Stout Brew Kettles

[orangehero]

So 6 months later I finally got my boil kettle to be worked on. For me it was not easy or fast by any means.

After a couple of false starts, it appears the company I finally settled with did a decent enough job, although they didn't grind the welds smooth like I requested. They're a little rough in places, but I suppose it's not really a concern for the boil kettle. They didn't pickle the welds either, so there's a HAZ and some rust is forming, but hopefully a few scrubs with Bar Keeper's Friend and a passivation rinse will take care of it. Some minor warpage of the walls as well, which I suppose is expected from a little too much heat.

Most important thing for me though is that it doesn't appear to be leaking any more, even though it looks like a tank that has been repaired. This was a frustrating experience for me and took a long time, definitely not what I expected, but at this point I'm just glad to have something I can use to boil wort with. The repair cost came out to be near as much as the tank itself. For whatever reason I did have to pay the weldor out of my own pocket, so I hope stout will reimburse me soon.

I do hope that this is the last of the problems. Otherwise I may just chuck it off the roof and get something else to brew with.

They expected me to find one. My complaint was that they expected me to be able to judge the abilities of a welder even though I have no qualification to do so. How do I know what questions to ask? After complaining about that fact they finally picked up the phone and found a local welder.

Same story here, but I had to do it on my own anyway...I figure how do I expect them to judge the abilities of a weldor over the phone. The first one they recommended to me was not a good choice.

Now if they would tell me why the ports for the sight glass are rusting at the welds inside the pot and find a fix I would be happy. They are rusting no matter how much passivation I try. But I doubt I'll ever hear from them again. It's already been several months and the last I recall hearing is that they are looking into why it's happening.

Good luck, hopefully it's repairable.

 

[jawsbc]

Hi V.,

Please send the invoice to us ASAP and we will take care of it. I'm sorry it was such an ordeal to get this taken care of - in other situations it has gone much smoother and quickly. While this is an infrequent problem, we are working on a design improvement to reduce the chances of it happening further.

Cheers,

John

 

[orangehero]

That's the first thing I did. It seems easier to get your attention on Homebrewtalk than through your e-mail.

The ordeal isn't over, it's actually still leaking.

Sent from my roof. What a waste of time.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

That's the first thing I did. It seems easier to get your attention on Homebrewtalk than through your e-mail.

The ordeal isn't over, it's actually still leaking.

Sent from my roof. What a waste of time.

Still leaking? Wow. I have very little experience welding, but this seems surprising. I understand that sanitary welds are challenging, but I would think that the challenge is in getting a 'perfect' weld, both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. Getting a weld to be water-tight shouldn't be very challenging to an experienced welder, right?

I guess I'm wondering how a weld could leak if it is done by a professional.

 

[orangehero]

You can't tell where exactly it's leaking from. It just should never have left the factory the way it is.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

Wow,I never knew. I always thought it was like really hot hot gluing. I'll stay away from welding, sounds like a pain

 

[swackattack]

Just replace his kettle already


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[orangehero]

So after two rounds of repairs, this POS kettle is still leaking. The shop doesn't want anything else to do with it, and these are guys who make aerospace components.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

Geez.. they need to make this right.

 

[technicoloraudio]

I bought three kettles from Stout: HLT, MLT, BK.

They were a little messed up when I got them, Stout replaced them.

They are a great company and back up their products with excellent support.

With proper care and maintenance, I think you get a product that will last a lifetime and not a few years. I've been working in kitchens for twenty years and proper care ultimately determines whether a stainless pot will live or die.




Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[orangehero]

What's a little messed up? It's been 7 months and lots of additional time, effort, and expenditure on my part, and I still have a leaking kettle that I can't use. My mash tun I would say is a little messed up, but I'm just happy it's functional as far as I know. Actually I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I wouldn't be shocked to find serious problems with it.

 

[technicoloraudio]

Some damage occurred in shipping...so it seemed. There were some rough edges, dents and dings.

It took a while for the new kettles to arrive. I purchased the kettles a year ago and am about to brew my first batch on them next weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[TripleTap]

I received my 20 gallon system from Stout this spring. The bottom outlet on the BK leaked. They gave the standard response and told me to find a welder. It was a real PITA. They agreed to swap it if I paid the shipping. That was not agreeable to me. I found a local welder. He could not get his tip in to get to the leak.

After that, they agreed to the exchange. It was frustrating because I spent months designing the system, weeks installing and plumbing it after it finally arrived...just to find out it leaked with my first run of water. then I get the run around....but now that it is resolved...Overall, I am pleased with the system. Still trying to calibrate the herms with the Blichmann tower of power.

It is there business and not mine...but I would rather they add $5.00 to every piece and just pay for the shipping to swap out faulty units. mistakes will happen and QC on goods from China can be tough. But the customer should not be the one doing the legwork.

Incidently, I have a 7 gallon fermentor that has been flawless for the last few years. I will be adding a larger one for my larger system soon. Probly from Stout.

Also my first Stout Boil kettle (9 gal) leaks as well. Very slightly. I never reported it because I never noticed it til I left a batch of One Step in it overnight. I still use it...the flames burn off the slight drip. Though I do not use it for beer anymore. It makes an awesome tank for crawfish/seafood boils. Open the valve drain the liquid in to a bucket....pour out on to a table and have a party!

 

[orangehero]

So you're 3 for 5? They say that leaks are rare and are fixed quickly, but I can't imagine it not being an incredible PITA for the average homebrewer to get stainless tanks repaired. If I had known, I would have gladly paid extra to avoid all of this. It has been an extremely frustrating waste of my time dealing with this tank.

Make sure you request for them to leak test before they ship you anything. Even then it's not a sure bet. This last time I got my kettle back, I had it filled with water for several days without a drop. When I went ahead with circulating hot citric acid to passivate the stainless steel, after a couple of hours there was liquid coming from the back of the fitting again.

 

[Roadie]

Orangehero - I feel for all the issues you've had. All 3 kettles (20g) in my electric system work great and I have no leaks. Once thing I never noticed until cleaning my mash tun after the first batch is that I have a small dent in it near the left handle. They had so much bling that I stared right at it and never noticed it even when setting up. As it doesn't affect anything I never contacted Stout about the issue.

If I had to do it over I'd still order the kettles from Stout, however I'd change 2 things. 1) I'd delete the HERMS coil and go with a larger aftermarket coil which I'll be ordering today, and 2) I'd have them move the thermowell for the temp sensor a little lower in the MLT as on normal gravity beers if I don't dough in using 1.5 qt/lb then the mash doesn't reach the sensor.

I also like that you can order the kettles the way you want them. On mine I deleted the temp gauge and thermowell on the front of the tanks. I added a thermowell for the temp sensor probes where I wanted them located. Very customizable.

 

[oakbarn]

I like my Stout equipment as well. The HERMS coil is inadequate in my setuo. We have gone back to a Chin Chiller as a HERMS. We also take the temp just before entering the fitting at the top of the MLT and also on the out of the Mash Tun. With a BCS you can average these two and that seems to work for us. We do not use the thermowels. I am surprised you have not found a Stainless steel welder that cannot fix the leak.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

It's funny how many of us have problems with their coil. I wonder if they will change their design

 

[orangehero]

I did find a good stainless weldor...they tried to repair it two separate times before telling me they want nothing more to do with it.

Stout said they would finally replace it, but they are really taking their time. I think they were trying to say it was my fault for running a passivation rinse that caused the repairs to fail.

 

[hank]

I had thought about buying a Stout kettle, but I have seen the prices go up and it seems the quality that should be in a $400-$500 dollar kettle is not there. A $400 15 gal. kettle should be flawless at such a premium price. Sorry but Stout is now off my watch list

 

[jawsbc]

This is John from Stout Tanks.

We've had to replace only 2 kettles ever that couldn't be repaired. Unfortunately, Orange Hero got one of those. After he notified us that the repair didn't take, we immediately started on a new kettle.

We also are changing the design on these kettles to prevent this in the future.

We take these issues seriously and want to ensure we have happy customers. In Orange Hero's case, it appears that the process has gotten drawn out due to a delay in getting the tank to the repair shop after we found one close to him. We do our best to respond quickly to any customer issue and efficiently.

Cheers,

John/Stout Tanks and Kettles

 

[TripleTap]

I received my 20 gallon system from Stout this spring. The bottom outlet on the BK leaked. They gave the standard response and told me to find a welder. It was a real PITA. They agreed to swap it if I paid the shipping. That was not agreeable to me. I found a local welder. He could not get his tip in to get to the leak.

After that, they agreed to the exchange. It was frustrating because I spent months designing the system, weeks installing and plumbing it after it finally arrived...just to find out it leaked with my first run of water. then I get the run around....but now that it is resolved...Overall, I am pleased with the system. Still trying to calibrate the herms with the Blichmann tower of power.

It is there business and not mine...but I would rather they add $5.00 to every piece and just pay for the shipping to swap out faulty units. mistakes will happen and QC on goods from China can be tough. But the customer should not be the one doing the legwork.

Incidently, I have a 7 gallon fermentor that has been flawless for the last few years. I will be adding a larger one for my larger system soon. Probly from Stout.

Also my first Stout Boil kettle (9 gal) leaks as well. Very slightly. I never reported it because I never noticed it til I left a batch of One Step in it overnight. I still use it...the flames burn off the slight drip. Though I do not use it for beer anymore. It makes an awesome tank for crawfish/seafood boils. Open the valve drain the liquid in to a bucket....pour out on to a table and have a party!

I want to clarify that once they agreed to the exchange....they did pay for the return shipping.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

I've had my stout tanks for a little under a year now. 20g HLT, MLT, and BK. All with all the bells and whistles.

I've started finding small bits of rust in the ferules and faces of the tri-clamp inlets and outlets. Mostly, in the ferules where the sight glass attaches. I passivate according to their directions every 6 months.

I'll make sure to remove all of the clamped accessories after cleaning and drying them all thoroughly from now on.

I'm not sure if this is due to the SS material being lower quality, or the manufacturing process changing the material properties. I'm able to remove the rust with BKF, but it is still sort of troubling. Does this sort of thing happen with all SS kettles?

 

[GuldTuborg]

I just got my new BK in a couple days ago. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it looks great. I'd also be curious to hear about others' experiences with proper maintenance.

 

[jawsbc]

Hi Bad Wolf,

A common misconception is that stainless steel is stain proof. It is not. Stainless steel does stain less (a lot less) than regular steel, but it can/will rust over time and/or with the right conditions.

Here are some things that can promote stain or corrosion in stainless steel:
- Excessive humidity
- Salt/salt water
- Chlorine
- Not being allowed to fully dry out
- Using abrasive cleaners or scouring pads
- Using any ferrous metal object (non stainless) on the kettle, which will embed iron in the stainless, and the iron will then rust.

Please see some industry links below.

Most commercial breweries passivate their stainless equipment every 3 or 4 months.

With home brew equipment, you might want to use Bar Keeper's Friend to clean the kettles after each use, especially if you are in a high humidity area.

To quote the Megan Racing link,

"The weather and environment with higher than normal humidity and precipitation figures allow the steel to be more prone to rust and corrosion, but 304 stainless steel is NOT rust-proof."

http://www.ancare.com/our-products/stainless-steel

http://www.marfas.com/technical/stainless-steel-corrosion-its-stain-less-not-always-stain-proof.html

http://www.meganracing.com/tech/faqs.asp?id=89

Cheers,

John

 

[Roadie]

My ferrules have rust inside as well but no where else. We brew inside in an air conditioned basement converted to a brewery so don't think humidity is the issue. We're just coming up on 6 months old.


Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[mswebb]

Has anyone had bad welds on their stout equipment? What was wrong and how did you have it repaired?

I was excited about my shiny kettle, but all of the fitting welds leak.

I had one small leak on the top of my brite tank (on the 1/4" mpt fitting). I contacted Stout as soon as it was discovered. On their recommendation I found a local stainless welder and they fixed it. Stout covered the cost of the repair. The repair looks just fine and, more importantly, allows the brite tank to maintain pressure for carbing. This was one tiny spot on an order of HLT, MT, BK, 2@conical and 2@brite. I've ordered two more conicals and they arrive tomorrow.

I have noticed a couple of small weld spots where rust keeps cropping up but we keep on top of it with barkeepers friend and it's not an issue.

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

The location makes sense, with the ferules to the sight glasses. Moisture collects, can't dry easily.

I'll take them off to allow it to dry. That is the beauty of tri clamps.

 

[November]

Got my custom tanks. Overall, my tanks are good except for some irritating damage from the factory.

Here is the write up...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/20g-stout-kal-build-bar-466649/index4.html#post6303884

 

[orangehero]

So a year later I finally got my replacement kettle...hopefully no leaks this time.

Apparently they made a design change to address the leaking front outlet on the boil kettles by having a patch on the skirt.

New front outlet:

 

[BadWolfBrewing]

Good luck on the next brew, let us know how it goes