Stainless steel brewery repair

I thought I would post some images of some of the things I do in Seattle for breweries.

formatting link

The text file has the full write-up.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler
Loading thread data ...

Geeze Ernie, from the quality of the advice you distribute around here about welding, I figured you were probably about 80 years old! What a suprise!

Why not add some triangular gussets inside the legs to keep them from snapping off, and tie the bottoms of the legs together with flat strap, to make them skid along the floor easier?

And of course, the obvious question, how many kegs of beer do you get paid for a job like that?

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

Reply to
jim rozen

Kewl stuff...I believe I was in one of these brewpubs the last time I was in Seattle!

You are much younger than I had imagined you. I pictured some old greybeard!!

Thanks

J

Reply to
James Arnold

:-) Stuff that dreams are made from :-)

THanks for the pictures and text - good info in the pictures.

Martin

Reply to
Eastburn

38 and feeling my years.

I can't weld outside the 1/8" circular pad without having to backpurge the whole tank, and so far none of the ones I have welded have had any problems. I suspect the failures are from a 40 year period of abuse. I would rather put them on wheels.

Well I don't actually drink beer. It makes me nauseous, but I do drink hard cider, though not often because of trhe sugar. I have had a free hard cider several times as they write the check.

It is one of the main reasons Ilike working for them. As soon as I am done I hand the manager an invoice. By the time I have the truck loaded with my tools, the check is ready.

It works out to about $100/hr.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

I just have an old soul.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

i've got one for you.. how did you weld the three legs on and get the correct orientation so that all three plates sit flat on the ground? (when you stand the thing up)

-tony

Reply to
tony

Well I didn't put the legs on in the first place. That was done about 40 years ago in England when the tanks were built for Milk production.

When they break off it is pretty easy to line up the cracked edge. I then grind in a narrow notch on both pieces and then grind the edges aay until the leg sits back where it is supposed to, then I grind back the paint on both sides of the break. I line up my notches and tack weld it in place.

So far it has worked perfectly.

The legs break off because Stainless steel is prone to stress fractures from continuous flexing. After many years of sliding the tanks over cement floors, and believe me, they don't slide quietly, the flexing of the plate by the pipe leg causes it to fracture. Over time the fracture circles the pipe leg, and clunk, it falls off.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Geeze..he's just a punk kid!

Now I feel old....sigh

Gunner

"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." --Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Reply to
Gunner

Ernie, thanks for the pics, it is nice to get a visual. What if you did have to purge the tank? Would you have brought in a large cylinder of Argon and do it right there? When you purge a tank of that size, how do you know when the tank is sufficiently filled with argon? Thanks.

Randy

Reply to
Randy Reid

Still a young lad! After 40, that's over the hill. :^)

They're getting a bargain, I suspect.

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

Reply to
jim rozen

Well. Ya still got raw power and rigidity!

Us old folks have to be content with somthing.

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

Reply to
jim rozen

Its good to see some younger folks doing this kind of stuff. This country cant just have lawyers, MBA's and bugger flippers. Someone has to be able to make stuff. Al

Reply to
Alpinekid

. . .

.

My gosh, it's Mike Graham of the left coast!!!! Twins!!!

Hmmm............ haven't read much form Mikey lately. Maybe he does lead a double life. Running from Miss Jamie maybe???????

Take care.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reply to
Brian Lawson

So, is this doubled up or what? 'Cuz that ring of overworking would cause leaks, wouldn't it?

Tim

-- "That's for the courts to decide." - Homer Simpson Website @

formatting link

Reply to
Tim Williams

What really scares me is that I almost thought it was a shot of me for a second.

It really has amazed me how many of us who enjoy this work look so much alike. :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Reply to
Wayne Cook

Careful there. I'm going to be 39 in Dec.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Reply to
Wayne Cook

It doesn't actually take that much argon to fill even a large tank. Argon is heavier than air, so I would have had to seal the lid of the tank, and roll the tank so one of it's fittings was on top. Then feed argon in from a hose for a few minutes to push all the air out the top.

I've done it before. Not really a big deal.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Burly guys tend towards burly work.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Mike's been offline for a little while now, don't know exactly why.

I had a theory for a while that Miss Jaime was just an alternate personality of Mike Graham.........but that just got too creepy to think about.

Mike is actually a bit younger than me.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.