Grinding in an apartment

[nrjones89]

I don't have a shop area to grind off the top of my keg. I have 2 options. Either use my shop extension cords and do it outside, or do it in my kitchen area. What do you recommend? I am a little nervous about the neighbor tennants reporting me if I am seen outside doing this, but that is obviously the safer option.

 

[The_Bishop]

Honestly? Sell the keg and buy a 15-16 gal kettle. It'll likely be a break-even proposition and kettles are about 100x easier to clean/maintain/modify.

 

[BrunDog]

Never cut metal inside... it will leave grinding dust and possibly metal flake everywhere. Do it far away outside in the middle of a weekend day when nobody sweats the noise.

 

[AkTom]

/\ this. Do it outside and let the neighbors wonder. You'll be finished before they know it.

 

[Transamguy77]

I second not inside and if you fill the keg with water first it will be a little quieter.

 

[BrunDog]

True but what if you drop the grinder into it?

 

[Transamguy77]

True but what if you drop the grinder into it?

Well I didn't think of that.....i used an air powered cut off wheel so it wouldn't have mattered if I dropped it in it.

I guess just be careful or don't fill it to the top so you can try and catch it if it falls out of your hand.

 

[Toejam792]

If you protect from sparks it won't hurt anything. It will just be smoky, you will have that sweet grinder smell for a little while and the fun grinder dust. I'm a carpenter and grind stuff inside all the time. If it was my house I would take it outside just so I don't have to clean all the dust. Also protect the fire alarm, if its tied to the system you will have firefighters there if you set it off.

 

[mongoose33]

I have a basement shop and I wouldn't do it in there. If you have to do it, do it outside.

And I second the idea of getting a regular kettle.

 

[ong]

What could they possibly report you for? And yes, it makes a pretty noteworthy mess.

 

[PADave]

Also with the get a kettle crowd.

 

[JohnSand]

Go to a body shop, or machine shop, or junkyard. Tell them it's for making beer, promise them a case, give them $20.
Then go home and buy a kettle.

 

[Staticsouls]

I did my keggles in my bath tube with a dremel, and angle grinder. The dust was everywhere. Would I do it again? Hell yeah.

 

[TheDylster]

- Do it outside, in an area where there are no flammables.
- Wear safety glasses
- Don't fill the keg with water to dampen the noise, very dangerous. Cutting steel with a grinder is loud, deal with it and wear ear plugs

 

[ajdelange]

OK. I'll bite (someone has to). What's the danger if it's filled with water?

 

[MaxStout]

I'm with the kettles>keggles crowd. I've done both.

But if you want to do a keggle, be a good neighbor and grind outside.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Also, give your neighbors a heads up, tell them what you are doing and when you expect to finish. They are more likely to complain to management than to you, so head it off early. Good luck!

 

[augiedoggy]

What could they possibly report you for? And yes, it makes a pretty noteworthy mess.

My guess is for being different. People are afraid of what they dont know. They might think hes making a meth lab or something stupid like that.
.. Try this while living in a condo and see what happens... many dont even allow a bbq grill on a persons patio theres little room for individuality in the hive lifestyle.

I did the keggle thing outside and then replaced it a year later with a cheap ebay kettle...keggles are heavy bulky and a pain in the ass to use as kettles compared to an actual kettle.

 

[Kee]

OK. I'll bite (someone has to). What's the danger if it's filled with water?

You may have to let the grinder dry out if you drop it into the water?

 

[cubalz]

Just buy a 15 gallon kettle. You will be far better off and it is much more user friendly than a keggle.

 

[stlblues5010]

I used a jig saw with a metal blade, hardly any dust outside of the keg. Most of it fell into the keg.
Use a drill to make a hole bigger than the blade inside the cut out. I used the rim as a guide for the jig saw.

 

[beernutz]

Wear ear protection and grind outside.

 

[passedpawn]

Wear ear protection and grind outside.

Hearing protection for sure. Awful noise.

Regarding dropping the tool into the keg: I can't imagine dropping an angle grinder while using it, but I guess anything's possible. If you leave the spear attached, it'll keep the top from falling into the keg once the entire circumference is cut. I've never done it that way (I remove the spear), but I guess it'd work fine. And, it'd make it impossible to drop anything into the keg.

 

[nrjones89]

I just ended up renting a garage. I tripped the power once, so the receptacles in the garage units must not be rated very high.

Managed to cut a near perfect circle, now I just need to smooth the edges. I cleaned out the inside last night and let it dry out. The top edges that were ground out are now rusty. How do I remove the rust and treat it so it is galvanized again?

 

[passedpawn]

I just ended up renting a garage. I tripped the power once, so the receptacles in the garage units must not be rated very high.

Managed to cut a near perfect circle, now I just need to smooth the edges. I cleaned out the inside last night and let it dry out. The top edges that were ground out are now rusty. How do I remove the rust and treat it so it is galvanized again?

Barkeeper's friend. It contains an acid that will remove any surface iron on the cut edge. The chromium content in the SS will immediately oxidize, resulting in rust prevention. It's referred to as re-passivating the steel (galvanization refers to steel containing zinc, which has same function but isn't as pretty )

 

[itsnotrequired]

kegs are stainless, there is no galvanizing. more than likely, the rust you are seeing is ferrous particles from the grinding wheel. run a stainless scouring scrunchie over the cut and then use barkeepers friend.

 

[nrjones89]

Perfect! Exactly the information I needed guys. Can I use BKF to clean the outside of the kegs? What kind of grinder attachment should I get to buff the keg out?

 

[madscientist451]

I'm wondering where you are going to fire up your keggle brewing rig if you live in an apartment?
My 2 cents: -
- You really don't need to brew large batches. Brewing more often gives you more variety.
-Figure out what your kitchen stove can boil and brew that amount. 4 gallon batches are a good compromise, you can use 5 gallon carboys for fermenting, and that's a good amount for kegging.
-A smaller kettle is much easier to clean.
-Your location says Sioux Falls, isn't it super cold there in the winter? Are you planning on being an outside brewer?
-You'll eventually get a bigger place and can brew bigger batches if you want to. Until then, work with what you have.

 

[nrjones89]

I'm going to light propane in my kitchen obviously. I'm going to use my cat dipped in gasoline to ignite it, too!

I am building an electric brew kettle out of the keg. It will be powered with the range outlet using GFCI protection. 4500w ULWD heater, under 30 amps, but a 240v circuit with custom built PID panel and RTD.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

I'm going to light propane in my kitchen obviously. I'm going to use my cat dipped in gasoline to ignite it, too!

May I suggest tiki torch oil instead of gas......just thinking about safety.

 

[Esmitee]

I did my keggles in my bath tube with a dremel, and angle grinder. The dust was everywhere. Would I do it again? Hell yeah.

LOVE it, Now thats pretty Ballzy !

 

[madscientist451]

I'm going to light propane in my kitchen obviously. I'm going to use my cat dipped in gasoline to ignite it, too!

Dead Kittens and puppies make better lighters than an adult cat.
Just fill the keg with propane, jam a flaming dead kitten in the opening and you won't have to worry about grinding off the top.

 

[MaxStout]

Perfect! Exactly the information I needed guys. Can I use BKF to clean the outside of the kegs? What kind of grinder attachment should I get to buff the keg out?

One thing you could do if you want to add some bling factor to the keg. Use a random orbit sander and sand over the outside of the keg. Start with fairly coarse sanding discs (maybe 120 or 150 grit), and repeat with finer and finer grits. Then buff. Takes a LOT of work, but looks really cool.


(not my keggles, but a good example)

 

[The_Bishop]

Or just buy kettles and they're already shiny?

 

[MaxStout]

Or just buy kettles and they're already shiny?

I think OP has his heart set on keggles, but yes, shiny kettles would be my option.

To each their own.

 

[passedpawn]

Perfect! Exactly the information I needed guys. Can I use BKF to clean the outside of the kegs? What kind of grinder attachment should I get to buff the keg out?

Yes to BKF. You'll want a flap disk attchment for your grinder to clean up the cut. Then get grinder polishing pads and polishing grit for the outside. It's a lot of backbreaking effort to make it mirror-like. I'm glad I did mine, but I don't think I'd do it again.