DIY brew kettle

[poggor]

Im thinking of making my own brew pot rather than forking out for one but i have some doubts...
I want a 36L pot with a tap and a view tube (and maybe a thermometer)
My questions are these:

1. How hard (easy?) is it to drill holes in stainless steel pots? I have a Bosch handheld drill.
2. do these "no weld" taps and things that are available around the place work? or leak?

cheers!


g

 

[Trevandjo]

I used a step drill bought from Bunnings to drill my pot. It is a bit of a pain but got the job done. I was also a bit rough and left plenty of burrs on the inside that I couldn't file out.

My no-weld bulkhead connector was from Full Pint. It works and seals great even with my dodgy drilling. Also their service is top notch.

Trev

 

[poggor]

thanks trev!

 

[CrookedFingers]

If you do use a step drill to bore your holes and end up with burrs on the inside, just use the step drill on the inside VERY LIGHTLY, this will knock off the burrs.

Job done.




CF

 

[Danielscott26]

I used a step drill bit from bunnings to drill the holes in my keggle mash tun and hlt and it's really easy. Just make sure you use a cutting fluid also from bunnings. It makes the drilling allot easier and your drill bit will last longer. The no weld attachments work well just helps if your holes are clean.

 

[boybrewer]

Buy yourself a hole cutting saw that fits into the drill use plenty of lubricant like WD 40 and go slow it will cut the hole in a minute . You can purchase all the pieces like ball valves and bulk head fittings from the above sponsors as well as Keg King no affiliation yada yada yada .

 

[poggor]

nice. i'll give it a shot!

 

[Camo6]

The only thing I'd add to this is maybe consider a bigger sized kettle. If you're going to the trouble of making one you might regret not starting out bigger from the get go. But YMMV.

Also don't be afraid to stop drilling if it gets too hot. Otherwise you'll blunt your drill and harden the work.

 

[Fat Bastard]

The only things I might add are:

Your Bosch hand held drill is probably designed for drilling through shitmetal and wood. It runs too fast for stainless.
Holesaws are crap. You might be able to drill one, two or maybe even three holes in stainless before it's stuffed. They're only designed to cut MDF or plywood.

Centre punch the spot you intend to drill. it'll give the drill something to bite into without slipping.
Buy a High Speed Steel centre drill. It's short and easy to control and will give you a good hole for the step drill to follow
Step drills are crap too. However it'll make a hole. if you go slow and put heaps of pressure on it
Slow and steady wins the race. Really. You'll still get a massive burr though.

If you're in Sydney, drop me a PM and I'll punch the hole/s with my hydraulic chassis punch for you in exchange for beer.

 

[JaseH]

Holesaws are crap. You might be able to drill one, two or maybe even three holes in stainless before it's stuffed. They're only designed to cut MDF or plywood.

Get the TCT hole saws from Keg King or ebay, they work much better than a step bit and will last a lot longer, they are designed for stainless. I've drilled heaps of holes in stainless kegs with mine and still cuts like butter. They are surprisingly cheap too.

 

[mofox1]

I got a cheap step drill from ebay... and it shows. It's perfect once it starts to bite - but getting that initial hole now requires about 40kg pressure because the end is a bit shite. 'Course I could go get a decent bit to make a pilot hole.

Also sheet metal punches are the bom, but again with the pilot hole biz.

And not to tell you what you want... but you want a bigger pot