Beer Keg for smelting pot

[Bo1]

I've been reading about all of the things that make a good smelting pot, and I have determined that a full size beer keg cut in half would make a great smelting pot. It has a very sturdy ring around the bottom, it fits perfectly on a fish fryer burner, and best of all, it is made out of stainless steel.

What say you????

Bo

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

it should work most excellent........(holding back sarcastic comment about how much pot you can smelt in a beer keg)

[Gelandangan]

Make sure you drink all the beer inside first.. no sense in waste :)

[Don Purcell]

Are they stainless steel or aluminum? If aluminum don't do it!

[429421Cowboy]

You mean you didn't take it back for your deposit??

I also was thinking along the lines of JonB with a sarcastic response to the title...

I believe most kegs are stainless to keep the beer colder but I'm not sure about that, I don know I would like to get a few empty kegs for different projects including a grinder stand, never thought about smelting but they would work nice for that if they were steel, since they are so thin. Actually, on second thought, aren't some kegs two piece? With a liner and a shell, wouldn't they separate after you cut them?

[Bo1]

All of the kegs down here are stainless steel. Thay are also a solid vessel. The only thight you need to do to it is remove the valve, with the stem going down into the barrel, and cut it in half... :grin:

[BBQJOE]

Every keg I've ever seen was aluminum.

[Bo1]

Every keg I've ever seen was aluminum.

Joe, there are some aluminum kegs out there, but the majority of them are made of SS, they just look dull.


Beer kegs are made of stainless steel, or less commonly, of aluminium. A keg has a single opening on one end. A tube called a "spear" extends from the opening to the other end. There is a self-closing valve that is opened by the coupling fitting which is attached when the keg is tapped. There is also an opening at the top of the spear that allows gas (usually carbon dioxide) to drive the beer out of the keg. The coupling fitting has one or two valves that control the flow of beer out of and gas into the keg. The keg must be in the upright position, that is, with the opening on top for the beer to be dispensed

[7Acres]

I just made my first smelting rig out of one. Holds ~400lbs. A joy to use. Go for it!

[BBQJOE]

I just checked the three I have for when I used to brew beer. It's quite possible they are stainless steel. I always assumed they were aluminum.
I don't see any markings though.

[SlowSmokeN]

I just checked the three I have for when I used to brew beer. It's quite possible they are stainless steel. I always assumed they were aluminum.
I don't see any markings though.


Get a magnet, it should tell you everything.

[BBQJOE]

Get a magnet, it should tell you everything.
Magnet no sticky. These are over 10 years old. Maybe stainless became the norm after that.
I wish they were tin. :-)

[jonp]

Make sure you drink all the beer inside first.. no sense in waste :)

Real men beer quench their boolits then do a keg stand

[jcameron996]

For the most part stainless steel is non-magnetic. The magnet may or may not tell you what you want to know.

[Lights]

If they are made 303 stainless they are non magnetic.

[7Acres]

My beer keg smelter is Stainless Steel.

[turmech]

Can't say they are all stainless steel but everyone I have seen was. They are re-purposed for a lot of things around hear. They make excellent fuel tanks for boats and crab steamer pots. Should work well as smelting pot. And I thought stainless was not magnetic.

[Lights]

Can't say they are all stainless steel but everyone I have seen was. They are re-purposed for a lot of things around hear. They make excellent fuel tanks for boats and crab steamer pots. Should work well as smelting pot. And I thought stainless was not magnetic.


Nope most stainless has some magnetism. 420 stainless is vary magnetic. I know I use it to make cavities and cores for plastic injection tools. 300 series of stainless will not stick to a magnet. I needed to make a core from some once and put it on the surface grinder magnet to grind it flat. Needless to say it did not stay put at all.

[Gibbs44]

My experience in making my stainless casting bench it that the stuff does not like the drill. Pick a lip on the off side that you wanted to use and put a hand drill to it. I'd imagine a drill would go right through aluminum, but not stainless. Perhaps I just had some tough steel I was dealing with, but it make sense as some safe companies use it help guard against cutting and drilling.

[BBQJOE]

I'm also willing to bet Budweiser doesn't want their kegs ending up in the aluminum recycle bin, so SS might be a good choice.

[Jim]

I ruined many a bit trying to drill various grades of stainless until a much older and more experienced gentleman taught me the trick. Use water, not oil. Keep a small stream of water on it, keep the RPMs low and it works. Oh yeah, and if the bit ain't 'brand new' sharp, don't even think about it.