Brew Kettle

Converted Kettle to All Electric 12-03-2003

15.5 gal converted keg kettle.  Had to bolt some angle iron to the old turkey fryer stand so the keg would sit on it properly.

 I converted the kettle to electric using a 5500 watt element and a home built controller using a solid state relay as outlined on Ron La Borde's site http://hbd.org/rlaborde/controll.htm The circuit controls the voltage duty cycle from 10% to close to 100% allowing me to set the desired boil rate.

5500 Watt 240VAC Element $11.00, controller circuit, SSR and box $75 and best of all NO MORE PROPANE REFILLS.

My First Kettle

This was my first kettle, a turkey frying kit at Sam’s Wholesale for $60.  It came with the 7.5 gallon SS kettle, stand, and a 170K BTU ring burner. 

Adding A Valve To A Converted Keg

For the valve I drilled a 3/4" hole and used a rat tail file to widen it enough for a 1/2" to 3/8" brass reducer to be lightly threaded from the inside out.  I then used a propane torch to sweat the reducer into place with lead-free solder.  

I used it this way for several month till the kettle tipped over while in storage and cracked the seal.  I bolted it back in place the same way I did on my first kettle as shown below.

Adding a Valve to Turkey Fryer Keg

Parts needed:  One 1/2" brass close nipple $1.90, two 1/2" pipe thread brass nuts $1.40, two washers (Napa Auto - copper oil drain plug washers) $2, one 1/2" brass valve with SS ball $4, barbed nipple $2. 

Total cost: $11.30

I couldn't find locally any high temperature silicon O-rings but did have some liquid high temp silicon glue. I smeared a small amount on the threads and washers and  tighten everything up.  Then wiped off the access and allowed a couple of days of drying and it  worked great.  No leaks!

Details for Adding Valve

First I drilled the hole out with a 3/4" bi-metal hole saw about 1 and 1/4" from the bottom.  Note: A 3/4" hole saw makes a hole slightly smaller than a 1/2" pipe thread.  I used a smaller hole since the kettle walls are thin.  By screwing into the smaller hole it sort of made it's own threads giving it a little extra reinforcement. 

To get a water tight seal I coated all threads and the nuts with high temp silicon sealant.  Also placed a small amount between the washers.  After everything was snug, I wiped off the excess silicon. And that's all there is to it.  Took less than an hour including cleanup. Locating the parts was the hardest part. 

You could use the same setup in SS but the parts may be more difficult to locate.  Personally I have no problem using brass and copper in a boil kettle.  If your worried about the lead found in brass you can follow the instructions on this site to minimize the risk of getting lead into your wort. http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

Adding A Bazooka T

First time I used the new valve, trub plugged up the hole so I ordered the Bazooka T and it works great.   One thing I didn't like was the amount of liquid left in the kettle.  Since a smaller tub holds a better suction, I used copper reducers to go from 1/2" to 3/8".  I also extended to tubing into the "T" so it picks up all but about half a cup of liquid in the kettle. 

Parts used: 3/4" pipe to 1/2 copper adapter, 2 - 1/2" copper nipples (made from a piece I had on hand), 2 - 1/2" to 3/8" copper reducers and a piece of 3/8" tubing.

The end of the 3/8" tubing that goes into the Bazooka T was ground down at an angle so it would be level with the liquid.  This allows the suction of the tubing to pull out extra wort from the kettle.  

I originally didn't solder any of the connections to makes it easier to remove for cleaning.  However after several batches it developed a leak and required soldering to maintain the seal.

I've used 3 oz's of pellet hops in a five gallon batch and the Bazooka didn't clog up.  I've read others having clogging problems if using only pellet hops.  I believe this is due to using too much Irish Moss.  I use ~1/2 teaspoon and have yet to clog the screen completely.  Using only pellet hops has slowed the flow slightly, but a small amount of whole hops helps to setup a good filter bed.

Next to my Auto-Syphon this is the best gadget I've purchased to date.

I moved the Bazooka T to the converted keg.

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This page was last updated on January 6, 2004