copper kettle project

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GranillaNutz

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between a 2 yr old daughter, a nagging wife, and alchoholism... mabye i' will finish this someday...
brewkettle-3.jpg

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brewkettle-6.jpg

brewkettle-1.jpg


after a lot of crimping and pounding and heating, got the bottom for one about ready... hopefully i can get two, at least 10 gallon pots, and tops for them out of this sheet... if not i got more. i'd rather make one for free than pay a grand for one... or even 50 bux... free is allways better... and it keeps my brain occupied...
i will keep this adventure updated as well as life will allow me... any input or criticism is welcome.
 
not to be a downer man... but if you are struggling with alcoholism, I am not sure this is the hobby for you. I love beer, but a man should know his limits.

Peace and good luck
 
Boerderij_Kabouter said:
not to be a downer man... but if you are struggling with alcoholism, I am not sure this is the hobby for you. I love beer, but a man should know his limits.

Peace and good luck
Click to expand...

Spoken truth. A spectacular hobby, but only if you know your limits.

This may sound weird though, but prior to brewing I drank too much, no doubt about it. Now that I am brewing I find myself appreciating the craft of beer, the effort involved etc. No more cheap swill for me. As such I have cut down my drinking alot!
 
thank you donaldson... at least somebody has a sense of humor... i didn't think the word "alchoholism" would be taken so seriously... alchohol is the LEAST of my problems... el oh el... i've been to AA before, but it was because i failed a drug test for my job for marijuana... and AA told me that if i've EVER takin a sip of alchohal i was considerd an alchoholic... mabye i should tone my humor down for the more serious people out there... i would say that i'm not an alchoholic, but another thing they said at AA was "denial is the first step to admitting you're an alchoholic"
i love to drink beer, and i'm still a productive member of society.. i've never been in jail for an alcholic related crime, nor do i beat my wife or child... sooooo i think i'm doing allright... hopefully i've cleared this up for yall... cheers :)
 
GranillaNutz said:
thank you donaldson... at least somebody has a sense of humor... i didn't think the word "alchoholism" would be taken so seriously... alchohol is the LEAST of my problems... el oh el
Click to expand...

Ha! And if it WERE, it wouldn't be anyone else's damn business anyways. The least of which would be a bunch of homebrewers focusing their efforts on making alcohol! :D

I love the idea for the project, can't wait to see it take shape. How are you going to attach the sides to the bottom? Do you solder those together just like copper tubing, or is there some other method involved?
 
i'm going to rivet them with copper split rivets first then weld them with copper rods using an oxy acetylene torch so it's all copper and no solder... solder would fail with the heat of boiling and more important, most solder contains contaminants that i don't want in my beer...
 
GranillaNutz said:
i'm going to rivet them with copper split rivets first then weld them with copper rods using an oxy acetylene torch so it's all copper and no solder... solder would fail with the heat of boiling and more important, most solder contains contaminants that i don't want in my beer...
Click to expand...

Wow, very cool...can't wait to see more pics of the project!
 
Sorry Gran!:drunk:

I didn't get the sarcasm.... weird

For some alcoholism is not a joking matter and I apologize for taking you seriously on that note.

Your project sounds awesome!!!! We want to see pics :ban:
 
That is s**t hot, man - I love it! Is the plan just to solder up the joints? Did I miss you saying how it would all go together?
 
well the idea is to do it like this guy did... but on a larger scale
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcw2_n7tP5k]YouTube - Copper Frustum Construction[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOz6--oa3d8]YouTube - Copper Pan Construction[/ame]
 
my boss's shop... had a lot left over from a house that was being renovated, that house got destroyed by gustav so the original plan got aborted... apart from doing electric work, i do a little bit of roofing too, and mechanic work, and welding, and woodworkin, and etc. etc. etc.
just found that my local scrap yard could sell me a 3x10 sheet for 60 bux... 30lbs worth at 2.00 a lb... they buy it at 1.00 a lb right now
 
my progress so far...
copperpot.jpg

copperpot2.jpg


got most of the rivets in that i need... i may put more... it's pretty tedious hammering rivets together one by one... mabye next weekend or tomorrow if i have time, i'll break out the torch and get to finishing this one... i should have enough copper to make 2 more with tops and bottoms..
so far here's my tool list... (all of which i borrowd from my mother in law so if u don't at least have these tools... u shouldn't try to do anything by urself):
lil raggady ball pin hammer
rubber mallot
another lil ragady hammer (all three of which had to have been over 80 years old)
a fabric tape measure out the sewing box
a benzo mapp torch (that's for those hot saturday nights i guess... iuno what she's doin with that)
drill with small high speed drill bits
xm radio on track 14 bluegrass junction
pack of marlboro lights
and a nieghbor that hates to hear me hammerin
so far i've spent 6 dollars on a sh!tload of copper rivets
 
I am VERY INTERESTED in this project. Im a plumber who works with a lot of copper and solder, always wondered if it was even possible. Please give us some details on how you are join the metals, I am not familiar with copper rod. Been dreaming of a large scale brew set up, how big could you make a copper kettle?
 
I worked with an old copper kettle (1950's?) from Germany at Portland Brewing. It was 130 BBLs.

The mash tun was copper as well with a brass false bottom.

You could see brass rivets in some of the spots along the seams.

I love copper kettles! No caustic! Just power washing once a week.
 
some where on http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ i remember a thread discussing how to tin the inside of large stil..eehem pots (purely a historical discussion) basically tin was used due to its higher melting point. the tin plug and pot was heated until the tin got mushy and was ran around the inside.

Your probably a better welder that i am because i would not try and OA a thin copper sheet with copper filler. I only mention it as a second option.

still an awesome project

link
 
So, the last we heard from him was in December 2008. That's nearly two years ago, WTF?
 
Mpez said:
You can't. It was a joke. Read the thread.
Click to expand...

It was obviously a joke, but I must admit that the thought did cross my mind. IIRC, exposing copper to acidic foods can cause toxicity issues, but there may be more to it than that.

Something must have happened though, as his posting came to an abrupt halt for some reason. He seemed to be having fun showing off his metal working skills, so I would have expected him to post the finished project. He did mention in the early posts that he was having some problems, but that was all.

Prior to the development of aluminum and stainless steel, copper was about the only choice for a brewing kettle. Iron and regular steel would be susceptible to rust and that could mess up the brew.
 
No need to worry about copper poisoning. As already mentioned, copper predates other brew kettle mediums. In fact even today the Pilsner Urquell brewery employs brew kettles, mash mixers, decoction kettles, and lauter tuns which are all built from copper.

While there is no denying that copper can be toxic, your body actually needs copper in smaller amounts. It is only an issue in large amounts. Brewing in copper is not introducing copper in anything close to toxic amounts.

The same can be said of lots of other things. Something as basic as water is also toxic in large enough amounts.
 
Making your own copper kettle should be great.
maybe in future you`ll go into home-kettle
insted home_brew-
congratulations
 
Once I wanted to craft my own copper kettle. In "Youtube" I found some tutorials,
but that was all. Finally I got a quite unexpensive 100 liters aluminium kettle, a material recomended by Charly Papazian.
Well, If our friend decides to go further...for sure he will finish his copper kettle.
I hope he does it.

cheers from South Pacific
 

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