Question about welding on a keg

[npstephe]

Well here's the deal. I wanted to add a drain to my keg, so i bought one of those stainless Welding spuds like i did for my heating element. A friend of mine welds for a living so he said he would do it. Now i know that when welding stainless, you use stainless filler rod. I know he knew this too. Turns out he said he didnt have any stainless filler so he used 7018 stick on it. I know this is carbon steel, and to me it seems like it would rust fairly quickly. Is this as big of a problem as i think it is? it seems my only option is to cut it out and take it somewhere else and hope it didn't alter the stainless too much, or to just leave it and let it ride. Any thoughts on this?

[shadylane]

Let it ride. But It's going to corrode, so keep the weld dry when not in use.

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

Not good. Should have waited until he could order some more rod.

[shadylane]

Not good. Should have waited until he could order some more rod.

+1

[DSM Loki]

No Bueno. Tell him that if you wanted it to be held together with bullshit you'd have gone to a cattle farm, not a welder.

[npstephe]

yeah I wasn't happy he just went ahead and did it without asking first. I'm not going to take chances. I'm going to cut the fitting out and metal around it, fit a stainless plate and get that patched up. Then re-cut the hole in the plate for a new welding spud.

Or I might just scrap the keg and start over on a fresh one.

[DSM Loki]

If it were me I'd take it to a welder and have them fix it up

[still_stirrin]

It can be cut out if you completely remove the HAZ (heat affected zone). Try measuring the zone and see how large of replacement ferrule you'll need. 3" or 4" maybe. Then you can order an adapter for the repair to mate with your heater element. Not as pretty, but you'll be able to remove the adapter to facilitate cleaning inside the boiler much easier (value added).
ss

[npstephe]

It can be cut out if you completely remove the HAZ (heat affected zone). Try measuring the zone and see how large of replacement ferrule you'll need. 3" or 4" maybe. Then you can order an adapter for the repair to mate with your heater element. Not as pretty, but you'll be able to remove the adapter to facilitate cleaning inside the boiler much easier (value added).
ss

That's a good idea. That large of adapter stuff is expensive though. But the main problem I foresee with the ferrule is that the infected metal goes down into the curve of the bottom. This is why I was thinking of forming a plate to cover it.

[InglisHill]

A plate will work, take it to some one who can tig weld.

Hopefully they should have a plasma cutter, and it should be no problem to fix up.

[Jesse]

And if you can't find a good welder to do stainless, you can consider silver soldering it. Anyone with concerns about the strength of silver solder hasn't tried it themselves, I can tell you that. I've got a number of fittings on my boiler and brewpot that were silver soldered on, and I've got no complaints.

It's the same process as soldering copper, but you need the proper flux (I use Stay-Clean LIQUID flux), and it helps to use MAPP gas rather than propane, though either can be made to work. I use Stay-Brite No. 8 silver solder for everything I do, but word on the street is any silver-bearing solder will do the trick.

[Badmotivator]

100% agree with Jesse. I've just finished doing all of the ferrules (just counted... Holy Moley it's 10!) on my boiler project with silver solder and I'm super happy with the results. Only one of them didn't go perfectly, but it was easily fixed. I used a basic propane torch and the same flux and solder as Jesse.

[npstephe]

A plate will work, take it to some one who can tig weld.

Hopefully they should have a plasma cutter, and it should be no problem to fix up.

I know someone who Tig welds. He did my other spud for the heating element. I just couldnt bring this one to him at the time. He has a plasma cutter as well, so I will be bringing it to him soon hopefully.

I considered silver soldering this one on there. I just didnt have the liquid flux or solder and that stuff is hard for me to find local. I've seen the strength tests and it looks strong enough. I'll eventually try it.

In the meantime I am going to install a 240V dryer outlet in the garage so I can move out there. Luckily I dont have any mash needing to be ran so i'm in no hurry.

[Danespirit]

Now..i am not into your american numbers and bla, bla...but i can tell you for sure: If you do not use stainless fillerrod, your welding isn't worth shit..!
That's the short version of it...and the truth.

[npstephe]

Yep. As soon as he said he didn't use stainless filler I knew it was screwed up and I wasn't happy. But nothing I can do now but figure out a way to fix it.

[Danespirit]

You keg looks pretty bad..but don't give up..there is hope.
Cut the fitting off with a anglegrinder, be carefull only to take the top.
Then hammer in a wooden stopper in the remaining hole and mark the center.
You can now carefully and with some cooling drill the crippled fitting out with a holesaw.
Choose the holesaw bigger than the fitting, cause you want to remove the crappy welding done.
Now make a piece of stainless plate that can cover the hole made, it has to have a slight bow to it, so it fits around the keg.
Drill a hole in the plate, that matches your fitting. Weld the fitting on the plate using a PROPER weldingrod for stainless.
Make a very flat weld on the backside of the plate too...your plate will now warp a bit...that's fine cause you want it to fit around your keg.
Now weld the plate+fitting over the hole in tour keg...enjoy the now correct welded boiler you have..
NOTE: You must remove all old welding..this is important! Failing to do so, will result in rust and you looking like a dog with rabies.
Edit: Don't worry about your stainless.
When you drill with some cooling , you are good to go. The patch with the new fitting will do just fine, if welded all way around.

[npstephe]

You keg looks pretty bad..but don't give up..there is hope.
Cut the fitting off with a anglegrinder, be carefull only to take the top.
Then hammer in a wooden stopper in the remaining hole and mark the center.
You can now carefully and with some cooling drill the crippled fitting out with a holesaw.
Choose the holesaw bigger than the fitting, cause you want to remove the crappy welding done.
Now make a piece of stainless plate that can cover the hole made, it has to have a slight bow to it, so it fits around the keg.
Drill a hole in the plate, that matches your fitting. Weld the fitting on the plate using a PROPER weldingrod for stainless.
Make a very flat weld on the backside of the plate too...your plate will now warp a bit...that's fine cause you want it to fit around your keg.
Now weld the plate+fitting over the hole in tour keg...enjoy the now correct welded boiler you have..
NOTE: You must remove all old welding..this is important! Failing to do so, will result in rust and you looking like a dog with rabies.
Edit: Don't worry about your stainless.
When you drill with some cooling , you are good to go. The patch with the new fitting will do just fine, if welded all way around.

Yes this is the process I am planning to use. Thanks for laying it all out. Instead of the hole saw I was just going to use the angle grinder and cut around the infected area. Is that not what to do? I cannot weld myself but I have a different friend who I know knows what hes doing. Should have just went to him at first in hindsight, but my impatience is making me pay now.

As far as removing all old welding, would just removing the discolored area be enough? or do I need to go outside of that?

[Danespirit]

One is always wiser afterwards...
We can only use hindsight as a experiance..now well..done is done..so.
I would use the holesaw method, but if you use a really small disc on a anglegrinder, it could do the job.
You would get a square cut all around..hmm...if you made that plate to match that , you could weld it flush with the keg..
It's just the "infected" area, that has to be cut away, then you are good to go.
Now you have the advantage of welding the fitting in first.
You could weld it on both sides and have a really nice weld without the typical black/brown residue around it.
If your friend has a TIG welder..excellent.
If it is a MIG welder, put a little water in there before you weld around...splatter can't burn into the sides of the keg this way.
Hope you get the job done...good luck with it.

[npstephe]

One is always wiser afterwards...
We can only use hindsight as a experiance..now well..done is done..so.
I would use the holesaw method, but if you use a really small disc on a anglegrinder, it could do the job.
You would get a square cut all around..hmm...if you made that plate to match that , you could weld it flush with the keg..
It's just the "infected" area, that has to be cut away, then you are good to go.
Now you have the advantage of welding the fitting in first.
You could weld it on both sides and have a really nice weld without the typical black/brown residue around it.
If your friend has a TIG welder..excellent.
If it is a MIG welder, put a little water in there before you weld around...splatter can't burn into the sides of the keg this way.
Hope you get the job done...good luck with it.

Thanks for your help. I will probably do the hole saw method. Hole saws seem to cut right thru these, with cooling oil of course. My friend does have a TIG welder, which is what he used on my other spud. I guess ill be giving this a go! I also bought another keg today. I'm going to have him weld in two spuds on this one so I can take my time and not be rushed on the repair. Then possibly sell one of them, or keep them both. They are handy to have.

[npstephe]

update on this problem:

I decided to get a 2nd keg while this one was being fixed so it can be done right (one of them will be a thumper when they are both done). in the second keg my friend tig welded up 2 of the 1" NPT fittings. one for drain and one for element. He also had a plasma cutter he had been itching to use so he plasma cut the b ad fitting out. It came out to a 3" hole in the keg. I think I am going to put a 2" tri clamp ferrule on it so I can make use of other fittings when it becomes a thumper, well my friend is going to Tig a 2" Ferrule into a 3" plate to fill the hole. Props to his Tig welding skills! I need to learn to weld. putting that on the list!

Now pictures!

Keg with 3" Hole Plasma Cut out

1" Drain on the New Keg

And just for fun, I installed a new 240V outlet with its own breaker in my garage so I can stop using the laundry room

240V 30Amp outlet with its own breaker

[npstephe]

I just wanted to post up how this ended up on here. I ended up having my friend weld a 2" Ferrule to the 3 inch hole that was plasma cut. Here's a pic!