Keg Converting - HLT, Boil Kettle, Mash Tun - Hot Liquor Tank

Please visit www.cellardweller.net/ sign up to the forum and meet other home brewers..
Come and talk home brewing on my Justin.TV channel.
www.justin.tv/gash_slugg
Fridays 8pm - 11pm Australian EST and various other random times.

[@barrypurves4524]

Building a small dam around a drill site with pastiscene, play dough, caulking can help entrain the coolant for cutting saving drill bits by keeping them cool. Love the oil/water emulsion coolant!

[@CezarRochaNeto]

Gash, I'm building an e-herms system so I.have seem tons of keggle convertion videos and honestly this is the best so far! Very instructive ,specially with care about overheating the drill bit! THANKS for sharing!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers mate! Good Luck!

[@douglaseppley7221]

I watched one other video and the guy doing it went into great detail and was very technical. I didn't need all that. This video was detailed to the point, but not overwhelming with details. Very easy to follow. I would recommend this video to others. Thank you!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thank you for watching, cheers!

[@salamander12]

very informative - hopefully, I'll be following your methods soon. Thanks much for the video!

[@pookanc]

Nice How To Video. Good Advice on the Cutting Fluid and Stressing Safety while doing the Project. Cheers Gash!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thanks for watching Pooka! Cheers mate!

[@martinwarner1178]

Ten mins. in, I know this fellow is good. Greetings, thanks, and good will from a beer lover in England. Peace be unto you.

[@mackerelmadness68]

Thanks for the information in the video Gash Slugg. I'm going to Melbourne next week to pick up a keg like that and have found a good esky for a mash tun so starting to get set up for all grain. Cheers

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Sounds good mate! Cheers!

[@SmartyPints]

Nice video Gash. Solid flow on steps. Safety safety safety! Cheers mate.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers Graham! Thanks for watching mate!

[@paulquinn9734]

Thanks mate, easy to understand your description, has helped me a lot.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Paul Quinn No worries mate! Cheers

[@HaikuAutomation]

Love the 'truth', the reality of your videos. Nice job!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers mate!

[@fifis101]

Just for anyone keen to do this themselves, get a step drill bit. They are cheap as chips and will cut through the keg like butter and without cutting fluid.

[@mikeward7290]

Nice video, now i need to find or steal a keg! Cheers from Southern California.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

hahaha Cheers!

[@terryjenkins7327]

Good detailed instruction, thanks.

[@Graeck]

That T-Shirt is awesome!

[@Canadiansasquatchbrewery]

Good info! I like the cutting fluid trick. Very smart and thrifty! Thanks for posting! Cheers!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers mate thanks for watching!

[@Theandrew189]

When drilling stainless I have found that using water only to keep the bits cool works best.

[@homegrowntomatoes1]

Cheers, mate! Thank you for stressing the safety precautions! Best to you from a brewer in Alabama. -Kenn

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thanks for watching, cheers mate!

[@marvinmacon4619]

homegrowntomatoes1

[@StagArmslower]

The cut out piece can be use as a lid if you weld 3 large washers to the edge at 120 deg.

[@bugante]

This is a really excellent vid, covering all the aspects. I've had a keg sitting in my garage for about a year while I was searching for some plasma cutting specialist to come and do it for me....!! I'll defo take the plunge and do this. Only concern is getting the perfectly round cut for a 12" lid. Perhaps I'll feedback when it's done. Cheers!!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers mate! Good luck!

[@sambaba1008]

Rad video, so much great info. You've inspired me to build and not buy. Cheers brother!!

[@daviddavies2779]

Thanks very much. Appreciated.

[@ericG-rp4yx]

love the shirt!

[@Rookie_DIY]

Awesome how to gash. Need to make some of these.Cheers

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thanks for watching mate! Cheers!

[@Hotakeus]

Hey mate Great video!! any chance i could get a list of the parts/sizes on your keggle, just picked up an old keg to do a build on! again Awesome vids mate!!

[@TheGervarod]

hi there just wondering is there a list of page where i can go step by step from and where to get the items you used for the mash tun. Cheers Home brewer myself

[@thegallows126]

Hey mate, whats the best place to source a keg like this from? Tyvm for all the vids.

[@DeanJonesWA]

So does this mean that you never need a lid to put back on the top? I am wondering about doing Nitrogen style brews if you know of any good videos on this also?

[@preachtoob]

how wide do u do the circle?

[@steve45ca]

Great video Gash.... I`ve been building and filming mine this past week.... :)

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers Steve, looking forward to seeing it!

[@DullahanBrewing]

Good upload m8,very logical steps, i can vouch for those Chinese hole saws.Cheers.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers Greg! :D

[@petery2878]

Love it when you say ' use protection ,, whoo .. "

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I thought that would get you going lol

[@Shambler101]

Where can i find a part list for this

[@witjuti]

I like the cutting oil Idea mate , I will give that a go . I normally use " Export " brand water dispersant , its only $2 a can and works a treat for preserving my drill bits . I have tried WD40 and RP7 but they are nowhere near as good . Also where possible i use the bench drill on a slow speed to avoid the heat build up you mention .. Great Production dude . Cheers

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

+Pat M I used cutting oil when I was a fitter machinist and it was virtually the same thing, we didn't use 2-stroke oil though hahaha Cheers mate!

[@Sullybeerkits]

Love the video man it was helpful

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thanks mate! Cheers!

[@rsalgado29]

Sorry if I ask am interested in learning

[@bunghole650]

Keep up the great vids Gash i really look forward to them.I think keg king should sponser you.You could make a career out of this .Cheers 17!!!!!!!!!!!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

hahaha Thanks mate! I wish they would! Cheers!

[@ShawnBellman]

Use clay or silly putty to make a ring around the hole you want to drill so you dont have to keep resquirting the hole

[@OzDMC]

Awesome video Gash, thanks heaps. What did you use to clean the inside of the keg once you finished cutting and drilling?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I just washed it with some dishwashing liquid and then rinsed, and let air dry. Cheers! I've never passivated if thats what you mean, not one thing in 30 years of brewing, and even before brewing when I did my fitter machining trade we never passivated stainless, like we dont do it to our knives and forks... If you search for the Five Star Chemical instructions on it, they say use their chemicals... but in capitals "AIR DRY" ... air drying passivates stainless.. you can clean with acids,, but,, www.fivestarchemicals.com/wp-content/uploads/Acid-5-Tech2.pdf

[@rsalgado29]

nevermind I just saw a video but thanks have a great weekend

[@dazza9360]

Great vid Gash. In your experience would you recommend going out down the DIY path or purchasing say a Robobrew or similar. Is there really much difference in cost by the time you buy and fit all the accessories ? I am looking to upgrade from my Morgans extract brew set up. Thanx in advance for any help/advise given. Ta

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Sorry for the delay in reply. but Christmas stuff.. Making your own system is really great though it can get expensive, I bought most of my stuff from china very cheaply but if you realised you needed something extra then it was a few weeks wait or pay big prices, but then Kegland have some pretty cheap parts these days. You learn a lot about how everything works. On the other hand with a robobrew or the like you can be brewing in a few hours and they are relatively cheap. THey are usually a much faster clean up and easier to empty than most 3V set ups, although an esky is easy to empty but keggles arent. Brewery footprint is also a consideration. If you want to jump in, maybe grab a robobrew or something and you ca be brewing straight away and then start buying parts for your 3V if thats what you want. The beer will be the same no matter which way you chose. Cheers Dazza!

[@sburnham3]

a little clay or playdough,plumbers puddy, around the hole can hold a moat of oil while you drill. I was here looking for the thread on how you mounted the cheap heating element from the tea pot, or did you throw in the towel on that one for that larger element?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I still use the cheap elements in my boil pot, for sure! Here is the vid for them How to install cheap Kettle Elements for HLT or Boil Pot Home Brewing I use the bigger element in the hlt just because it has to heat 50 Litres of water from cold.

[@foodgrogblog155]

Hi, cheers for the video. With the Keg King element how long does it take to heat 20 or 30 litres to strike? and from mash to boil? Looking at this set up for BIAB. Thanks

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

umm never heated that much, but 45L of cold water to 70c for strike is usually somewhere between and hour and hour and a half. I havent used them for boiling although people do. If you want to boil a full 50L kegs worth you'll need 2 of them. Hope that helps. Cheers

[@evanbarker5611]

G'day Gash, awesome vid. Where are you sourcing your element and fittings?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

G'day mate, I got those fittings from kegking.com.au , Cheers!

[@12ernie]

Good video!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers Ernie!

[@cmreid123]

hi garry, i just wanted to ask, that heating element you have on the side, where abouts did you pick that up from and how long from your experience does it take to heat up the water to mash temp?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

G'day, its this one here kegking.com.au/2200-watt-stainless-steel-heating-element.html It takes about 75mins to heat up 47L to 72c. Cheers mate!

[@zequielsosa3111]

Greetings, I write to you from Venezuela and also I am a Handmade Brewer or at least here they call him like that, I continue closely your videos since you are one of most hit in the things that you do and do not walk with so many secrets. He wanted to ask you that measurement is the drill or stuffs that you use to open the hole in the barrel and if it is of some material in specific. Here it is very difficult to acquire a professional team, so it is necessary to improvise and nevertheless it is costly, at least the wick that you use to open the hole do not bandage here and it is necessary to be in charge to bring it and sew so for example. He forgives if my English is not the best.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

G'day, the hole for my element is 32mm. And this is the kind of drill I used. www.ebay.com.au/itm/15-100mm-Stainless-Steel-Carbide-Tip-Metal-Drill-Bit-Set-TCT-Hole-Saw-Tool-Kit-/121105889516?pt=AU_Power_Tools&var=&hash=item1c327938ec Let me know if you need more information! Cheers mate!

[@zequielsosa3111]

Gash Slugg Thanks for its help

[@toddgermaine]

great video

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thanks for watching , Cheers!

[@Tonyor1977]

cool video thanks

[@AdelaideGraffScene]

Hey mate, where abouts did you buy the element and sight level glass and all the fittings? Cheers!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

+Tooty Reuty's Brewery The element and most fittings were from Keg King, the sight glass was from iBrew, but last I looked they didnt have them anymore, although Keg King do have them now. Cheers!

[@StinkyWizzleTits]

I wish you had of posted this before I went and got a step drill set of ebay lol.Ill try and get a hole saw in Melbourne. Cant wait for ebay atm.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

The step saw should work! I just believe these are better. If you can't find one at a hardware, Keg King have them in Springvale.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers!

[@slugger777]

What kind of element are you using. I.e. what should I search for to get an element that will work and fit up properly to my kettle?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I was using this one here for my HLT bit.ly/2200Element dependiing on what you use it for and batch size you might use 2 or you might get a bigger element. Cheers!

[@jezjeremy2010]

Do you have any videos doing a brew in the Keg ?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I only used this as a HLT in my set up, that was in a few videos, black metal IPA etc Cheers

[@daviddavies2779]

Hey mate Nice job. Can you tell me where you got the sight glass and heating element from? Thanks very much.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Element and cord. www.kegland.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=element&cmid=U1VxL0FMYmxTRzA9&afid=NHRQa2ViaTBnT0k9&ats=V2dpVFFYTmszWDA9

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

and I used this www.ibrew.com.au/products/sight-gauge-16 and this www.ibrew.com.au/products/sight-gauge-through-wall-adapter . There wasnt much choice back then. There are others around these days too.

[@Henus184offical]

great vid, im just about to do the same with my 3 empty kegs, where did you get the sight glasses and heaters from ?? im in Sydney, wish you were local !! im looking for a welder, but I could do this on my own. Cheers !!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

The sight glass was bought online from www.ibrew.com.au/ and the element was from www.kegking.com.au/ Cheers mate!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

these days both are probably available from each shop.

[@veljacvetkovic]

What is maximum volume you can boil in this keg without splashing and boil over?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

ummm probably around 40L, I use mine as a HLT and fill it to 47L for that, so reckon if you were to boil in keg maybe just over 40L

[@DrtERotinBasstrd]

Cheers Gash. Love your build vids. Would you suggest 2 elements with vessels larger than 5 gals? I have an 8 US gal. Pot and I bought 2 120v 2000w elements from Amazon cause they were cheap as hell with no shipping. Overkill or not? Thank you, and Cheers again!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

too get a good boil I reckon you'd need 2. I haven't worked with 120V but I guess if the elements are rated 2000w they'd be the same as ours. Cheers mate!

[@mid70shomebrew99]

Great video. What specs do you have on your heater?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

2200 Watt, Thread: 32 x 1.5mm, Flange: 40mm. Element length: 290mm, Element diameter: 25mm. Cheers mate!

[@andy1982222]

Where did u get your temp probe and sight glass

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

They were from www.ibrew.com.au/ cheers!

[@mackerelmadness68]

G'day Gash. That nipple on the ball valve tap how long is that and where did you get that from, thanks mate

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

kegking.com.au/misc-plumbing-fittings/stainless-bsp-fittings/hose-barb-13mm-x-1-2-bsp-male.html but thats my local shop, Cheers!

[@robertdelgado9677]

where can I get all the parts for this build.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Where are you located? Cheers!

[@smgri]

hey that was awesome gash..let me ask you..does the o ring have to be a special heat sensitive o ring when you are buying the components ? Ohh and btw ..are they getting strict down under on guys grabbing kegs for conversion ? They are up North I know in Boston...

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Try and get the silicone orings, most will be if supplied with or bought from home brew stores. The old day basic rubber ones probably arent ideal. The orings should be used with the matching recessed nut and usually come as a pair, unless you are buying in bulk or separately of course. the recessed nut stops the oring from squeezing outside of the nut. And yes they have always been strict, I saved these from going into the back of a garbage truck, they are a little dented etc. but work perfectly!

[@smgri]

gotcha..thanks man..I will take that into consideration . Great vid..just watched your controller one..your like " Macgyver " !! IDK if you guys had that tv show down there..guy could make anything... an atom bomb out of a grapefruit..you name it !

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

scott garvey hahaha MacGasher

[@smgri]

:)

[@jonsutherland1]

hi, how do you calculate for all the "dead space" there must be a gallon or so wort that you just carn't get?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

fill it up, empty, and measure whats left. you can use pick up tubes to get to the bottom if you like. This was my HLT I didnt want it to be able to accidentally drain and leave the element exposed, so I leave this one without a pick up tube. For a boil kettle you probably want to leave behind about 1/2 gallon for the trub. Cheers!

[@jonsutherland1]

cool thanks....................

[@chiwitthidi]

Hey Gash. When marking the volume in the hlt, what temperature is the liquid? Thanks and cheers B.E. 555

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thats really up to you, I do mine cold and yep 47L when heated goes to about 47.5 or something, but its not really enough to hurt anything, biggest tip I'd give is double check your jug you use for filling, I bought one from a science shop thinking it would be accurate and it was out by a few hundred ml (2L jug), which makes a huge difference over 47L, lots more than heat expansion did. I used some accurate scales and weighed it out. Cheers mate!

[@chiwitthidi]

@@HomeBrewNetwork yeah I started out by weight but thought I'd ask as i wasn't sure how much volume would change with temperature. Thanks for the info and thanks for replying. Cheers!

[@chancekiki8488]

We’re did you get the heating element?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

www.kegland.com.au/2200-watt-stainless-steel-heating-element.html?cmid=U1VxL0FMYmxTRzA9&afid=NHRQa2ViaTBnT0k9&ats=V2dpVFFYTmszWDA9 Cheers!

[@kevintaylor7660]

What did you use as a lid Gash?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I got a $10 frypan lid from Kmart, its glass and has a silicone ring around to help it fit different sized pans, Cheers! www.kmart.com.au/product/silicone-universal-lid/166818?&gclid=CjwKEAjwue3nBRCCyrqY0c7bw2wSJACSlmGZEaHeccMM1sUUtxjZLPONB6-1lssGneYYuZ_Wn7bWRhoCPpXw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[@nathanwilson8033]

what did you do for a false bottom on this . or what did you do to use it as a mashtun

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I used this as HLT, for heating water for the brew day, but you buy ready made false bottoms for it, or make own manifold out of copper pipe or a bazooka tube. You'd just add an elbow on the back of the tap to lower it down closwer to the bottom and then screw it in. Cheers!

[@nathanwilson8033]

Gash Slugg thank you alot for getting back to me.. and all the info

[@Pebblesjtv]

hands, tatts, protection and bugger all in one video.... Im happy!!!

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

gotta love a good bugger now and then

[@0022eddy]

Where did you get that sight glass set up from?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

0022eddy hmmmm that was from a place online called ibrew.. Cheers mate!

[@0022eddy]

Thanks mate, will get onto one!

[@morrynq1049]

question what is the specs of the element and does it give a good rolling boil. Great video by the way!1 Morry

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

PANZER RBL G'day! Well of course it depends on the size of your boil and how well your pot is insulated. Just one of these elements in a non insulated pot is not enough to get a good rolling boil of 32L which is needed usually for a 23L batch. I use it in my HLT and it works great. It very nearly boils though, I havent tried insulating the pot though and it might work fine for smaller batches as in 19L etc I haven't tried though. Cheers mate!

[@morrynq1049]

thanks for that mate i am considering changing one of mine over to a BIAB kettle and with a higher false bottom to get the grain away from the heat/element just not sure about it yet just getting some ideas

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

PANZER RBL If you combined it with a heat stick it would have no problems at all, its gets so close to a boil on mine it isn't funny, I'll try it with insulation one of these days, asap.

[@alansilveyra]

Hi. Maybe you can help me. I'd like to convert a 7.75 gallon keg to a pot brew to make my beers but I have noticed that the surface is not plane for kegs in this size like it is in the big kegs and I'm afraid the ball valve couldn't be well fixed there (there is a salience in the place we normally put the tap/ball valve at the keg bottom). Actually I haven't seen people converting 7.75 gallon kegs but mostly 15.5 gallons keg size. Do you think it's possible to easy convert a 7.75 gallon keg? Thanks

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

G'day! I'm not sure of the kegs you speak of, could you post a link or a picture for this type of keg? The keg I converted was a 50L or 13 gallon. Cheers!

[@alansilveyra]

Sure! I speak of 30L like this: portinox.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/30L_EURO-720x720.jpg or getkeg.com/uploaded/30%20liter.jpg

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

***** okay, so you may have to put the valve up higher, but as long as you have a tube from the back of the valve to the bottom of the keg, and also a small hose on the front of the valve that hangs lower then the bottom of the keg you should be able to get a siphon action happening! I hop that helps! Cheers

[@alansilveyra]

Hi, thanks. I just forgot to say I plan to do all grain so the first keg would be used to cook the malt and there would be a bazooka screen to filter the wort in the recirculation process.

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

***** yep, you could use a piece of bent pipe from the back of the valve to the bazooka screen on the bottom , or I've seen people use 2 elbow pieces joined together to get the bazooka down to the bottom.

[@geoffvandermerwe6220]

Nice video! Where can I buy the heating element you use in this video ?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Thats a keg king element, most brew shops in Australia Will stock them too. kegking.com.au/2200-watt-stainless-steel-heating-element.html Cheers!

[@geoffvandermerwe6220]

Thanks mate ! have a good day ! Cheers

[@foxtonstreet]

@@HomeBrewNetwork hey mate how do you find the 2200W element goes? Does it take long to heat? How do you reckon it would go with a boil?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

@@foxtonstreet Its fine in my HLT probably takes around 75mins or so from cold to strike temp (70c) when full 47L, I havent used them fro boiling but people do, some use 2, not sure th biggest size batch you could do though. Cheers

[@colwk]

With how cheap the all in one systems are now is it still worth going a vessel?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

I think building a system is a really good learning experience and even with all in ones I still use a separate HLT. Cheers!

[@colwk]

@@HomeBrewNetwork thanks for the answer, with the guten 50L only $350 is there any benefit to going 3 vessel? I have a HLT that I'm using for biab at the moment but I'm tossing up building 3 vessel or buying all in one system. Thanks

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

@@colwk I havent seen a guten for a few years, I hope they've fixed em up. Few painful usage things, they probably have by now, last I heard they were trying to make them more like brewzillas and that a good thing.. Your beer wont taste any different. Singles are easier to clean etc.. No real benefit except as I said learning stuff, but not important. Cheers!

[@rsalgado29]

do you use that to boil? would the O ring melt? and when you have 10 galons how do you cool it? do you use a chiller? is there a way to make me own

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Rene Salgado The orings these days are silicone so they are fine, although some would be ok too. I use electricity although if you use gas you wouldn't want flame near your taps or fittings . never install a fitting near the holes in the bottom of the keg. You can also use a flame guard, just a piece of tin or something. Cheers mate!

[@rsalgado29]

Am using gas what do you recommend because it will be hard to flip the keg with 10 galons on to the fermenter

[@rsalgado29]

Thanks for the fast response

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

you'll need a tap in it. just keep the flames away. plate chiller is best for big batches but you can't make one. you could make a large counter flow chiller.

[@zequielsosa3111]

Does he forgive, that liquid you use to cool the piece?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Its Oil and Water with a drop of liquid soap in it, Cheers!

[@nickpower9165]

What about the top?

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

universal $10 fry pan lid from Kmart. Perfect.! Cheers!

[@dimash244]

"Nuts that are racist". made me laugh every time I watched this video amazing how accents make things sound differently

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

hahaha cheers mate

[@carlkessler303]

Turn on the autigenerated captions. At 15 seconds it thinks you're saying "g'day cheese red mold oh it's nice to drop on ants"

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

hahaha Cheers mate!

[@Greatday68]

I know this is an older video, But why go to the trouble of removing the center valve if your just going to cut the top off anyway, It seams like a waist of time and energy to me

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Wouldn't want to waste your time mate.... Its handy to know, if some one actually does want too. Besides that some people like to fill with water or sand or something to stop slag etc. Cheers mate!

[@Greatday68]

I will agree that it would be nice to know if your making a column type still, or if your if your wanting to fill it with other things, Or for the reason you didn't mention which would be so pressure didn't build up while your cutting the lid off because any beer left in the keg would build pressure with the heat being generated, Safety concern maybe, Other wise it would be in my opinion an unnecessary step for this project, This was a good video and something good to know for maybe a future project, Thank you

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

I'm glad he showed it, that's all I really wanted to know, i can add my column fitting from there.

[@bowhunterbear1]

great video

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Cheers mate!

[@rafer2002]

BoomStick

[@HomeBrewNetwork]

Shop smart, shop S-MART

[@rafer2002]

@@HomeBrewNetwork , pretty good movies

[@aussiejas6599]

ABBA