keg to electric kettle conversion

[rad14701]

great thread guys. might have saved me from making some very big mistakes. i was planning on just welding the coupling with s.s. wire using a gassless mig welder. we call it a buzzbox (Lincoln Electric Handy Mig™ Portable Welder — MIG and Flux-Cored, Model# K2185-1) . would this work? i have a 15.5 gallon keg and am about to attach a s.s. coupling to receive a hot water tank heating element. ive also read where using a step drill bit to bore the hole. im wondering is it possible to use the bit to bore a hole just right enough to thread the heating element directly to the keg and eliminating the coupling? ...or should i just follow BB's youtube video on soldering? i have a little welding experience and very little soldering experience.

BB extra thanks to you for taking the time to give such detailed instruction.

I, personally, wouldn't trust screwing an element into the keg wall with 10 - 12 gallons of wash or low wines inside...

[spreadpanicwide]

yeah, after more thought, the radius of the keg wouldn't easily seal to a flat heating element. has anyone had luck making a flat spot in a keg or would it pop back out when it started pressurizing? i may try try this idea on my way to doing the soldering method BB details in his youtube video.

[bellybuster]

I really can't comment on other methods as I've never tried them. Over a year on my soldered couplings and no sign of ever coming loose.

[35mastr]

Personally I like the 2" Triclamp ferrel. That way you can remove the element easily. Screwing the element into the keg is a not a good idea. It's only a few more dollars to do it right the first time. Have it welded by someone that is good at what they do. In the end it's good money spent. Pics in my build if you want to see.

[bellybuster]

the triclamp solution is elegant but very expensive, a 1" coupling can be had for a few dollars. Different strokes for different folks they say.

[The KYChemist]

We just finished up our mount for the junction box, and element, today. 4" square 3/16" ss plate, welded to the 1" half coupling. We carefully drilled out a hole in the back of the junction box, so as not to remove any of the knockouts. Junction box will mount to the plate, via the four bolt holes we drilled. Luckily, my partner is a great welder.

[bellybuster]

Nice!!

[spreadpanicwide]

i picked up the silver solder and flux today. i also picked up the S.S. coupling, however i got the wrong size and will have to return it for a proper size.
i'm still working on emptying the keg however. i ordered the parts to make the heat control with a dimmer switch but after more research i think i'm just gonna go with a router speed control.im open to any suggestions and will update on my progress as it goes. thanks

[spreadpanicwide]

guys~ let me start by saying, ive never soldered before in my life, i followed the directions in the video and it worked perfectly first try. the solder join looks beautiful and held just fine when tightening heating element.
one important part is to not over bore your hole. i used the step bit and when i got close, drill, fit, dril, fitl until i had to gently tap with a hammer to set coupling.i timed with the stopwatch on my phone the parts in the video to give me an idea of how long to heat. just my two cents. excellent video on the coupling soldering. it works even for a complete novice. im testing the heating element now (seems to be working fine) and hopefully be boiling by this weekend.
cheers!

[bellybuster]

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I just drilled another keg for a few couplings but drilled for half couplings, I am putting in full couplings. Turns out they are smaller diameter, now I need to find someone to tig weld them for me. Doh!!

[humbledore]

What's the diameter of your coupling? I have some from bargain fittings that I didn't use and they are massive. I can give you a measurement if you want, new couplings would be cheaper than tig welding. But welding is a great way to go too.

[madmattie]

Just finished soldering a SS half coupling to a keg - thanks to bellybuster, it was easy! The soldered joint is perfecto inside and out - looks like a weld!

Some questions...

Water is leaking through the threads - not much, it's just beading. I used quite a bit of PTFE tape, but there's still a small bead. It's not really dripping, but I'm wondering if this will be an issue during a run.

Anybody else run into this?

Also, is PTFE tape safe to use for these threads? I'm thinking yes since it's touching the wash only, no vapors. If not... then what other options are there for sealing the threads?

Thanks!

[madmattie]

Hmm... turns out I cranked it a bit more and added more tape and left it over night.. there was almost a full drop... but it never dripped. I call that success.

Here's a picture of the first try with the bead:

Keg nip

I'm wiring everything on the top side of the element, so even if there is a drop it shouldn't hit the terminals. Life skills.

I'm journaling my build here:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 85&t=59437

Thanks, bellybuster!

[BDF]

Followed the same method as bellybuster, was able to solder a 2" sanitary ferrule...as soon as I got the right type of flux.

I read in some other thread that straight muriatic acid you can buy from a bix box store would work as flux (cheaper and easier to get) but it didn't work at all. I thought I was doing something wrong for many attempts, made a big mess, then dug back into this thread and bought some of the flux mentioned in the first post. Sealed up first try after that, and doesn't leak when I submerged it. Big relief, I was worried I put a 2" hole in my keg with no way of sealing it.

[speedfreaksteve]

Link to video, sorry its 6 minutes but .........
Don't mind the mess, I'm renovating.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BBZPocvNt8M

Nice video!

Simcoe county eh? Howdy neighbour! I have the same recycling box that my dad scooped and filled with tablesaw offcuts he gave me for kindling.

[speedfreaksteve]

Belly did a real great job showing how to accomplish this.
Your plug can be 220 volts or 110 depending on what size and voltage element/elements and controller you use.
Personally I think 110 is more portable for use, but if you have a large boiler and a permanent or semi permanent location 220 is the way to go.

Butterman

Are you saying that I can use a 220v element with 110 using a controller? My problem is that I need portable, so I need to be able to use a 110v outlet. I don't even mind if the wattage is much lower, I can put up with it being slower. Still better than doing 8+ hour stripping runs on a stovetop as I did 10 years ago when I started with this hobby.

[Klein]

Just take into consideration that If you use 120v on a 240v element you will get 1/4 of the wattage.

[speedfreaksteve]

Just take into consideration that If you use 120v on a 240v element you will get 1/4 of the wattage.

That's sort of what I want. I currently have my indoor "winter setup" using a 1500w electric stovetop burner. It works fine to mash but is slow as molasses. 5500 watt burners are widely available but I don't wish to use 240v since I like to have my setup portable since I would use multiple locations. 1375 watt in an immersion heater should be significantly faster than my 1500w stovetop element.

[The Baker]

In Australia we have just 240 volts (or 220 or whatever but generally quoted as 240); AND 480 (?) volts (not sure about that), three phase.

Which is installed in a lot of workshops....

No advantage in using that for heating stills? Me not being an electrician I don't know.
I suspect not as the three phases are mostly used for motors, I think.
Geoff