Welding And Drilling Ss Pots

[Rex]

Hey all,

I've just aquired a couple of big SS pots for my HLT and Kettle.

However I want to get a few 1/2" sockets welded in for tap/thermomenter/HERMS coil/Sight Glass etc...

Can anyone recommend a pro in Melbourne who can do this for me?

Thanks

 

[Andyd]

Lex,

I've been using weldless setups after finding it difficult to find someone affordable.

There is a guy on High St near the corder of High and Warragul Rd, befind the "sculpters workshop" who was pretty friendly and might be able to help you out - sorry, I've forgotten his details.

Just make sure that the welds are food grade, which usually means the welds need to be gas purged.

Good luck!

Andy

 

[Justin]

I've got welded and weldless fittings on my vessels and I'd nearly have to say that I prefer the weldless options. If not for the fact you can do them easily yourself. Mine all seal great. I have them on thermometers, sight guages and taps.

If you don't find someone that "really" knows what their doing you'll end up with a less than perfect job. My TIG welds that I got done are pieces of $hit really, especially when you compare them to my weldless equivalents. The person that did the welds was supposedly a good welder as well. The back of them are all bally and pock marked, not nice clean welds. If I'd gone weldless from word go I would have been brewing probably 2 months earlier that I was as well.

But sorry, no help with a welder but good luck.

 

[TidalPete]

I've got welded and weldless fittings on my vessels and I'd nearly have to say that I prefer the weldless options. If not for the fact you can do them easily yourself. Mine all seal great. I have them on thermometers, sight guages and taps.

If you don't find someone that "really" knows what their doing you'll end up with a less than perfect job. My TIG welds that I got done are pieces of $hit really, especially when you compare them to my weldless equivalents. The person that did the welds was supposedly a good welder as well. The back of them are all bally and pock marked, not nice clean welds. If I'd gone weldless from word go I would have been brewing probably 2 months earlier that I was as well.

But sorry, no help with a welder but good luck.

[post="97141"][/post]​

I'll second Justin's comments. As an (ex) fitter\welder who prided himself on his good welding, I must say that you can't be too careful. Some of the welding I've had done after getting rid of my own welder has been nothing but a lot of "pigeon poop" & very badly done. I would take a look at some of the prospective welder's work before committing any bucks.

:beer:

 

[Wortgames]

Me Mate Glyn can help you out, he's got a bit of time up his sleeve over Chrissy. He's in the Fairfield area. Send me a PM if you're interested and I can hook you up.

 

[warrenlw63]

I'll second what Justin and Tidalpete say;

After viewing some "so-called" professional welding on a fellow brewer's gear it more or less steeled (scuse the pun) my resolve to go weldless. I've got a sneaking suspicion that stainless welding isn't as easy as it looks.

You can set up weldless fittings for taps, thermos, sight glasses etc without any real dramas with 1/2 inch fittings. Just make sure you do a clean job and tighten everything as hard as you can and you're good to go. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[mje1980]

On my ss brew kettle, i stick welded a stainless socket on, then added the fittings. I have brewed about 35 or so batches now, and have no problems with the weld at all, and no funny tastes. I used stainless rods, and it took five minutes. I dont know if i have done the wrong thing, but like i said, i've had no probs whatsoever.

 

[Justin]

I haven't got any probs really, it's just an ugly job. The insides look like bird poo. The weld on the inside of the vessel hasn't filled properly so there are cracks/gaps between the socket and the vessel wall. Hasn't caused any contamination issues because it's 1. the HLT or 2. boiled for 60mins. It's sealed on the outside, but I can't complain too much it didn't cost me anything. I really should have just gone weldless though.

Cheers, Justin

 

[jagerbrau]

These weldless fittings are they stainless and if so where in old adelaide can you find them.

Cheers

 

[Justin]

You can make them stainless if you like. Mine are a mixture of brass and stainless. See if you can search the forum because you should be able to find pictures of the stuff you need, I can't give you pics. Actually, search for sosmans brewiki website, he has pics on that site.

Basically, you need a valve, a length of short all threaded pipe or a nipple (I use a nipple), a backing nut and a silicone/rubber oring or washer. Depending on what backing nut you get you might also need a metal washer to support the oring/washer. Plus some thread tape. Try to keep fittings to a minimum.

Adelaide. No idea. Got to a hose and fittings place, for the most part forget bunnings.

Cheers. Justin

 

[sosman]

Speaking of brewiki, these might help if you decide not to weld:

http://brewiki.org/BrewPot
and here
http://brewiki.org/BatchSparge

We also have some guys in the Melbourne Brewers who tig weld, never seen their work though.

cheers

 

[jagerbrau]

Cheers for that, basically what i have now i thought may of been one of those bloody expensive stainless jobs, will one day go to all stainless, if the lotto gods are good..


Enjoy

 

[Wortgames]

To do a neat job of welding stainless you need the right equipment and experience. Lots of monkey welders reckon they can do it simply because their welder can take stainless wire.

Stainless is a difficult material, it pulls a lot (especially the thin stuff) and it is difficult to judge the penetration of the weld without a trained eye. It is easy to blast holes through it or end up with something resembling the barrier reef.

If you want a good job you need to find someone who does thin stainless for a living.

 

[MHB]

When drilling SS I use a good quality bi-metallic hole saw the ones I get have the arbour (pilot hole drill holder) built in my local plumbing supply has a range from 12mm to 6 150mm.

Go slow and use a good cutting compound (I prefer a wax to a liquid for hole saws), if possible use a drill press on its slowest speed and clamp the job down.

Good Brewing
MHB

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I would suggest Silver Solder. Nice and strong and a lot easier than welding,especially thin stuff, and you can solder brass fittings onto stainless.

You just need the right flux, like Ezi-Weld 602 and high silver content solder.

I bought some cheap pots from BigW and soldered them togethor to make a big pot, then soldered a brass fitting in the bottom and screwed on a ball valve.

If you can find a bloke with a Henrob torch, and knows how to use it, then that is the ultimate. I thought I could solder damn good ( having been doing it for years) untill a bloke did some with his torch using stainless filler rod. He used to work on Hospital equip and made the metal flow like honey...

 

[Rex]

I've got weldless thermometers at the moment and am not too happy as I get small leaks. I figure that I'll be keeping this new setup for many years, so it's worth the hassle of finding a good welder.

 

[Rex]

More welding on the stand for this new setup tonight. Here's a pic:

 

[warrenlw63]

Rex.

That looks like it's about half way to being sensational. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[muga]

Looking good!

What size is the pot and how much did it set you back?

 

[Justin]

That is going to be one very sweet system.

I can see pilot lights, a gas solenoid, a kick ass kettle and a very nice frame. Are there two more of those pots to come???

Look forward to seeing the finished piece.

Good work
Cheers, Justin