Spike Brewing Kettles

[Formito]

So I'm never sure about the sizes but I could definitely see a use in 3 ports for at least a hlt. Perfect way to gaug temp and amount of liquid transfer while still being able to hook a 1/2 in ball valve up. but with my current probe thermometer I'm happy lol

 

[phuff7129]

I think 2 ports horizontal would work. One for the ball valve and one for the sight glass or a sight glass/thermometer combo. The 1/2 inch npt is easy enough to convert to 1/4 inch if that is what your sight glass is using. Just need to talk the swmbo into the kettle. Tax return coming soon!

 

[Chaostar]

Mine came in recently. Had a few dings and about a three inch gouge in the wall. The welding is smooth on the outside but the inside not so much. Chunks of solder coming through from the outside weld. Havent had a chance to use it yet to check for leaks but I'll try to do so and post some pics this weekend. For a cheap kettle, it should work fine.

 

[A4J]

My sight glass setup is 1/2 inch but a 1/4 inch site glass is really easy to convert like phuff said.

Mine came in yesterday. I'll post a review when I'm done testing it later today.

 

[gotsum411]

Just pulled the trigger yesterday... Let the waiting begin!

 

[Reuben1012]

reviews anyone?

 

[Formito]

reviews anyone?

I liked mine, so have others, look up thru the thread. Very good customer service

 

[jwible204]

reviews anyone?

I wrote up a decent review a few weeks ago, check through my posts to find it. Also, I'm currently wrapping up my 3rd brew with my 15 gallon kettle. I purchased it the day before the tri-bottom was available so it's just the straight stainless. It's worked flawlessly for me. There is some discoloration on the bottom where the grates of my stove-top are, but I don't think it's an issue and it's certainly not scorching as far as I can tell.

My previous brew kettle was an 8 gallon canning pot that was about half the thickness of this and it never scorched, this new pot certainly isn't an issue.

 

[Reuben1012]

jwible204, read your review, thanks... Looks like a nice kettle, I am trying to decide between one of those or a 15 gal Bayou Classic off Amazon. With the step bit and weldless kit they would be about the same price.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

jwible204, read your review, thanks... Looks like a nice kettle, I am trying to decide between one of those or a 15 gal Bayou Classic off Amazon. With the step bit and weldless kit they would be about the same price.

Any reason you would chose the weldless over a welded kettle if price isn't a factor?

 

[Reuben1012]

Any reason you would chose the weldless over a welded kettle if price isn't a factor?

Not really I figure welded is better, But I do a like a excuse to use my drill and hand tools.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

l figured. Just was wondering if there was another angle to look at the welded vs weld less option

 

[Speedo]

Mine came in recently. Had a few dings and about a three inch gouge in the wall. The welding is smooth on the outside but the inside not so much. Chunks of solder coming through from the outside weld. Havent had a chance to use it yet to check for leaks but I'll try to do so and post some pics this weekend. For a cheap kettle, it should work fine.

I got my 13.5 gallon kettle earlier this week. Very happy with the size and weight. I haven't had a chance to brew with it yet, but I too was hoping for a cleaner looking weld on the inside of the kettle. Looking to see what I can do to clean it up, if I need to.

 

[kh54s10]

That one looks unfinished to me. I don't know much about welding but I looks like it was done from the outside and did not fill the gap all the way through to the inside. I too would expect it to look a lot cleaner. It also looks like a small streak of rust along the top of the fitting in the last pic.

I would sent the pictures and ask if this is normal.

 

[wildwest450]

That's amateurish at best, I haven't welded in 20 years and I could have done better. What's the point of grinding away above the weld?

 

[SpikeBrewing]

That one looks unfinished to me. I don't know much about welding but I looks like it was done from the outside and did not fill the gap all the way through to the inside. I too would expect it to look a lot cleaner. It also looks like a small streak of rust along the top of the fitting in the last pic.

I would sent the pictures and ask if this is normal.

This is normal. It's called sugaring. It's a phenomenon that happens when welding stainless steel. Unlike carbon steel or aluminum you don't get that pretty back side weld UNLESS you back purge it with argon. Not to get too in depth but when you back purge with argon you can classify the weld as 'sanitary'. We are taking steps and investing in tooling to produce sanitary welds. They should be sanitary going forward later this year.

 

[frisbee91]

Hi all,
Just thought I'd chime in on Spikebrewing.
I ordered a 25 gallon kettle a few weeks ago. It came in, and I found that the welds were cracked and leaking.

Ben at Spikebrewing promply sent me out a new kettle. (he even covered the return shipping on the leaking one.) The welds on the new kettle look much better. I set it up and was able to brew last weekend.

I will echo others thoughts that I wish the fittings inside the pot looked better. But, the kettle is functional, and the price is right.

Most importantly, Ben is a stand-up guy who stands behind his products. Here are a few shots of the new kettle (including my BIAB insulation).

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm sure it all comes down to personal opinion regarding what to expect out of a welding job. I don't think the welds in the pictures are amateurish because I know an amateur would blow right through the pot. The beads look pretty good and that's not easy. However, it wouldn't be that much more money or labor to smear some solar flux on the back before welding. You'd end up with much less sugaring and you wouldn't have to constantly educate the customer how what looks bad isn't as bad as it looks. Another way to spend 5 minutes to make a huge difference is to put a buffing wheel to those heat discoloration areas. That's just my humble opinion.

 

[uberg33k]

This is normal. It's called sugaring. It's a phenomenon that happens when welding stainless steel. Unlike carbon steel or aluminum you don't get that pretty back side weld UNLESS you back purge it with argon. Not to get too in depth but when you back purge with argon you can classify the weld as 'sanitary'. For a brew kettle there is no need for a sanitary weld as you'll be cleaning the weld and then boiling in it, killing anything that may have been missed by your sanitizer. We could sanitary weld the fittings on but it would cost roughly $30 more per coupler as it's a much longer process.

We have taken steps to reduce the sugaring. We have an interference fit between the couplers and kettle and then pull them through. The interference fit eliminates the gap between the hole in the kettle and coupler greatly reducing the sugaring.

Cosmetically it's not the prettiest thing but we're brewing not trying to win a beauty contest. As for the rust... The welding process melts the metal obviously and a few iron oxides can form on the surface. Just rub a little bar keepers friend on there and it'll go away for good. We've sold many many kettles and have never once had a customer come back and tell us a batch was ruined because of any welds.



I'll respectfully disagree. I explained why in the above post

I'm not sure how much trouble it would be, but couldn't you just offer sanitary welds as an upgrade cost? I'm sure some people won't care, but some people would pay the extra $.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

I'm sure it all comes down to personal opinion regarding what to expect out of a welding job. I don't think the welds in the pictures are amateurish because I know an amateur would blow right through the pot. The beads look pretty good and that's not easy. However, it wouldn't be that much more money or labor to smear some solar flux on the back before welding. You'd end up with much less sugaring and you wouldn't have to constantly educate the customer how what looks bad isn't as bad as it looks. Another way to spend 5 minutes to make a huge difference is to put a buffing wheel to those heat discoloration areas. That's just my humble opinion.

Solar Flux can't be used with food applications (that's coming directly from the company). It was my decision to leave the discoloration. I think the orangish/yellowish/blueish hue looks cool. We're always open to suggestions so if the customers want them buffed out we can do that (we used to buff them out actually).

As for the sugaring... It's an ongoing process to reduce as much as possible. We've invested in tooling and our results are awesome. We've almost completly eliminated the sugaring on the inside :rockin:

I'm not sure how much trouble it would be, but couldn't you just offer sanitary welds as an upgrade cost? I'm sure some people won't care, but some people would pay the extra $.

The sanitary welding consists of filling the kettle with argon and then welding. The tricky part is there are two holes in the kettle so one hole gets welded (quickly before the argon runs out) then refill and weld the other coupler on. This obviously adds a lot of time per kettle which equals more $$. We can sanitary weld the couplers on as a custom job but we haven't had one person ask for this. The question comes up now and then but after explaining that you don't need a sanitary weld during the brewing process (fermenting is a different story) they decided to stick their money into other necessary items. Plus our welding process has almost eliminated all sugaring (see pic above).


-Ben

 

[Bobby_M]

That one looks a LOT better.

I don't know where I saw it but you can create metal cup with a few spaced pinholes that you prop against the opening on the inside and then put a hose barb in the coupling you're welding in with the argon just barely flowing in. It's a gas conservation method that also doesn't care how many other holes may be in the vessel.

 

[StainlessBrewing]

If they want it pretty maybe you could start selling or using pickling paste? A "sanitary weld" is just a really pretty weld, then cleaned with pickling paste and brushed up to keep it clean. Here's a pic of what it can do. Stuff does wonders! You Tube "tig brush"...that thing is sweet too!

http://www.waspsupplies.com/ekmps/shops/waspsupplies/images/pickling-paste-gel-[2]-739-p.jpg

 

[StainlessBrewing]

Not to get too far off track but this guy has some very informative videos on welding stainless. Ignore the OLD video that says welding stainless steel food grade. Some techno thing I have no clue why it's on his channel. Great website too.

http://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[Beer-lord]

I've had my Spike 9 gallon kettle a few months now. I don't have time to brew alot but I have had a number of successful BIAB batches.
Actually, my only complaint is so minor and not the fault of Spike. The thermometer post is long and I have to be careful not to tear my bag. Now, if that's the worst thing, I have it made.
I'd buy another one. Maybe I will when I grow up.

 

[frisbee91]

What about using the same technique you have been using, but welding just the inside, and not the outside? It's more important that the inside weld be easy to clean.

Here's the same welded fitting, shown from the inside and from the outside. I'm suggesting that the weld be swapped.

The kettle I have is working for me, just making a suggestion for improvements in the future.

 

[StainlessBrewing]

What about using the same technique you have been using, but welding just the inside, and not the outside? It's more important that the inside weld be easy to clean.

Here's the same welded fitting, shown from the inside and from the outside. I'm suggesting that the weld be swapped.

The kettle I have is working for me, just making a suggestion for improvements in the future.

Welding that far down inside the kettle might be a little challenging or impossible when it comes time to weld between the coupling and bottom of the kettle.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Welding that far down inside the kettle might be a little challenging or impossible when it comes time to weld between the coupling and bottom of the kettle.

Pretty much this. It all really comes down to aesthetics and what is more important to you; aesthetics or leak free welded fittings.

 

[StainlessBrewing]

Great video on this. Right at about 5:40 he talks about the sugaring.

 

[Goose5]

I am also taking a serious look at the Spike kettle. Just from the reading I have done I assumed sugaring on the inside was to be avoided for sanitary reasons. Welding of any kind is conducted under a sheild gas. The presents of oxygen causes porosity. If your welder knows what he/she is doing 100 percent penetration is achieved. Sugaring is caused when the molten metal comes into contact with oxygen on the other side. Now would this porosity provide a place for infections to hide? Or does the boil take care of that? Honestly I haven't run a tig machine in 30 years, but I remember stainless being an absolute dream to weld. I have to hand it to your welder. Running a bead around such a small circumference is a royal pain in the backside.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

I am also taking a serious look at the Spike kettle. Just from the reading I have done I assumed sugaring on the inside was to be avoided for sanitary reasons. Welding of any kind is conducted under a sheild gas. The presents of oxygen causes porosity. If your welder knows what he/she is doing 100 percent penetration is achieved. Sugaring is caused when the molten metal comes into contact with oxygen on the other side. Now would this porosity provide a place for infections to hide? Or does the boil take care of that? Honestly I haven't run a tig machine in 30 years, but I remember stainless being an absolute dream to weld. I have to hand it to your welder. Running a bead around such a small circumference is a royal pain in the backside.

I'll be the first to admit that we have come a long way from where our welding started. We used to have a lot of sugaring on the backside. We sold all of our keggles with a lot of sugaring and many kettles as well. It really turns out to be just a cosmetic issue. I have never once had someone come back saying they can't clean the kettle or the sugaring ruined a batch.

With that said our backside welds look really really good (could almost be considered sanitary) and we'll keep finding ways to improve without raising the prices.