New keg design?

[Sailman]

I've had this keg for a while now. The intention is to do a six inch on the top , two inch on the side for a heating element and a one inch bottom drain. Also on the top I would like to do some sort of fill port and or a in process sight glass. The question that I have is what is the largest sight glass that I can fit on the top with a 6 inch ferrule in the center. I'm looking for a sight glass that can be removed so it can be used as a fill port.

[Bolverk]

Flip the keg upside-down, use the sankey as the drain, and do a 4" port for the vapor and a 6" port for access, and a 2" in the side for your element.

[Sailman]

Flip the keg upside-down, use the sankey as the drain, and do a 4" port for the vapor and a 6" port for access, and a 2" in the side for your element.

I would but I like the idea of having the top for the handles.

[Tammuz]

If you plan on doing some all grains I'd double your drain outlet. And go with the sizes Bolverk mentioned. Ferrules are not that much more. You'll appreciate it later.

[Pure Old Possum Piss]

I'd go a minimum of 2" on any drain port. 2" triclamp ferrules are cheap. And you can cut some handles into the the original bottom ring, unless your have hands like the Hulk.

[Salt Must Flow]

I've had this keg for a while now. The intention is to do a six inch on the top , two inch on the side for a heating element and a one inch bottom drain. Also on the top I would like to do some sort of fill port and or a in process sight glass. The question that I have is what is the largest sight glass that I can fit on the top with a 6 inch ferrule in the center. I'm looking for a sight glass that can be removed so it can be used as a fill port.

Here is a pic of my 15.5 gal boiler before I insulated it. There's a 6" ferrule in the top dead center and a 3" Tri-Clamp ferrule off-centered as a fill port. There is just enough rough to install the clamps. If I placed the 3" ferrule much further up, it would not allow the clamp to be installed. Regardless what you do to your boiler, I HIGHLY recommend cutting away the brim of the keg like shown below. It allows free access to the ferrules and if you don't chop it, you wont' have anywhere near as much usable space to install a fill port. It would also make it nearly impossible to TIG weld around. Chop the brim.




I don't know the exact dimensions of those 'in process sight glasses', but I'd pay close attention to the dimensions to ensure you have enough room for proper fitment. You need room to install the clamp. They're also referred to as 'Union Sight Glass Weld'.

[Sailman]

I've had this keg for a while now. The intention is to do a six inch on the top , two inch on the side for a heating element and a one inch bottom drain. Also on the top I would like to do some sort of fill port and or a in process sight glass. The question that I have is what is the largest sight glass that I can fit on the top with a 6 inch ferrule in the center. I'm looking for a sight glass that can be removed so it can be used as a fill port.

Here is a pic of my 15.5 gal boiler before I insulated it. There's a 6" ferrule in the top dead center and a 3" Tri-Clamp ferrule off-centered as a fill port. There is just enough rough to install the clamps. If I placed the 3" ferrule much further up, it would not allow the clamp to be installed. Regardless what you do to your boiler, I HIGHLY recommend cutting away the brim of the keg like shown below. It allows free access to the ferrules and if you don't chop it, you wont' have anywhere near as much usable space to install a fill port. It would also make it nearly impossible to TIG weld around. Chop the brim.




I don't know the exact dimensions of those 'in process sight glasses', but I'd pay close attention to the dimensions to ensure you have enough room for proper fitment. You need room to install the clamp. They're also referred to as 'Union Sight Glass Weld'.

Looking at your keg makes me think that I need to go with a 3in glass. Yes the brim will have to be cut. Does any one know where to find one that uses a tri clamp?

[Sailman]

https://www.usalab.com/usa-lab-high-pre ... B8EALw_wcB

I found this. Any thoughts on it?

[SW_Shiner]

They look quite neat. Should work just fine. Id try and find a replacement o-ring though. Swap out the buna-n for some ptfe

[Salt Must Flow]

There's this type of end cap sight glass.

[Sailman]

There's this type of end cap sight glass.

I like the looks but not the price. I've got a 4in on the way and just ordered a 3 in ferrule so I'll have what I need this weekend. The plan is to solder all the ferrules with a butt joint with a ring of copper wire around them to add strength. One other member did it like this and it worked good.

[Sailman]

I made some progress today. I'm going with a 6 in on top and a 3 for filling. A 2 in on the side for a heating element and a 1 in on the bottom for a drain. I've not had a lot of luck drilling holes in kegs before. So i've got an idea of cutting the two inch on the top off and making up a clamp to secure everything in place while it is soldered on. When everything is secured properly the idea would be to use a die grinder to open it up to the proper size. I would do the 3 inch and the 2 inch the same way. Can anyone see any reason this would not work or has a better way of doing this? I'm going to make a ring of copper to add surface area to the butt joint. This should add some strength.

[Tammuz]

Install your clamps to the ferrules just to make sure before welding.

[Salt Must Flow]

I centered the 6" ferrule and traced it out using permanent marker.
I then used an angle grinder with a cutting disk. I made several straight down cuts to remove most of the material.

Since the top of this keg is corrugated (not smooth), I decided to leave little tabs for the ferrule to sit on to help my welder guy do his job.

Once the 6" ferrule was welded in place, I used my angle grinder to remove more material on the interior and a Die Grinder to finish the job and smooth everything out.

[SW_Shiner]

I think its a great idea to leave the hole smaller than needed and widen it after the ferrule is attached. I didn't and made the hole slightly too big. Was a pain in the ass to weld. Next time i will be doing it the way you have said, and SMF has done.

[Yummyrum]

I think its a great idea to leave the hole smaller than needed and widen it after the ferrule is attached.

Amen to that SW_Shiner

[Saltbush Bill]

I think its a great idea to leave the hole smaller than needed and widen it after the ferrule is attached.

Amen to that SW_Shiner

Yep the only way to go......been doing it that way for years

[Sailman]

I didn't get a whole lot done on it Sunday.I was busy stripping 30 gallons of UJSSM.

[Sailman]

I got a little bit done today very little but it's progress. Also I stripped another thirty gallons of UJSSM yesterday. I've got enough now to do a good spirit run 2nd Generation And the third generation is in the fermenter.

[Windy City]

I am using this for my fill port.
https://www.glaciertanks.com/tri-clamp- ... ygEALw_wcB

[Biker24a69]

Smf thanks for inspiration

[shadylane]

I think its a great idea to leave the hole smaller than needed and widen it after the ferrule is attached. I didn't and made the hole slightly too big. Was a pain in the ass to weld.

I've been tig welding the fitting on first, then cutting the hole out with a plasma cutter.
Before cutting, I put a little water in the keg so the splatter doesn't stick to the insides.