Ss Tig Welding

[ledgenko]

Joe ... I may have a simple solution to this ... just spoke to my mates wife .. she said she is pretty sure he knows how to TIG weld ... will get back to you once its confirmed ..

Matt

 

[slampt]

Cool,

I will keep practicing as I want to get good at it anyway

 

[ledgenko]

Mate ... I have gotten hold of Mike finally .. He has confirmed he can TIG .. note this is relayed through his wife .. bloody busy man !! He is happy to do some welding for me .. and I can say I am sure he will do what you need too . perhaps him showing you may just help enough ??

Let me know when you are free .... Weekends obviously work best from this end..

Cheers

Matt

 

[slampt]

Just a quick update, found a mate who did the big welding for me. He did a pretty good job (he's a boiler maker).
All I have to do is clean them up a little whats the best way? I am thinking dremel with a sanding wheel or a small SS brush wheel, will this also get rid of the discolouration?

Thanks heaps to every for there advise and thanks to Spoonta for the scrap, I am still practicing as there are other things I need to weld

Cheers
Slampt

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Just a quick update, found a mate who did the big welding for me. He did a pretty good job (he's a boiler maker).
All I have to do is clean them up a little whats the best way? I am thinking dremel with a sanding wheel or a small SS brush wheel, will this also get rid of the discolouration?

Thanks heaps to every for there advise and thanks to Spoonta for the scrap, I am still practicing as there are other things I need to weld

Cheers
Slampt

You can get some acid called pickling paste. It's looks like a jelly, just put it on with a paint brush and leave it for half an hr and hose it off. Comes up so nice but the only problem is you will see all the imperfections in the welds. The welding should really be good enough you dont have to sand it or anything. If there are lumps and you sand them you might uncover a pinhole and have to weld it again. My 2c

 

[slampt]

Cheers,

They came up fairly shiny with the SS brush, just mainly discoloured.
I read Bar keepers friend can remove that. There are a few lumps in the back which I will sand down and see how I go.
I also noticed the kegs are fairly dirty inside still (i.e. when I run my finger across the SS I get a grey finger. What would be the best way to give these kegs a good scrub prior to using them?

Slampt

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Cheers,

They came up fairly shiny with the SS brush, just mainly discoloured.
I read Bar keepers friend can remove that. There are a few lumps in the back which I will sand down and see how I go.
I also noticed the kegs are fairly dirty inside still (i.e. when I run my finger across the SS I get a grey finger. What would be the best way to give these kegs a good scrub prior to using them?

Slampt

I use PBW for cleaning just about everything now. Makes cleaning really easy.

 

[slampt]

Will this get rid of the discolouration from the welding?
I think I will just take to it with some scotchbrite and then give it a good clean/boil with some PBW

These are by no mean sanitary welds so fingers crossed they will be ok

Slampt

 

[newguy]

Pickling paste will get rid of the discolouration. From the reading I did, the discoloured portions can rust. Pickling paste will restore the chromium oxide layer and render the SS impervious to rust.

Pickling paste can be purchased at any welding supply store, and it's pretty cheap. Just read the MSDS carefully, use a respirator, full facemask, and gloves made for the task. Ordinary rubber or latex gloves aren't adequate - can't remember which type of glove is okay, but I do know that they were available at any home improvement/hardware store. Have plenty of baking soda available to help neutralise the acidic runoff once you rinse the stuff off. A pressure washer makes this task much easier.

 

[slampt]

Where does one get this pickling paste in Perth?

 

[slampt]

So I spent a large chunk of today cleaning these welds up, the inside of them aren't the greatest and still appear to have some pitting after I huge sanding.
I used some bar keepers friend to give them a good clean and removed the discolouration. I am now just heating up some water with some PBW via the element and not so safe wiring... *cough*

Here are some pics, (Full link to pics here : http://www.slampt.net/2011/12/05/keg-tig-welding-kettle/) yes they are ******, and I should of back purged them

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0517.jpg

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0519.jpg

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0520.jpg

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0522.jpg

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0523.jpg

http://www.slampt.net/wp-content/gallery/k...le/img_0524.jpg

Cheers
Slampt

 

[Josh Allen]

You can get the pickling paste from BOC and it's called (weld guard) it works really well great for cleaning anything SSteel

 

[mika]

I wouldn't feel comfortable brewing in pots with those welds. If your external welds were your inside welds, you'd probably be fine. A bit of ripple in the weld pool isn't going to harbour anything whereas the unsealed spigots could potentially harbour something between the skin of the pot and the weld. More than fine for HLT, probably allowable for the rest given it will get boiled, but not great practice.
I'm sure there's plenty of stainless welding joints that would do you a reasonable deal on a cashie, The Foodline Group down in Welshpool spring to mind, know they used to do a fair bit of food purpose welding. Or I could chat to my bro and see if he's able to help you out, he's down in Bunno, so makes things a bit hard.

And for Polkin-whats-his-face who deleted his post, for TIG you'd be better with this course as long you've got a basic understanding of welding principles and a bit of experience with oxy welding.

 

[slampt]

Hey Mika,

Yeah I'm trying to clean them up as much as I can given I rang 4 different places to get the welds done and the cheapest was $60 per weld (in the perth metro area). I have a friend who said he would give it a crack, mind you for the tools he had (my tools) I think he did an ok job, though we were a bit lazy and should of back filled the site with argon (i even made a chamber to do this but we were just lazy) WHOOPS...

I have also been sanding away at them and they look a lot cleaner than the photos I have posted.
If we could get into the back of the sockets would it be worth cleaning them up with the tig or not?

** Just added a few more photos **

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

Not forgetting the ethos of being able to acquire new tools that you 'need' and will make it 'cheaper'. :beerbang:
So what if it ends up costing 3 times as much and you wreck multiple kegs etc and ends up half arsed? No seriously, I mean if you had fun and learning along the way, go for it.
Chances are, you probably won't get it right but so what? Just be realistic in your expectations.
Don't let lack of skill stop you bro! I don't let it stop me having a go. It's about fun in the shed and tinkering.

Don't post to much these days but I do agree with your comments. A couple years back I managed to acquire enough secondhand 40mm SS tube to make my brew bench. I borrowed a Tig and away I went. Tigging aint the easiest thing for a novice and I had some trials and tribulations but finally I got there. Not the most fanciest smickest welds on earth but good enough for me. For those who know me and have seen the end product...... I could not be happier.



BYB

 

[Vanoontour]

As stated above, I wouldn't brew in that, just asking for trouble.

For the backs of the welds that are pitted, just wave the TIG torch over the back of them and it with smoothen out (remember my earlier post about practising on a plain sheet to see the metal pooling). Have the torch about 35-40 amps, 10l argon, and just gently re-melt the surface, effectivley re-fusing it. The other side (outside) weld will still hold the nipples in place and act as a heat sink so you can't risk burning through. Surprise your mate welding didn't do this.

Post a pic and show us how you get on.

Dan

 

[bigfridge]

As stated above, I wouldn't brew in that, just asking for trouble.

Isn't this a boiler ?

So sanitary welds are not required FFS - just as long as they don't leak (too much).

Small pin-holes will fill with wort and then caramelise to seal solid - just like nature's filler metal.

HTH,
Dave

 

[Zizzle]

Isn't this a boiler ?

So sanitary welds are not required FFS - just as long as they don't leak (too much).

+1

Jeez, have you seen some of the weld-less fittings? I'd be more worried about the internal threads etc. on most setups. Especially the ones further from the heat source.

 

[Vanoontour]

If that is the case, and like you both so kindly put it, your right. However, if it is only for a boiler then why was the OP carrying on about back purgine for sanitary welds? You can use this for more than just boiling....

 

[Zizzle]

Good point vanoontour - the OP said 11 sockets in kettles, but there is talk of sanitary welds. My assumption was that Slampt was perhaps a little pessimistic on where sanitary welds are needed. If that is a fermentation vessel it would indeed cause problems.

But if you look at the photos, it looks like a pretty typical 3V system - so think they will all be good enough.

The suggestion of welding on the inside is a good one if you can get in there.