(legal) Keg->kettle Metalwork Advice Sought

[jonw]

Hello folks,

I have a 58L keg that I (legally!) picked up from the Local Taphouse after their Canadian beer night. I'd like to convert it into a kettle, but it has plastic casing on the ends. Pictures below show it with and without the plastic base.



Having removed the base, it's obviously not going to stand up by itself. I'd appreciate some advice on how to go about fixing this, given that I'm a bit of a Frank Spencer in the DIY metalwork department.

I think I need to make a collar to go where the base used to be. Presumably this should be steel sheet (how thick?) formed into a circle and welded. Given that this keg seems to be pretty thin stainless, could I weld (or get somebody else to) the collar to the keg?

I'd appreciate your input.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[matr]

You could just go electric. I don't rekon it would melt during a boil. I've got a camping mat around mine as insulation and it's ok.

Cheers, Mat

 

[The Scientist]

I think I need to make a collar to go where the base used to be. Presumably this should be steel sheet (how thick?) formed into a circle and welded. Given that this keg seems to be pretty thin stainless, could I weld (or get somebody else to) the collar to the keg?

Yep a good idea to weld a collar to the base. No need to go much larger than about 2mm thick and make sure the welds are really good quality as there will be a heap of heat directed in to the bottome of the keg. I'd hate to see the base come off with super hot wort in it during the boil. h34r:

Cheers,

TS

 

[roller997]

You could just go electric. I don't rekon it would melt during a boil. I've got a camping mat around mine as insulation and it's ok.

Cheers, Mat

+1

Assuming you can attach the base again, I would drill two 32mm holes, purchase two stainless 2200W elements and run it as an electric kettle instead of using gas. That way you will also spend less money on gas re-fills. You should be able to get a double batch to boil easily enough and once it boils you might be able to just run on one element.
The elements I am talking about are available on Fleabay and I did see them once on a price list at the www.kegking.com.au website

The only limitation might be the electrical circuits you have in your brew space. In many cases you would want to run a seperate circuit for each of the elements.

Regards

Roller

 

[jonw]

Yeah, I'd thought about going electric, but I can't justify the additional expense at the moment, and (more importantly) I don't have enough juice where I brew.

On the collar front, if I were to get some sheet welded into a ring, I imagine the keg could pretty much sit on the collar - would it need welding on? Either way, anybody know of somewhere in Sydney I could (a) get the collar made up and (B) get it fixed to the keg?

Cheers,

Jon

 

[beers]

Yeah, I'd thought about going electric, but I can't justify the additional expense at the moment, and (more importantly) I don't have enough juice where I brew.

On the collar front, if I were to get some sheet welded into a ring, I imagine the keg could pretty much sit on the collar - would it need welding on? Either way, anybody know of somewhere in Sydney I could (a) get the collar made up and (B) get it fixed to the keg?

Cheers,

Jon

Jon,

I have a mate who is a sheet metal worker. I can ask him if you're interested.

Dan

 

[browndog]

If it were me, I'd take to the bottom of the keg with a hammer and turn that convex into a concave however it would take a bit of skill to do that. Any engineering shop would be able to roll a piece of sheet for you and weld it on, anything over 63 thou will do, just look in your yellow pages for someone near you. While they are at it, get them to drill a hole for your outlet.

cheers

Browndog

 

[Kleiny]

There was a setup not long ago on here where he had fitted the outlet (tap and elbow) into the original spear opening, you could possibly find a solution like that and use it upside down and cut open the bottom end where you have removed the stand piece. By memory it was a mashtun conversion but the same idea could work.

 

[matr]

Yeah, I'd thought about going electric, but I can't justify the additional expense at the moment, and (more importantly) I don't have enough juice where I brew.

On the collar front, if I were to get some sheet welded into a ring, I imagine the keg could pretty much sit on the collar - would it need welding on? Either way, anybody know of somewhere in Sydney I could (a) get the collar made up and (B) get it fixed to the keg?

Cheers,

Jon

If you're only doing single batches 1 x 2200W element will do the job. $40 from Craft Brewer. Probably cheaper than making a stand. & pay itself back in gas cost. Just need a tad bit more time to get up to temps. I still get a brew done in 4 hours all cleaned up etc.

 

[toadskin]

If you're only doing single batches 1 x 2200W element will do the job. $40 from Craft Brewer. Probably cheaper than making a stand. & pay itself back in gas cost. Just need a tad bit more time to get up to temps. I still get a brew done in 4 hours all cleaned up etc.

If your using gas why don't you just make up a big wok burner ring for it to sit in?

 

[raven19]

By memory it was a mashtun conversion but the same idea could work.

Here 'tis!

 

[jonw]

Jon,

I have a mate who is a sheet metal worker. I can ask him if you're interested.

Dan

Yes please. That would be great.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[jonw]

If it were me, I'd take to the bottom of the keg with a hammer and turn that convex into a concave...

Yeah, I'd thought about this as well. Wouldn't a concave base cause problems for the trub cone? I would have thought he tub would gather around the outer wall where the outlet is.

I like the idea of going electric, but I'd need to get a sparky in to do some serious wiring, so that's out for the time being.

Anyway, thanks for all your input guys.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[vic45]

What about an over the side immersion heater?

 

[Bizier]

I know that this is not what you are asking for Jon, but you could also use this as an opportunity to incorporate some kind of chimney that wraps around the sides of your kettle at a small distance for the purposes of shielding from wind (good for repeatable boil process) and also diverting excess heat from the flame up the sides of your pot. I have been using aluminium printing plates for this for a couple of years and it makes a big difference to gas efficiency. It amazes me that more people do not do something similar.

 

[jonw]

I know that this is not what you are asking for Jon, but you could also use this as an opportunity to incorporate some kind of chimney that wraps around the sides of your kettle at a small distance for the purposes of shielding from wind (good for repeatable boil process) and also diverting excess heat from the flame up the sides of your pot. I have been using aluminium printing plates for this for a couple of years and it makes a big difference to gas efficiency. It amazes me that more people do not do something similar.

I have a sheet of some sort of metal (!) bent into a square to wrap around the burner and the bottom of the kettle, leaving a gap for the gas in and the tap. Works a treat - my gas efficiency went from 2-3 brews per refill to losing count. Once I reach a boil I can turn the gas down until there's hardly a flame and still maintain a boil.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[Tilt]

I use the outside metal skin of 2 old kitchen bins split down the back slightly reshaped with a slot cut for the tap and then bulldog clipped together - easy to come by and just the right size/height.

View attachment 43414

 

[Tilt]

Sorry - should read the OP , not just the last post, before I reply :blink:
Here's what I did - an el cheapo steel chair with the legs cut down and the seat removed - hundreds of the things get chucked out on the hard garbage around our way.
Just happens to be the right diameter and you can cut it to the perfect height for good flame contact and air flow - then use your "2 bin chimney" for a flue!!

 

[Bizier]

I have a sheet of some sort of metal (!) bent into a square to wrap around the burner and the bottom of the kettle, leaving a gap for the gas in and the tap. Works a treat - my gas efficiency went from 2-3 brews per refill to losing count. Once I reach a boil I can turn the gas down until there's hardly a flame and still maintain a boil.

Cheers,

Jon

Haha, I should have known you'd already have it sorted.