Who to do welding?

[Andysam]

So, I tried to solder on my fitting to my keg like other people have been able to according to
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/solderi ... el-155782/
but the solder did not stick for me. I had scuffed up the nipple and the keg real good but it still did not stick.

So, now I am just going to get it welded. I have two of these to get welded. Does anyone have any place that they would recommend? how much do you think they would charge? I cut the hole slightly smaller than the nipple, then pulled the nipple through the keg, so it is a tight fit.

weld.JPG (27.79 KiB) Viewed 1503 times

[dhempy]

You need to find somebody with a TIG welder to do stainless (I presume it is stainless right?) Some guys charge by the inch, some by the hour ... ask around. Since that nipple is toward the bottom, welding from the inside will be tough so you'll need to find someone that can "back gas" to prevent splattering (a big mess) on the inside. Back gassing is a method that gets argon behind the weld to that there is little or no oxygen in where the surfaces are bonding during the welding process. The TIG torch outputs argon right onto the front but for this type of weld you'll want gas behind the weld too. When one is welding pots with thinner stainless steel, often a heat sink is also used to help prevent warping but you shouldn't have a problem with that.

Call around, see if you can talk to the welder and maybe you can trade part of the fee for some homebrew!

Good luck.

Dan

P.S. If I had the ability to back gas (and you were closer) I'd offer to do it for you.

[backyard brewer]

Well...since you already have the fitting, already made the hole and it's a tight fit, bring it over and I'll glue it together for you. PM me for an address and number.

[Andysam]

Here are some more pics. I pulled the first coupler from the outside in because I was going to solder it from the outside.

The photos below the coupler has been pulled from the inside out because I am getting it welded on the outside now.

And the tool used to do it.

coupler2.JPG (30.68 KiB) Viewed 1462 times

Coupler.JPG (33.88 KiB) Viewed 1462 times

tool.JPG (26.83 KiB) Viewed 1462 times

[DrDually]

+1 with what Dan said...without back gassing, you will get sugaring and that will give nasty germs and bacteria a nice place to hide with no way of removing them besides boiling

[bwarbiany]

+1 with what Dan said...without back gassing, you will get sugaring and that will give nasty germs and bacteria a nice place to hide with no way of removing them besides boiling

I sometimes wonder why this is such an issue. I had a buddy with a plasma cutter cut the tops out of my HLT and my mash tun kegs, and I do have some limited "splatter" inside that isn't coming out...

But it's stainless steel, and it's always used for boil or pre-boil liquid. What am I worrying about germs/bacteria for?

My boil kettle is stainless (full stainless pot, so it does have a nice interior surface) and is fully boiled each use, so I don't worry about sanitation there. My fermenter is a converted sanke with a decent internal surface (i.e. it was never cut or welded anywhere), but again I'm not that worried about sanitation because I boil it before each batch, steam-sterilizing the entire interior surface.

I'll admit that the metal splatter in the HLT and mash tun doesn't look nice, but it doesn't pose a sanitation risk IMHO.

[backyard brewer]

+1 with what Dan said...without back gassing, you will get sugaring and that will give nasty germs and bacteria a nice place to hide with no way of removing them besides boiling

I sometimes wonder why this is such an issue. I had a buddy with a plasma cutter cut the tops out of my HLT and my mash tun kegs, and I do have some limited "splatter" inside that isn't coming out...

But it's stainless steel, and it's always used for boil or pre-boil liquid. What am I worrying about germs/bacteria for?

My boil kettle is stainless (full stainless pot, so it does have a nice interior surface) and is fully boiled each use, so I don't worry about sanitation there. My fermenter is a converted sanke with a decent internal surface (i.e. it was never cut or welded anywhere), but again I'm not that worried about sanitation because I boil it before each batch, steam-sterilizing the entire interior surface.

I'll admit that the metal splatter in the HLT and mash tun doesn't look nice, but it doesn't pose a sanitation risk IMHO.

It's not so much a 'sanitary' issue on the hot side of your brewery as it is a cleanliness issue along with several other factors. First it helps to understand what is happening: When stainless steel is allowed to be molten in the presence of Oxygen it basically burns and forms a nasty oxide. The oxide looks like black sugar, hence the term "Sugaring". It is very porous, very sharp and very very hard. I've tried to machine it off the inside of a tube once and chipped a carbide lathe bit. Due to the porous and rough nature it can't really be cleaned which poses that cleanliness issue.

Aside from that, all of the chromium is driven off and it is no longer stainless so it can and will rust. It is also very brittle and can create a fracture point that can crack just past the weld so if you're talking about a coupler for a valve and you pick the keg up by the valve, you could break it right off.

The sharp aspect is hell on your fingers and cleaning utensils.

I would not recommend having anything in your brewery that comes in contact with your product welded any other way.