How to add permanent volume markings to a kettle.

[fletcher]

I was wondering would this be detrimental to the chromium layer?

hmm, valid points

 

[Yob]

would Aluminium fare better / worse?

 

[davedoran]

not sure found this through some google searches.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/727806/apple-cider-vinegar-and-aluminium-why-it-doesnt-mix

How it lead to backyard chickens I don't know. That's for google to answer.
Starts talking about apple cider but further on down it has a bit of info on vinegars reaction with untreated aluminium. I would think most posts sold for cooing purposed have been anodised. Personally Id steer clear with the aluminium though.
Stainless id be more confident with. We passivate in work using acid quite a bit and never had any problems.

 

[BungBrew]

I'm very keen to try this but is it SS safe? Last thing I want to do is damage my shiny 50L BIAB vessel !!!

 

[davedoran]

if someone in Sydney has the set up im happy to donate some stainless offcut to test on.

 

[brad81]

would Aluminium fare better / worse?

Might be worth testing it out on the lid first.

not sure found this through some google searches.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/727806/apple-cider-vinegar-and-aluminium-why-it-doesnt-mix

How it lead to backyard chickens I don't know. That's for google to answer.
Starts talking about apple cider but further on down it has a bit of info on vinegars reaction with untreated aluminium. I would think most posts sold for cooing purposed have been anodised. Personally Id steer clear with the aluminium though.
Stainless id be more confident with. We passivate in work using acid quite a bit and never had any problems.

You are etching, not leaving the vinegar there to form toxins. A good scrub/clean asap with clean water after the exercise and you'd be good to go. A little bit more reading suggests that because aluminium is so reactive, it'll tend to have a layer of aluminium oxide which can protect it from weaker acids.

For piece of mind I'd definitely test on another piece of aluminium first though.

 

[slash22000]

PSA: this was posted today: http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/1zhkvn/a_quick_warning_about_etching_yor_stainless_kettle/

saw with great interest the posts here about etching your stainless kettles. Not wanting to blow $100 that I spent on my kettle, I asked my brother-in-law, who happens to be a PhD metallurgist and a 30 year specialist in stainless steel. I asked if the battery and vinegar process could cause problems with corrosion on a kettle. This was his reply:

Excellent question. Are you sure you're not a metallurgist? Anyway, yes, probably these etched areas would be prone to corrosion and (worse) might cause your beer to have a metallic taste for the first post-etching batch or two.

Interesting how a little knowledge can be dangerous. A fascinating little idea about how to ruin the very expensive stainless kettle that I have gone to a lot of trouble to make. [Since his company produces stainless steel]

All is not lost! All we need to do is make sure the etched areas have their corrosion resistance restored! We can easily do this with materials found around the home. What I would suggest is soaking a washcloth in lemon juice, laying it on top of the etchings (maybe by turning it sideways), and getting it hot somehow - say, 180 deg. F or thereabouts, so we don't boil the lemon juice off but we have some impetus for the passivation reaction. I guess you could put it in the oven on "low". An hour or two should do it. If it dries out you could just pour some more lemon juice on it. Lime juice would work of course. Or just plain lemons. Nitric acid is normally used, but who has that laying around? Plus it's dangerous.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

That's great information. Thanks!

 

[MastersBrewery]

I have a spare bigw pot I might test this on, then wash and leave filled with water for a week or so

 

[argon]

Yeah looks like passivating would be a good idea. I have citric acid at home.


"Yes, the dried acid powder is ~100% citric acid anhydrous (dehydrated citric acid). It will work. Make a solution of 100g/L and expose the surface for a minimum of 30 minutes at room temp. If you can heat it past 100F it will work faster. There is no harm in leaving it longer. Be sure the surface is nice and clean before you begin."

 

[shaunous]

After they invented the engraver, i now use it to do the exact same thing.

 

[law-of-ohms]

I has one of these at work.

http://www.tigbrush.com/

Sapose I better get off my ass and use it.

 

[shaunous]

I has one of these at work.

http://www.tigbrush.com/

Sapose I better get off my ass and use it.

Well I reckon my workshop needs one of them, better get an order number ready

 

[KevinR]

Looks awesome.

Although I`m Wondering if the cheaper style kettles would rust?...just a thought

I don't think so it looks a lot like a cheep version of what is used in industry as a post weld treatment of stainless steel welds to restore the natural surface to the to the heat affected area so it won't get rust stains. They call it TIG brushing.(not to be confused tig welding).

Kev

 

[davedoran]

This is the one we use in work http://weldbrush.com/

Works well for stainless welds but the tips are a bit big. Might be a little bit messy for this application but with a bit of care and patience im sure it would work.

 

[Edak]

Yay I now have a valid use for my laser engraver slash cutter! Cuts electrical tape perfectly with precision. Little designs easy to do.

 

[benno1973]

Just to add a counter to the corrosion argument, I found this on a tumblr blog regarding the etching:

In a thread on it on HBT, someone from one of my homebrew clubs posted the response when he asked John Palmer (who’s a metallurgist by trade) about it.
Palmer responded that it was a great idea, he was going to do it himself, and while the citric or nitric acid passivation is industry standard, Palmer said that for homebrewers, the kettle will never really see the conditions necessary for corrosion to take place, and there should be no off flavors or issues with doing it.

Still, the lemon juice trick sounds easy enough.

 

[idzy]

If someone finds some suitable stencils, please post

 

[shaunous]

Yay I now have a valid use for my laser engraver slash cutter! Cuts electrical tape perfectly with precision. Little designs easy to do.

What's a slash cutter

 

[New_guy]

If someone finds some suitable stencils, please post

I found this - letters and numbers, but ? ti big - they are 5cm tall http://www.stencilgallery.com.au/alphabets.html