rad14701 wrote:No, it is still sitting on the shelf... I have since purchased a copper adapter to use instead, which is also still sitting on the shelf... Time and money constraints have slowed my progress at building my new boiler... Darned real life crap, anyway...!!!
Here is what the adapter looks like... It will be soldered into the side of a SS boiler...
Rad,
Are you saying to use this adapter instead of the Camco adapter kit or in addition to?
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
rad14701 wrote:Instead of... This adapter can be soldered directly into a hole in the side of the boiler and the element threaded into it...
Now that sounds great. Seems a lot easier too. Did you pick it up at the local big name store or did you have to special order it? I noticed that the image was pulled from http://www.elkhartproducts.com/productimages/303.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow and when I went to their site, it looks like they only go through local reps.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
MooQu wrote:<SNIP>
Hi Rad14701,
Thanks for the reply. I noticed earlier in this thread that you bought a similar adapter, did you use it and if you did, how is it holding up?
No, it is still sitting on the shelf... I have since purchased a copper adapter to use instead, which is also still sitting on the shelf... Time and money constraints have slowed my progress at building my new boiler... Darned real life crap, anyway...!!!
Here is what the adapter looks like... It will be soldered into the side of a SS boiler...
Unfortunately I think you will find that a 1" heater element will not screw into a 1" copper fitting. It's NPTM vs NPT & not quite the same - close but no prize
ratflinger wrote:Unfortunately I think you will find that a 1" heater element will not screw into a 1" copper fitting. It's NPTM vs NPT & not quite the same - close but no prize
ratflinger wrote:Unfortunately I think you will find that a 1" heater element will not screw into a 1" copper fitting. It's NPTM vs NPT & not quite the same - close but no prize
Oh, yee of little faith... It fits perfectly...
Really? The only reason I said anything was that I went to HD today & purchased the same (I assume) 1" copper fitting you show. My element will not screw firmly into it, if I tried to force it you could feel it starting gall. Maybe half way in & no way near the gasket was all I could get. Brand name of your element please?
Home Depot Sucks... I went there today and the largest they go on these fittings is 3/4". They only 1" caps and couplings. God Dang it!
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
drichards18 wrote:Home Depot Sucks... I went there today and the largest they go on these fittings is 3/4". They only 1" caps and couplings. God Dang it!
Inventory varies from store to store for Home Depot and Lowe's... The local Home Depot only carries up to 1" copper as well as assorted larger fittings... The closest Lowe's, 25 miles away, carries up to 2" copper and assorted fittings even larger... I haven't check local plumbing supply houses in a couple years... Copper is pretty Hit-n-Miss around here these days...
rad14701 wrote:Inventory varies from store to store for Home Depot and Lowe's... The local Home Depot only carries up to 1" copper as well as assorted larger fittings... The closest Lowe's, 25 miles away, carries up to 2" copper and assorted fittings even larger... I haven't check local plumbing supply houses in a couple years... Copper is pretty Hit-n-Miss around here these days...
Alright Rad, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and check the other stores in the area. But if none of them have it, then I stand by my comment.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
I have to thank you Rad. I went to a few Lowe's and I was able to find the 1" threaded fitting. The heating element screws right into it. I shall eat my words now...
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
really hate to necro post but i have a few specific questions needing answering:
1) what size step up bit do i need to drill the hole for the copper adapter?
2) How much of the adapter do i push through the hole and how much do i leave exposed on the outside?
3) what kind of sodder do i use?
calicojack wrote:really hate to necro post but i have a few specific questions needing answering:
1) what size step up bit do i need to drill the hole for the copper adapter?
2) How much of the adapter do i push through the hole and how much do i leave exposed on the outside?
3) what kind of sodder do i use?
I wanted to make sure that the heating element was as far in as possible so I went all the way down to the hex head. The largest bit that I could find was a 1 3/8" step bit. I'm not going to lie - it was a pain in my ass to do it. You have to keep the bit and keg cool, as it overheats and starts smoking/steaming very quickly. I kept stopping and spraying water on it to cool it down. That also helps to keep the hot SS shavings from being thrown around while drilling. After I opened it up as much as the bit could, I used a dremel with a tile cutting bit to open it up and give it a snug fit. If you can get a hole saw with the right size or one that is adjustable, it would work much better.
Also, I don't recommend using a cordless drill, the batteries run down quickly and mine didn't have enough torque (I have an 18v 1/2" Makita).
Brazing/welding is ideal but lead-free solder should work fine.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
In my estimation you are making drilling a hole in stainless steel beer keg much more difficult than it needs to be. Surprisingly a stainless steel beer keg isn’t that thick. Use the appropriate size hole saw and use a very slow steady drilling speed with a light firm pressure. When you sense that the drilling area is getting hot stop the drilling and let the area cool. If you allow the drilling area to get too hot you are heat-treating the drilling area and making the stainless steel harder and more difficult to drill. The ‘trick’ in drilling stainless steel is to use a very slow drilling speed (approximately 60-80 RPM). Excessive drilling speed only heat-treats the drilling area making the stainless steel harder and more difficult to drill and wears out the drill.
Coaster wrote:In my estimation you are making drilling a hole in stainless steel beer keg much more difficult than it needs to be. Surprisingly a stainless steel beer keg isn’t that thick. Use the appropriate size hole saw and use a very slow steady drilling speed with a light firm pressure. When you sense that the drilling area is getting hot stop the drilling and let the area cool. If you allow the drilling area to get too hot you are heat-treating the drilling area and making the stainless steel harder and more difficult to drill. The ‘trick’ in drilling stainless steel is to use a very slow drilling speed (approximately 60-80 RPM). Excessive drilling speed only heat-treats the drilling area making the stainless steel harder and more difficult to drill and wears out the drill.
Regards,
Coaster
I agree Coaster... and next time I'll get a hole saw. The step bit that I got wasn't all that great anyways. I bought it from Harbor Freight and figured that I'd use it for one or two holes in the keg and get my monies worth.
The slow speed is also why I recommended to use a corded drill, since a cordless will run out of juice rather quickly.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps! Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1945
Yes and no but many cornfuse them. Brazing filler material has a much higher melting temp then a solder. But many call brazing rod hard solder. Because it is harder then most solder. Solder is usually soft and pliable melts easily. Well easier the brazing rod. The stuff you buy for plumbing normally is solder. You generally need to go to a specialty shop for brazing rod or hard solder.
calicojack wrote:.....I'll use the hammer drill i have laying around.....
@ calicojack,
You do not need a "Hammer Drill", "Roto-Drill" or "Hammering Drill" to drill a hole in a stainless steel beer keg. Hammer Drills are well suited for drilling holes in masonry or stone but are inappropriate for drilling steel especially a stainless steel beer keg. All you need is a simple rotary drill that rotates at a very slow drilling speed (approximately 60-80 RPM).
Suggest reviewing my posting of Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:11PM in this thread for information on how to drill a hole in stainless steel beer keg.
Prairiepiss wrote:Yes and no but many cornfuse them. Brazing filler material has a much higher melting temp then a solder. But many call brazing rod hard solder. Because it is harder then most solder. Solder is usually soft and pliable melts easily. Well easier the brazing rod. The stuff you buy for plumbing normally is solder. You generally need to go to a specialty shop for brazing rod or hard solder.
that makes sense as the only stuff i've seen in the big box stores say sodder.
Or do you have to buy a screw in element AND a flange kit?
Additionally, does anyone have any tips on how to overcome the curvature of the tank when bolting it on? Should I just curve the bracket to match the tank?
Away with yer pills, it'll cure all ills, Be ye Pagan, Christian or Jew,
so take off your coat and grease your throat with a bucketful of Mountain Dew.
Well there must be a way to do it, the original poster did it. Check page 1
Away with yer pills, it'll cure all ills, Be ye Pagan, Christian or Jew,
so take off your coat and grease your throat with a bucketful of Mountain Dew.
You got it. You need a flange kit and a screw-in element. Put the flange kit on without the element in place. You can reach the nuts in through the element hole.
And the flange will mate its self to the curvature of the keg, just by tightening it. Angle the marks for your drill in to the center a little. or you could bend it with a vise and pliers.
MooQu wrote:<SNIP>
Hi Rad14701,
Thanks for the reply. I noticed earlier in this thread that you bought a similar adapter, did you use it and if you did, how is it holding up?
No, it is still sitting on the shelf... I have since purchased a copper adapter to use instead, which is also still sitting on the shelf... Time and money constraints have slowed my progress at building my new boiler... Darned real life crap, anyway...!!!
Here is what the adapter looks like... It will be soldered into the side of a SS boiler...
Unfortunately I think you will find that a 1" heater element will not screw into a 1" copper fitting. It's NPTM vs NPT & not quite the same - close but no prize
NPTM is NTP Male, NTPF is NTP Female...both are NTP
He probably meant to say NPSM vs NPT. the straight threads on the element will go in (with some effort) the tapered threads of the copper but it wont seal, you need teflon tape to seal it up good.
I've been working with attaching the water heater square/round adapter to my keg this morning with a cork gasket. The problem I've encountered is leaking around the bolts. I've even tried including the rubber gasket from the adapter kit on top of the cork gasket, but still I have 1-2 drips every couple seconds or so from around the bolts.
My bolts are 3/8" (9/16" head & nut). I did not include a washer on the inside of the keg, but did on the outside on top of the flange/adapter. I've used an impact wrench to get the bolts good & tight which has helped flatten the gaskets out and seal the connection better, but still it leaks a bit.
Has anyone had this experience and have suggestions? Should I expect no leaks from the connection?
John,
I don't use this type as I have an alternative, but did you include any sort of gasket or washer on the inside of the keg? If not the minimum you should try is a tight fitting copper washer threaded onto each bolt before you fit them to the keg. Just cut them yourself. When you tighten them up the edge of the stainless hole bites into the copper surface for a good seal. This will virtually eliminate the leak and then the cork on the outside will finish the job.
When I use compression type "through wall" fittings I put a copper washer on both sides of the keg and just tighten well. No leaks. If your holes are a little bit too big you can fill them by wrapping a few turns of PTFE tape around the bolt - just where it goes through the hole.
