Making a keggle, need advise

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A beer keg converted to a brewing pot. I'll plasma the opening at the top. The kit comes with fittings, I am tig welding a ss valve spigot to a ss beer keg. First I drill a hole, next insert fitting. Back purge with argon. I'm using a diversion 165. The issue is that the keg is about 14 ga, the fitting is 1/8 ish. How do I prevent burn thru of the tank? I a using 1/16 thoriated, 1/16 filler, 20 cu ft / hr argon. Will preheating the fitting help?  I'm thinking 45-60 amps but I'd love some advice!Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:concentrat e the heat on the thicker metal, let the puddle flow over to the thinner metal...
Reply:I would try not to leave gap between the hole and the fitting.Mauricio
Reply:Advice, not advise. Should I set the diversion to the setting appropriate for the thinner metal?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Stainless is almost an opposite of aluminum, in that it does not readily transfer heat away faster than you can put it in. If there is a flange on the stainless fitting that keeps it from going through the hole You can concentrate the heat on the flange and not ad any filler at all. Just flow the flange onto the thin tank. Any way keep it fairly cool and with a back purge you should do fine. Mac
Reply:[email protected] is about 14 ga.  =  .067" to .081".  Filler - .062".  Bung - .125" wall.Your keg wall and your filler choice is essentially the same girth;thermally this is out of balance, so drop a filler size. No preheat because the bung is only twice the thickness of the keg.Preheating the heavier section to wet is in the Aluminum camp.Steel and S/S, thin to thick, wet easily for defined results.    Balancing the arc differential between the bung to keg girths, with filler, is literally 'in your hands', and much easier than you may think. If I were doing this I would use:a 1/16" tungsten,.045" filler, weld a test coupon to dial the amperage,use low-tack tape and thin high/dense cardboard for a gas dam.This only applies to a near perfect fit.  Good+ welds occurs most frequently with good joinery.  If you have a poor joint, 1/16" filler may help.If this were a show item I would use:a .040" tungsten,.035" filler [my most used size],weld a test coupon to dial the amperage,I won't need a gas dam because the joint is machine perfect and the weld would not penetrate through the 14 ga.Go forward with your approach with an eye on Door #2.  Strive for better fit-up so you can use smaller filler.Advice - Opinion   vs   Advise - Counsel. A shot in the dark, or a shot at a target ?The best welds, are unseen by welder  -  Opus
Reply:All good advice. Question tho, how are you going to clean all the spray/spatter on the inside of the keg from cutting the top out?.....Mike
Reply:Mrmikey, I heard that if you partially fill said keg with water prior to cutting the top off it helps catch the mess. I will drill a few holes in the  top to achieve thisMiller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Opus;Thanks for your thoughtful response, you have clearly done some ss welding! Where are you from? Just curious. You said: "No preheat because the bung is only twice the thickness of the keg.Preheating the heavier section to wet is in the Aluminum camp.Steel and S/S, thin to thick, wet easily for defined results. Balancing the arc differential between the bung to keg girths, with filler, is literally 'in your hands', and much easier than you may think."What did you mean about "thin to thick"? I am thinking wet the thick then briefly wet the thin and dip. Also, should I seek 0.45 ss filler rod or use ss mig wire?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Elliot,Id wanna play with my toys too, but the weld less fittings work great on keggles.  I've had them on my keggle and 25 gallon megapot for over 250 batches without a fail.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Drf255Well to me it is a personal challenge, not about being practical! But I get it, weldless is the way to go but I'm not a brewer, I'm a hobby welded! I have included some test welded I used for practice, I gather the grunge on the bottom is the sugaring they talk about?Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2 Attached ImagesMiller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Opus, this should work for a fine tig wire don't you think  Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2 Attached ImagesMiller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:I'm making a smoker out of a few SS kegs and they are all 16ga not 14ga.  The rims on the top and bottom are a bit thicker but they are separate pieces that are welded to the keg.
Reply:Originally Posted by [email protected], this should work for a fine tig wire don't you think
Reply:My pPAS gave me a dozen .045 sticks of Ss tig wire, so I'm in biz!Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:LWS (damn autocorrect)Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Picture of said Keg?  If it has ribs that are the largest diameter on the Keg, cut the Keg at the high point of the Rib, now take the top off and cut what is left of the rib off the top. You can now drop the lid on and inside the pot so it stays put and seals well. I have a few of these. They make the best pots. If you tried to buy comparable, Oh boy, expensive!"Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:Kolot, I would love to see a picture of that pot sounds like a fun project ,I have some large stainless kettles I got as a gift but it would be fun to have 1 made out of a beer keg  Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Why did I know farmer Sam would go there! That's keggle, not kegal. It's a brewing vessel not an exercise!Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup