Brew Kettle Keg (Keggle)

If you want to start home brewing, or step up from that 20 quart pot you have been using, this is the Instructable for you.  A keggle is great vessel for heating your brew and can be obtained for a relatively low price.  The 15 gallon capacity of most kegs makes it possible to boil whole five gallon batches.

If your missing any of the tools that I use in the instructable, stop by Techshop and use our tools instead.

Step 1: Tools and Supplies

Your going to need a few things for this project.

• Step-Drill bit - Should be able to drill up to a 3/4" hole.  You could use another drill bit, but a step-drill bit will make the process much easier.
• Hammer and Chisel - You can use a flathead screw driver instead of a chisel if need be.
• Small Flathead Screwdriver - Just need a small wedge to pry off the retaining ring.
• Pliers/ Vice Grips -  Need to be big enough to grab the interior part of the weldless fitting.
• Wrench -  must be proper size for the exterior of the weldless fitting.
• Drill Bit - For creating a hole for plasma cutter to slide into. 1" worked for me.
• Hand Held Drill
• Drill Press - optional, could use the hand drill instead, but will be a little easier with a press.
• Angle Grinder and Flap disc
• Plasma Cutter
• Mig Welder - If you don't have one, something like J-B Weld should work. 
• Keg - Craigslist is a good place to find these.
• Weldless Ball Valve Assembly -  These are pretty easy to find at online brew stores.  Here is a similar one to mine.
• Scrap Metal - For making the jig
• Safety Gear - welding gloves, safety glasses, welding helmet.

As a note, I did not take pictures of the first 4 steps (up to cutting out the top) as I was actually doing them.  So the pictures seen are re-enactments,  you may notice the blue masking tape holding the lid in place.

Comments

[streetrod5]

Great job - I like how you made a jig to cut a nice circle with the plasma cutter. I've always messed up my freehand cuts, so that is a perfect solution. I believe the jig could be modified to accommodate an angle grinder (maybe using one of the grinder's threaded handle mounting holes).

I saw one video where they tied a rag over the valve and then released the pressure with a long screwdriver.

Prost!

[NovelUserName]

Nice instructable, I think you covered the basics here pretty well.

I made a very similar with less sophisticated tools last year. I used a loop of string and a sharpie to mark a circle around the keg's valve. Then I used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel and some patience to cut out the top. If you have a steady hand this actually works pretty well. I mention it because many of us don't have access to a plasma cutter, so we need to find an alternative solution.

Also for others who might want to try this: I wasn't able to remove the valve on mine despite some hours of fiddling, so I left it in when I cut the top out. As long as you make sure the pressure is drained before cutting, this works out OK.

One other thing I did which was very helpful is I made sure that the opening I cut matched the glass lid for my pasta pot (standard 10 inch lid I think). It's nice to be able to put a lid on the keggle while you are chilling/draining the wort.

Lastly I'd reccommend getting a ball valve assembly with a pickup tube. This will help you siphon all the wort out down to about 1/2cm left at the bottom of the keg. Otherwise you will 'lose' some liquid below the level of your valve.

Cheers