle as well. I used some plumbers putty to hold everything in, works like a champ! I also used it around my nut for the element to keep the flux and solder from running down the side of the kettle, a bit messy but easier to clean overall.

View attachment 1427545403847.jpg

 

[wilserbrewer]

If you are splitting the stainless, I would guess the diameter of what you are drawing into is too small, or your hole is too small to begin with....by the time your done, you'll have it figured out

 

[wbarber69]

If you are splitting the stainless, I would guess the diameter of what you are drawing into is too small, or your hole is too small to begin with....by the time your done, you'll have it figured out

Was about to post the same thing.

 

[Huaco]

Bobby:
I've got my element to fit into a 1 1/2" TC adapter and ferrule. The issue is... there's contact of the element and ferrule. Is this an issue? I'd hate to burn out a brand new element...