Wolfy's 3v Stainless Home-brewery Build Details

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Unfortunately, when it's finished, I suspect it's gong to be rather ugly and not look 'good' at all. :wacko: I picked up a flap-disk in Bunnings just the other day - thinking how 'good' nice shiny stainless bling looks - but put the disk back on the shelf - realizing that it's there to make good beer not look 'good'. At this stage, the plan is to wrap it all in duct-taped insulation, which will be practical, but ugly.

..ahh technical beauty is in the eye of the beerholder when it comes to brew rigs! Doesn't necessarily have to be neat and tidy to be a thing of beauty!

I've wrapped my MT in a camp mat and silver duct tape it actually comes up looking quite neat if you do a good job!
 
..ahh technical beauty is in the eye of the beerholder when it comes to brew rigs! Doesn't necessarily have to be neat and tidy to be a thing of beauty!

I've wrapped my MT in a camp mat and silver duct tape it actually comes up looking quite neat if you do a good job!

yep this is what my HLT looks like but it still looks good to me

heat_test.JPG

the pump is only attached for the test I was doing

cheers steve
 
#7: Keg Drilling

Drilling kegs is another topic that is a common source of discussion (and contention) among home brewers looking to build their own systems. After using the cheap step-bit from Bunnings to drill the tap-holes on my beer-fridge, I knew that it would not be up to the task of cutting holes in the beer kegs. In addition, the various discussions I had read on the subject made seem like something that would be beyond my very basic DIY skills. Those people who picked up grain at the recent bulk buy, may have noticed iamozziyob drilling some kegs, my kegs, because I assumed that I wouldn't be able to do it - and now feel like a twat because - with the right tools - it's a simple and easy task.

In this case the right tools are quite simple, a drill capable of controlled sustained low speed (less than 300RPM) combined with a decent amount of torque, and a Tungsten Carbide Tipped (TCT) Hole Saw of the appropriate size. The hole saw will cost around $30 (mine was from Keg King) but it should last a life-time (the guys at Keg King have drilled more than 80 kegs with theirs and it's still working fine). The only other thing needed is some cutting lubricant or WD40 to help keep things cool while drilling and prevent work-hardening the stainless and/or ruining the hole saw.
kegdrilling1.jpg

20mm hole saws are the best size for 1/2 inch fittings, but you do generally need to make the holes just a fraction larger once they are cut, 32mm hole saw is the exact right fit for the Keg King heating elements.

Mark the location to be drilled, ensuring that it's not too close to any seams or curved edges on the keg, using a washer as a spacer helps to ensure that the fitting will sit correctly once fitted in the drilled hole.
kegdrilling2.jpg


If your DIY skills are like mine, a piece of tape will stop the drill bit slipping on the curved stainless surface while drilling the pilot hole.
kegdrilling3.jpg


Low speed setting on the drill, some decent pressure, stopping every now and then to spray on some more cutting lubricant ...
kegdrilling4.jpg


... and in just a few minutes the hole saw should punch through the stainless leaving a nice clean hole.
kegdrilling5.jpg


The 20mm size hole saw is just a fraction too small for most 1/2 inch fittings, interestingly I have a range of fittings and the hole size required seems to depend on which fittings are going to be used, so it's good to check the individual fitting to ensure that you don't make the hole too big.
kegdrilling6.jpg


A small amount of manual labour with a file, a dremel type tool or anything similar will widen the hole just enough so that the fittings slip inside.
kegdrilling7.jpg

This is the thermowell which will be fitted to the base of the HLT, the TempMate probe will slide inside.

With the right tools, drilling neat and clean 1/2 inch keg holes is actually a very simple and easy procedure that anyone should be able to do.
kegdrilling8.jpg


Thanks to iamozziyob for the use of his 20mm TCT Hole Saw (it was rusted like that when I got it from you yesterday!) and for drilling the majority of the holes in my kegs for me - even though I now feel foolish since it's not a difficult job at all.
 
Cheers wolfy, the trick certainly is having the right tool, those step drill bits are so shit in comparison to the TCT hole saws.. Also, those ozito dremmel type rotary tools make the clean up of the holes pretty quick.

Cant wait to see the system fire up.

Yob
 
Not a bad skill set for someone with office hands. Well done, it looks great.
 
Hey Wolfy,

Thanks for the thread as I'm just about to get started on turning a keg into a MT at the moment and these step by step instructions with pictures are making things a whole lot less intimidating to the whole project.

I was actually looking at a couple of TCT hole saw's for the hole's as I don't have much faith with my step drill bit, and after seeing your last post, looks like I was on the money with my suspicions.

Just wondering if you think these will be suitable. I just thought they were a little on the cheap side and hesitant on getting them.

I've also got a 1 1/4" element I'm going to install into my current HLT (usingn over the side immersion element atm) and would be looking at getting another size from the same seller if they are suitable.

Cheers heaps,


Sponge
 
(continuing from previous comment)

Or would something like this be a little more suitable?


Sponge
 
(continuing from previous comment)

Or would something like this be a little more suitable?


Sponge


Option two looks much better to me.
Option one was just the saw with no arbor (the drill bit and the thing that holds it and the saw) - It also had only one tooth and said for soft ceramics and composite timbers.

What about the 22mm one? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tungsten-Tipped...=item27b0663c8e No dremel needed to enlarge the hole.

This one is probably not TCT but it IS cheaper ($7.92, free postage from Hong Kong): http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/22MM-Hex-Wrench...=item5ae699f130



Edit: Very interesting observation by Frothie below. Makes a lot of sense.
 
What about the 22mm one? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tungsten-Tipped...=item27b0663c8e No dremel needed to enlarge the hole.

Your better off with the 20mm and rat tail file or dremel to file out the hole a little. It will be a much snugger fit and then you can use a notched lock nut with a silicon o-ring combo to seal it up. I have used both(22mm and a 20mm). With the 22mm hole saw the hole is ever so slightly larger than the fitting and an o-ring/lock nut combo will not seal properly so you end up having to use a silicon flat washer instead.

The notched lock nut and o-ring is very good if you can get away with it as you can tighten the fitting down hard so it is metal against metal and there is no movement. The 22mm hole with silicon flat washer seals fine but you cant tighten it down hard enough to be a solid mounting and it tends to work lose and move around a bit when operating ball valves etc.
 
Yup, just the reason I posted the second link after finding that first one. Really doesnt seem adequate for use on SS as you pointed out.

I was just looking at the second one, and grabbing either the 20mm or 22mm, and the 32mm for the element I have. As you said, the 22mm would probably make the dremel fairly redundant, although I do have one already just incase. Just didn't want the hole being too big, and would rather start smaller and work up to the right size, especially with all the fittings being 1/2" NPT.


Sponge
 
The only stuff I know about TCT hole saws is what I've been told by others - so I'm not the person to ask, but I'm glad others answered your questions. :)

The first main thing was covered by Frothie, in that it's better to use the slightly smaller 20mm hole saw and enlarge the hole just a fraction, than have a (22mm) hole that is slightly too big.

Secondly, the 'quality' of the hole saw can be determined by the number of 'teeth' it has, so when comparing hole saws try to choose the one with the most teeth, since these do all the cutting work.
 
You can also get q max punches that are suitable if you have ss less than 16 gauge (about 1.5mm)
 
#8: Fittings (revisited)

As mentioned in Update #5, most plumbing fittings came from the USA or China, but obviously (other paying usually high shipping costs) it takes at least 2 weeks or longer for stuff to get here. Now that I have the majority of the equipment and fittings (and kegs are getting empty) I want to start brewing, however when I did a mock-fit-out, I was missing a small number of critical fittings and did not want to wait weeks for them to get here. So today I visited a local stainless-fittings supplier and as a result, one of the claims I made earlier turns out to be true, while another is not necessarily so - so I thought I'd better provide an update.

Earlier I said: "Chinese Ebay fittings (which are probably exactly the same as all the others anyway) averaged out at about 20-40% cheaper". This cost-information was based on telephone or online quotes from 3 local suppliers (Geordi, ProChem and Hoze Joint). Geordi are friendly and helpful, and if you show up at their premises, pay cash, maybe explain you are a home-brewer, they will often give a discounted price - I saved 20% off the phone-quoted price of some stainless pipe for example.

If you telephone ProChem to ask for a price on something as simple as a 1/2 inch stainless nipple, the quote can vary from $20 (in-house manufactured high quality), to $4 (standard quality NPT) to under $2 (cast BSP). But I only understood this after I went into their office/warehouse and essentially said I just wanted the cheapest fittings possible, because home-brewing is not going to put the fittings under pressure or stress, that I didn't care if they are NPT or BSP or if the fittings are 304 or 316 stainless. Once they understood I didn't need high-tech industrial grade fittings, much of their stuff turned out to be cheaper than American or Chinese Ebay prices - and the ProChem fittings are noticeably higher quality and finish than the Ebay ones - obviously they don't deliver to your door for that price, but they are worth talking to if you live close to one of their locations.

Even though I was wrong about Ebay always being cheaper, at least I was not wrong about BSP and NPT fittings being inter-changeable at 1/2 inch size:
nptbsp.jpg

From left: American NPT camlock, Australian BSP nipple, Chinese NPT cross, Australian BSP elbow, Chinese NPT nipple.
All these fittings fit snugly and with or without plumbing tape are tight and secure. At 1/2 inch size the only real difference between the NPT and BSP fittings is a difference in thread-pitch, so with some plumbing tape and a little care they all mate together without issue (but I'll make sure I provide an update if I drip boiling wort all over my toes once they are in use). ;)

If you're not yet confused about NTP, BSP, Australian, Chinese or American, the other thing to mention is buying stainless washers - which are required make sure the silicon washers fit tightly and help make the tapered thread fitting bulkheads sit snugly against the side of the kegs. Washer suppliers will deal only with the internal hole-size (and the external diameter) of the washers, meaning that if you ask for "1/2 inch washers" or even explain that you want "washes to fit 1/2 inch plumbing fittings" they'll (try to) give you washers where the internal hole is 1/2 inch wide - and these wont fit onto 1/2 inch plumbing fittings (since the 1/2 inch size refers to the internal size of the fitting not the size outside the thread). I think the guy at the washer-shop said the correct size was 3/4 inch but they seem to measure 13/16 inch (if that's even a real size for washer holes I don't know), the good thing is that if you go to a dedicated industrial fasteners shop, you'll pay between 5-40cents for washers that will fit 1/2 inch plumbing fittings, but that sell for $1.50-2.00 each and home-brew shops.
 
Another good thing to mention is that thread tape is not just for sealing, but for getting the damn things back apart again afterwards. Without thread-tape, it's always a struggle, due to expansion/contraction during heating/cooling. The tape acts like a lubricant.

Pink tape is best, and tougher, but white tape is just as useful in these circumstances.
 
Building something similar myself at the moment - yours looks great! I'll be following this for sure.
 
#9 Cleaning

Before everything gets fitted, I figured it was a good idea to ensure that it was clean - especially the imported fittings. All the fittings had a bath in hot water and sodium percarbonate, then a citric acid bath and a rinse in water before drying:
cleaning1.jpg


The kegs will also get a wash with sodium percarbonate and - especially anywhere I have drilled, cut, filed or grinded - a good scrub (with a non metallic kitchen scrub-mat-thing) with some Stainless Steel Cleaner (which contains Oxalic acid, citric acid and other random stuff including AES, K12, ETA-2NA) which should help ensure that the steel is passivated anywhere that that I've worked on it:
cleaning2.jpg
 
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