How to fix a bad keg weld

[crystalhand]

So I am almost done with my keg still. I managed to get someone at an auto body shop to do the welding but he was not as experienced as I would have hopped. His weld is not able to hold water. Here is a picture of the weld:




How should i go about fixing this? can i fix the leaks or would it be easier to just get a new keg and start from there

[T-Pee]

Holy...ummm...just find someone that can actually weld and fix it.

Hope you didn't pay for that.

tp

[kaziel]

If you know someone that actually can weld and has a TIG, cut it bigger and weld in bigger fitting then reduce to what you have got.

[bearriver]

I had the same experience. Another welder just went over the old junk and sorta filled in the hole the last guy made. I was shocked it was possible, and now it looks perfect.

He called himself "the file guy", quite a fitter that one.

[Cardinalbags]

Looks like Bobby Porosity welded that one.... Use a die grinder to remove all the bad weld and then get someone who really knows how to Tig weld to do it instead. I suspect that cutting a bigger hole is probably not necessary as there was never enough heat in the original weld by the looks of that. Just get it back to sound metal and you should be good to go.

[bearriver]

Cardinalbags is probably spot on.

[varocketry]

My thought would be to take your heavy duty grinder and contour that way back down. Then you'll have a cleaner picture (localization) of the leak points. Looks like it was never hot enough to melt the metals, it just pooled and blobbed up. And your new welder should be able to fix it right up.

I don't think you have to cut a bigger hole unless you want one ... this should fix up well with someone who knows their way around a welder.

That's just above the crappiest job I've ever seen.

[Jimbo]

damn, thats enough to piss ya off huh. I had the same shit service from a welder once. My second still. 2 4 gallon pots welded together, lip to lip. Ya I can do that, no problem/. Right. Looked pretty much like that job of yours, and leaked like a sieve too. SOB. Sounds like CardinalBags kbnows what he's talkign about, Id follow his lead on this and see what ya got.

[bellybuster]

Hope you didn't pay for that.
tp

+1

[crystalhand]

The reason i outsourced this was I suck at soldering and all I have is a dremel. THats not making much of a dent on this however. I guesss I am off to the same place to see if someone else who knows what they are doing is there

[IrishEnigma]

+1 on grinding and re welding. I wouldn't cut a bigger hole, just weld over it.

[Jimbo]

Show the owner. If he has any pride he'll crack some heads and make it right

[T-Pee]

Unless of course it was the owner.

tp

[Jimbo]

Then its time to find another shop and leave some feedback online and at the BBB. Folks need to know. No pride, shit work, f&ck off. Hows that.

[crystalhand]

From the way the deal went down it seemed like it was more an off the books thing. they were closed today but ill give them a stop tomorrow. not sure how to report to the BBB. "i was making a still and the people at the store could not weld in the hot water heating element watertight."

[confusedly]

Grind it off and re-weld it. Make sure the welder knows stainless, Stainless is a tough weld and kegs are thin. that weld looks to have almost no penetration, you could probably bust it off with a hammer (but don't it will dent up the keg). a body shop may not have the correct person to do it for you, typically they work with very little stainless

[OBX Phantom]

Looks like one of my welds ... That's why I don't weld much Dremel tool isn't gonna much to that... But the shop should have a grinder.

[DFitz]

A decent Tig welder should be able to oscillate the cup right over the weld metal the exists to produce a clean weld provided the old weld has no trapped oils or sediment. It looks like an easy enough fix.

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

Jeezus, it looks like a beginner did that. He needs to go back and take some welding classes at the local Community College!

Only problem with grinding down a re-welding that mess, is that the guy most likely did not purge the air out of the inside of the keg with argon, and inside, it is all nasty and the weld is "sugared" to hell.

[crystalhand]

ok well thanks for your help. hopefully one of the decent welders at the shop will be able to help me/fix this. I guess this is what I get by trying to save money. There is probably 3/8inch of weld around the joint. I know where the holes are. any chance of soldering in that hole?

[bearriver]

What Jimbo said. Talk to that owner.

I had to clean mine because argon was not used. Put a big 4 inch ferrule on the keg to reach it.

Quit trying to save money, and just save up the money till you have enough to pay for what you need. I put away $100 for still stuff every month.

Also, I now ALWAYS make the welder show me his craftsmanship on a piece of scrap before touching my still.

[muddog]

ok well thanks for your help. hopefully one of the decent welders at the shop will be able to help me/fix this. I guess this is what I get by trying to save money. There is probably 3/8inch of weld around the joint. I know where the holes are. any chance of soldering in that hole?

No, I wouldn't try soldering. It's a very poor weld, you might fill the holes with solder , put it into service and the fitting either develop new leaks or possibly, uh excuse me, most likely is going to fall off.
Take this to a shop that knows stainless. Have them fix it for you.
Damn, I just thought I was I bad welder, I feel much better now. Muddog

[goinbroke2]

Welders weld, bodyshops gob it together and cover it with bodyfill!

Take it to welder who does stainless.

[corene1]

What he did was use a MIG welder with way too much wire and no heat. I would even bet that since it was a body shop it may not even be the correct wire. Most body shops only use mild steel wire. Go find a qualified shop and have them do the repair. If the base metal is ruined then cut it out bigger and put a small patch over it then proceed as normal. If you were close by I would fix it for you.

[crystalhand]

well I eneded up taking the keg back to the shop and the owner was there (apparently his grandson was the one who welded it) still not the prettiest weld but I am hopeful it will hold water. I actually refused to call the person out who welded it (he confessed) but it earned a lot of respect with the owner. he spent 30 minutes fixing it for free.

[bellybuster]

You my man, need to find a new welder......

[Jimbo]

Im looking at the bead around the keg, and the 'bead' at the fitting, and laughing.

Well, its an improvement at least. If it holds your golden.

[The KYChemist]

That, my friend, is a p-squared(PISS-POOR) job of welding! I would invest in an angle grinder, and a couple wheels. Then, cut EVERYTHING off, down to the hole. Even the fitting, and get a new one. Then find a real shop, to weld the new fitting on. This is close to how it should look, when done!

[Halfbaked]

So if it doesn't hold the best way to fix it is to find someone that tig welds. Without putting any more metal on it you can heat it up and get the existing metal flowing where it needs to go. If you can't stand the way it looks I think some reflectix is in order.

http://www.westsidewholesale.com/reflec ... 7Aod-EoAYQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Prairiepiss]

My concerns are that the proper wire wasn't used? Most body shops wouldn't have stainless wire laying around. Most cars don't have much of any stainless in them. Except maybe a Dilorian. LOL I would dole check and make sure stainless wire was used. And something comparable to 304 or 316. Not the stuff used for exhaust pipe.

His welds make mine look like a masterpiece.