Brewing Master » Brewing Beer » Modifying your basic 30 quart stock pot.
Modifying your basic 30 quart stock pot.
Question:
The Weld-B-Gone (NA, blah, blah, blah) is 1/2" that fits through a 7/8" hole, it doesn’t thread into the pot: http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone/
A 7/8" hole in the wall of the pot, right? As the bulkhead is not threaded into the pot, it would probably work to keep the pot and bulkhead out of constant contact. There is also a silicone seal with the bulkhead. Or simply remove it for prolonged storage. I have a similar style no-weld valve that I store separate from my brew pot.
If there’s no direct contact, there shouldn’t be any electrolysis, but how large is the bulkhead? Isn’t it 7/8" OD? Or is it small enough to assure that it doesn’t touch the pot? — Al – rukbat at optonline dot net
Response:
The Weld-B-Gone (NA, blah, blah, blah) is 1/2" that fits through a 7/8" hole, it doesn’t thread into the pot: http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone/ A 7/8" hole in the wall of the pot, right?
I believe so, reading Zymie’s web site. As the bulkhead is not threaded into the pot, it would probably work to keep the pot and bulkhead out of constant contact. There is also a silicone seal with the bulkhead. Or simply remove it for prolonged storage. I have a similar style no-weld valve that I store separate from my brew pot. If there’s no direct contact, there shouldn’t be any electrolysis, but how large is the bulkhead? Isn’t it 7/8" OD? Or is it small enough to assure that it doesn’t touch the pot?
My no-weld thingy is different, but the Weld-B-Gone is has inside threads that are 1/2", which also looks like the same OD as the bulkhead. Maybe someone who has a Weld-B-Gone can elaborate (or Zymie, if he’s reading). – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – — Al – rukbat at optonline dot net
Response:
The Weld-B-Gone (NA, blah, blah, blah) is 1/2" that fits through a 7/8" hole, it doesn’t thread into the pot: http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone/ A 7/8" hole in the wall of the pot, right?
I believe so, reading Zymie’s web site. As the bulkhead is not threaded into the pot, it would probably work to keep the pot and bulkhead out of constant contact. There is also a silicone seal with the bulkhead. Or simply remove it for prolonged storage. I have a similar style no-weld valve that I store separate from my brew pot. If there’s no direct contact, there shouldn’t be any electrolysis, but how large is the bulkhead? Isn’t it 7/8" OD? Or is it small enough to assure that it doesn’t touch the pot?
My no-weld thingy is different, but the Weld-B-Gone is has inside threads that are 1/2", which also looks like the same OD as the bulkhead. Maybe someone who has a Weld-B-Gone can elaborate (or Zymie, if he’s reading). I don’t leave mine attached to the pot, because it’s easier to clean when removed and easier to store (BTW, it’s a SS pot). Do others leave the Weld-B-Gone attached? Cheers, Laine
Response:
The Weld-B-Gone would touch the pot. but I think there is more fuss being made about galvanic corrosion than is necessary. If you took an aluminum pot to a welder, you’d need an aluminum fitting to weld to it, then you’d have to use an aluminum valve. See a pattern here? I would think that the 20 years or so (guesstimate) it would take to corrode a $30 aluminum pot to the point it couldn’t be used would be offset by the convenience of having a ball valve. Wayne Holder AKA Zymie Long Beach CA http://www.zymico.com
Response:
Joe, I see no reason why it would be a concern, since there is no need to remove the valve once correctly installed. Wayne Holder AKA Zymie Long Beach CA http://www.zymico.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A somewhat different question, but still along the same lines… I am wondering how the stainless Weld-B-Gone fixture would fare if installed on an aluminum stock pot. The turkey fryer route is very attractive to me (I’ve overcome the Alzheimer stigma), and would like an easy way to transfer the wort to the fermenter. My concern is that certain dissimilar metalss, when in contact with one another for extended periods of time (as they would be in the Zymico/turkey fryer scenario), react with one another in sometimes not-so-nice ways. Can anyone comment definitively on this? Does this only apply when the metals are welded together, or can they actually become "welded" together due to the reaction I am suggesting (e.g. steel nuts + aluminum wheels + impact wrench)? TIA, Joe
The silicone o-ring on the Weld-B-Gone
(http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – is rated for 450F. The Teflon seats on ball valves are only rated for 450F also, so I guess 450F would be the limitation for a valve period. How hot do you fry anyway? If it is over about 350 F, they better be using something better than peanut oil, and I think it has the highest oil smokepoint of all the cooking oils…. Cheers, Mike
Response:
: The Weld-B-Gone would touch the pot. but I think there is more fuss being : made about galvanic corrosion than is necessary. Yeah, especially since the corrosion is only ocurring when the contact surfaces are wet. Anyway, I have a Weld-B-Gone on a large, thick aluminum pot I picked up at a restaurant supply shop. It’s a great pot because it’s so thick, not just on the bottom but the walls as well (awesome heat transfer). Because I was a bit nervous about corrosion I applied some food grade silicone to the surfaces where contact occurs – the idea I had was to prevent the surface from getting wet, thereby eliminating galvanic corrosion. I haven’t been using it too long (less than a year) but there’s no sign of any corrosion so far. — Bill
Response:
Greetings All! I have recently obtained a 30 qt. stock pot with a tuyo fryer (actually it is a turkey fryer setup but it will be put to use for frying dried fish which have a powerful odor outside and the pot will be used for whole grain wort boils) my wife is getting for Christmas. I want to do a few things to the pot in order to modify it so it will be useful for boiling wort First I want to put a faucet of sorts on it, so I can easily drain the beer. I want that faucet to hook up into a lautering system so I can get filter out sediments and hops. I have an overall idea of what I need to do but I am hoping that someone knows of a website that may guide me through the particulars, i.e. types of valves best suited, hardware required, processes etc. I will probably use some copper tubing for the lauter and along the tube saw in hack saw blade width openings. I have seen plenty of plans for wort chillers and one of those is in the works as well! Thanks KA — Mag-ingat kayong lahat ang sabi ng Kano Ako The First Amendment is about more than George Carlin’s 7 dirty words. Let Russ Feingold and John McCain know that! Oppose campaign finance reform!
Response:
Greetings All! I have recently obtained a 30 qt. stock pot with a tuyo fryer (actually it is a turkey fryer setup but it will be put to use for frying dried fish which have a powerful odor outside and the pot will be used for whole grain wort boils) my wife is getting for Christmas. I want to do a few things to the pot in order to modify it so it will be useful for boiling wort First I want to put a faucet of sorts on it, so I can easily drain the beer. I want that faucet to hook up into a lautering system so I can
I have a similar question. I have looked into putting a spigot on my 30qt turkey fryer pot. I have noted that the gaskets/seals either claim to hold to 400 degrees F, or they make no claims at all. As I actually use my pot to fry food, where the oil approaches or exceeds 400 degrees, I certainly don’t want to use one of those seals. Is there another high-temp sealant available which can withstand frying oil? -heathersugar
Response:
For boiling wort, get one of Zymico’s weldless drain fittings. For boiling oils, I think I would go to a welded drain valve. Get a 1/2" full close nipple and haul the pot down to a welder that can handle SS. Burp, -Dan
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings All! I have recently obtained a 30 qt. stock pot with a tuyo fryer (actually it is a turkey fryer setup but it will be put to use for frying dried fish which have a powerful odor outside and the pot will be used for whole grain wort boils) my wife is getting for Christmas. I want to do a few things to the pot in order to modify it so it will be useful for boiling wort First I want to put a faucet of sorts on it, so I can easily drain the beer. I want that faucet to hook up into a lautering system so I can I have a similar question. I have looked into putting a spigot on my 30qt turkey fryer pot. I have noted that the gaskets/seals either claim to hold to 400 degrees F, or they make no claims at all. As I actually use my pot to fry food, where the oil approaches or exceeds 400 degrees, I certainly don’t want to use one of those seals. Is there another high-temp sealant available which can withstand frying oil? -heathersugar
Response:
The silicone o-ring on the Weld-B-Gone (http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone) is rated for 450F. The Teflon seats on ball valves are only rated for 450F also, so I guess 450F would be the limitation for a valve period. How hot do you fry anyway? Wayne Holder AKA Zymie Long Beach CA http://www.zymico.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings All! I have recently obtained a 30 qt. stock pot with a tuyo fryer (actually it is a turkey fryer setup but it will be put to use for frying dried fish which have a powerful odor outside and the pot will be used for whole grain wort boils) my wife is getting for Christmas. I want to do a few things to the pot in order to modify it so it will be useful for boiling wort First I want to put a faucet of sorts on it, so I can easily drain the beer. I want that faucet to hook up into a lautering system so I can I have a similar question. I have looked into putting a spigot on my 30qt turkey fryer pot. I have noted that the gaskets/seals either claim to hold to 400 degrees F, or they make no claims at all. As I actually use my pot to fry food, where the oil approaches or exceeds 400 degrees, I certainly don’t want to use one of those seals. Is there another high-temp sealant available which can withstand frying oil? -heathersugar
Response:
The silicone o-ring on the Weld-B-Gone (http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone) is rated for 450F. The Teflon seats on ball valves are only rated for 450F also, so I guess 450F would be the limitation for a valve period. How hot do you fry anyway?
If it is over about 350 F, they better be using something better than peanut oil, and I think it has the highest oil smokepoint of all the cooking oils…. Cheers, Mike
Response:
Perhaps a gasket from a car engine may be able to handle those kind of temps, but you should consider a weld job instead. What about some silicone around the outside of the valve.. ek – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings All! I have recently obtained a 30 qt. stock pot with a tuyo fryer (actually it is a turkey fryer setup but it will be put to use for frying dried fish which have a powerful odor outside and the pot will be used for whole grain wort boils) my wife is getting for Christmas. I want to do a few things to the pot in order to modify it so it will be useful for boiling wort First I want to put a faucet of sorts on it, so I can easily drain the beer. I want that faucet to hook up into a lautering system so I can I have a similar question. I have looked into putting a spigot on my 30qt turkey fryer pot. I have noted that the gaskets/seals either claim to hold to 400 degrees F, or they make no claims at all. As I actually use my pot to fry food, where the oil approaches or exceeds 400 degrees, I certainly don’t want to use one of those seals. Is there another high-temp sealant available which can withstand frying oil? -heathersugar
Response:
A somewhat different question, but still along the same lines… I am wondering how the stainless Weld-B-Gone fixture would fare if installed on an aluminum stock pot. The turkey fryer route is very attractive to me (I’ve overcome the Alzheimer stigma), and would like an easy way to transfer the wort to the fermenter. My concern is that certain dissimilar metalss, when in contact with one another for extended periods of time (as they would be in the Zymico/turkey fryer scenario), react with one another in sometimes not-so-nice ways. Can anyone comment definitively on this? Does this only apply when the metals are welded together, or can they actually become "welded" together due to the reaction I am suggesting (e.g. steel nuts + aluminum wheels + impact wrench)? TIA, Joe – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The silicone o-ring on the Weld-B-Gone (http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone) is rated for 450F. The Teflon seats on ball valves are only rated for 450F also, so I guess 450F would be the limitation for a valve period. How hot do you fry anyway? If it is over about 350 F, they better be using something better than peanut oil, and I think it has the highest oil smokepoint of all the cooking oils…. Cheers, Mike
Response:
rec.crafts.brewing: Weld-B-Gone is essentially a stainless (or brass) ball valve with a bulkhead fitting that allows you to attach it to a kettle using pipe threads instead of welding. The idea is that all you need to do is drill a hole in the kettle and thread the bulkhead onto the valve through the hole, tightening everything down with channel locks. So, you’re going to have (depending on how close to tolerance you drill the hole) constant contact between the stainless valve and the aluminum pot. 1) You’re going to have almost no female thread, unless you’ve got an awfully thick pot – like the old waterless cast aluminum cookware.
The Weld-B-Gone (NA, blah, blah, blah) is 1/2" that fits through a 7/8" hole, it doesn’t thread into the pot: http://www.zymico.com/weld-b-gone/ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 2) You’re going to have electrolysis unless the fitting is gas-tight, which it won’t be after a few hot/cold cycles. Liquid will be drawn along the threads on cooling. Is wort electrolytic? I suppose it depends a lot on your water, or if you treat your water (e.g. Burton salts). If it has any salts in it it’s electrolytic. If it doesn’t, you’re not making beer. (Does yeast grow well in pure H2O?) Would teflon tape, or some other barrier, between the metals help? No, it doesn’t really prevent contact and, with a sheet, which is what the wall of most pots is, there won’t be any tape left after threading anyway. Teflon tape is for fitting/fitting contact, not for threading a male thread into a sheet.
As the bulkhead is not threaded into the pot, it would probably work to keep the pot and bulkhead out of constant contact. There is also a silicone seal with the bulkhead. Or simply remove it for prolonged storage. I have a similar style no-weld valve that I store separate from my brew pot. Cheers, Laine
Response:
rec.crafts.brewing: Weld-B-Gone is essentially a stainless (or brass) ball valve with a bulkhead fitting that allows you to attach it to a kettle using pipe threads instead of welding. The idea is that all you need to do is drill a hole in the kettle and thread the bulkhead onto the valve through the hole, tightening everything down with channel locks. So, you’re going to have (depending on how close to tolerance you drill the hole) constant contact between the stainless valve and the aluminum pot.
1) You’re going to have almost no female thread, unless you’ve got an awfully thick pot – like the old waterless cast aluminum cookware. 2) You’re going to have electrolysis unless the fitting is gas-tight, which it won’t be after a few hot/cold cycles. Liquid will be drawn along the threads on cooling. Is wort electrolytic? I suppose it depends a lot on your water, or if you treat your water (e.g. Burton salts).
If it has any salts in it it’s electrolytic. If it doesn’t, you’re not making beer. (Does yeast grow well in pure H2O?) Would teflon tape, or some other barrier, between the metals help?
No, it doesn’t really prevent contact and, with a sheet, which is what the wall of most pots is, there won’t be any tape left after threading anyway. Teflon tape is for fitting/fitting contact, not for threading a male thread into a sheet. I’d really advise spending the few bucks to have a valve welded to the pot properly. Unless your setup allows for a hot potful of wort to come out of the hole in the pot (which you will eventually get) without damaging anything. (BTW, electrolysis produces some very unusual flavors, none of which I can really call something I’d like to find in my beer.) — Al – rukbat at optonline dot net
Response:
rec.crafts.brewing: My concern is that certain dissimilar metalss, when in contact with one another for extended periods of time (as they would be in the Zymico/turkey fryer scenario), react with one another in sometimes not-so-nice ways. Can anyone comment definitively on this? Does this only apply when the metals are welded together, or can they actually become "welded" together due to the reaction I am suggesting (e.g. steel nuts + aluminum wheels + impact wrench)?
Any dissimilar metals in good contact, especially if wet with an electrolyte, will show galvanic action. Exactly how much depends on the exact situation. I don’t know what Weld-B-Gone is, so I can’t comment. — Al – rukbat at optonline dot net
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – rec.crafts.brewing: My concern is that certain dissimilar metalss, when in contact with one another for extended periods of time (as they would be in the Zymico/turkey fryer scenario), react with one another in sometimes not-so-nice ways. Can anyone comment definitively on this? Does this only apply when the metals are welded together, or can they actually become "welded" together due to the reaction I am suggesting (e.g. steel nuts + aluminum wheels + impact wrench)? Any dissimilar metals in good contact, especially if wet with an electrolyte, will show galvanic action. Exactly how much depends on the exact situation. I don’t know what Weld-B-Gone is, so I can’t comment.
Weld-B-Gone is essentially a stainless (or brass) ball valve with a bulkhead fitting that allows you to attach it to a kettle using pipe threads instead of welding. The idea is that all you need to do is drill a hole in the kettle and thread the bulkhead onto the valve through the hole, tightening everything down with channel locks. So, you’re going to have (depending on how close to tolerance you drill the hole) constant contact between the stainless valve and the aluminum pot. Is wort electrolytic? I suppose it depends a lot on your water, or if you treat your water (e.g. Burton salts). Would teflon tape, or some other barrier, between the metals help? j