Forming a flange in stainless?

[Steve Broady]

I have a Vevor style still that I’m trying to upgrade again. Yes, I know it’s not well loved in here, but I’m working with what I have at the moment. I intend to add a couple 1.5” triclamp outlets to the lid, and rather than just soldering them onto the surface, I’d like to actually form a flange for them to fit into. If this was copper, I’d have no worries. Cut an undersized hole, anneal, make a male and female form, and press. Maybe need a couple rounds of annealing, but that’s no problem.

CanI treat stainless the same way? Just anneal and form? Are there any special considerations I need to be aware of?

[Ben]

Stainless will work harden so the fewer steps you can take in forming the flange the better. Annealing stainless is nothing like copper, and if you get it too hot in a non-shielded environment it will start to separate the stuff that makes it stainless and oxidize. It's probably already as soft as it's going to get if you are working on an area that isn't formed. Since its Vevor you may not have real thick metal to work with. Might be better to do the minimum to flatten your solder zone and solder your ferrule on, skip the forming.

If you know someone who welds SS that would be a little easier.

[StillerBoy]

I intend to add a couple 1.5” triclamp outlets to the lid, and rather than just soldering them onto the surface,

My suggestion would be to bypass the triclamp idea and go with soldering a sink drain..

Mars

[zach]

This vendor has a solder on 2" tri clamp flange designed to solder to a flat surface. They also have radius flanges and bulkhead flanges.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc2rsf.htm

They also offer a tool to dimple the hole to allow a slip fit and solder with a regular tri-clamp.

[Metalking00]

Also, note that not all stainless is created equal. Id bet the vevor stainless is pretty low grade, and consequently a bit more forgiving to form. Even if the ad literature says its 304, its more likely to be lower grade 201, which has half the chromium, etc.(good stuff) content. You can check with a strong magnet. 304 is nonmagnetic (or very slightly magnetic around bends or spun bits) - 201 is noticably magnetic but less so than carbon steel.

The sink drain idea looks easier than making a set of dies to form something. Also, the weldless triclamp bulkheads work well if you make an appropriate ptfe gasket. I use a 2" one on the top of my digiboil.

[Dancing4dan]

+1 on Brewhardware.com as mentioned above. They have a great way of installing ferrules and fittings. They provide tooling to pull the ferrule or fitting through a hole of smaller diameter than the ferrule or fitting being installed.

This is a pricey way to go with added shipping and all but makes for almost fool proof soldered joints.

This makes for a very strong joint between ferrule and pot. All of my 2” ferrules and drain fittings an all of the still have been installed this way.

Using this method on beer kegs requires a slightly larger hole as a keg is thicker than a brew pot.

Use bimetallic hole saws. Not the tungsten carbide tooth saws.

A photo grabbed off line.

[StillerBoy]

I intend to add a couple 1.5” triclamp outlets to the lid, and rather than just soldering them onto the surface, I’d like to actually form a flange for them to fit into.

All good suggestion, but he's wanting to install a triclamp setup on a pot lid.. unfortunately a pot lid has NO strength, and that is why I went the bowl and sink drain, providing strength to the lid and extra vapor space..

The picture previously posted shows a sink drain design for 1.5" screw end, but I done it also using sink drain that don't have the screw end and fitted a 2" ferrule (pictured below), never tried fitting a 1.5" ferrule..

Mars

[Dancing4dan]

I intend to add a couple 1.5” triclamp outlets to the lid, and rather than just soldering them onto the surface, I’d like to actually form a flange for them to fit into.

All good suggestion, but he's wanting to install a triclamp setup on a pot lid.. unfortunately a pot lid has NO strength, and that is why I went the bowl and sink drain, providing strength to the lid and extra vapor space..

The picture previously posted shows a sink drain design for 1.5" screw end, but I done it also using sink drain that don't have the screw end and fitted a 2" ferrule (pictured below), never tried fitting a 1.5" ferrule..

Mars

Hey Mars

Good point. The Vevor still will be pretty light weight!

[Salt Must Flow]

There's a lot of different ways to do this as people have posted previously. I'd say the easiest and least expensive method is to cut a hole and solder a Tri-Clamp ferrule. That assumes that you already own a torch, solder, flux and basic tools.

The 2nd easiest & cheapest way would be to just cut a hole and install one of those weldless Tri-Clamp Bulkhead Fittings.

If you don't have any means to do the work, any local welder should be able to solder it on for you too.

[Steve Broady]

I greatly appreciate all the advice and suggestions! To answer a few, in no particular order.. yes, I have torch, solder, flux, etc. I’ve soldered to this list before, just to get rid of the brass fittings and go to a larger diameter riser. I definitely considered just soldering directly to the surface this time as well, but I thought maybe a better, stronger joint might be worth considering. Maybe not, but if it’s easy to do, why not?

And yes, this lid is quite thin. At some point, I intend to replace the whole pot, but it’s working well enough for the moment and I’m being frugal…. or just plain cheap. But I’m also using this as a learning opportunity. I don’t feel bad about hacking up and possibly ruining something this cheap, and I figure I’ll gain some useful experience doing so.

[StillerBoy]

At some point, I intend to replace the whole pot, but it’s working well enough for the moment and I’m being frugal

Don't put down your present setup to much, as there's still lot of miles one can get from it with a few upgrades..

My first setup was a 4 gal stock pot with the lid modified (as per the picture with the screw sink drain) with a 1.5" column that I could run in pot with a 12" riser or reflux mode with 30" column.. worked well as beginner's tool and did everything my bigger units can do..

The setup/unit is still being used today as a trainer's unit for beginners, and for some people I know who only make a few batches of neutral per yrs..

Mars

[Salt Must Flow]

Ferrules are cheap. One day if you upgrade with a better still, just apply a little heat and the ferrule can obviously be removed. You won't lose a penny (other than the cost of solder & propane used).