You know THEY did it wrong when...

[BarbarianBrewer]

I noticed a 1/2 inch dark spot near the bottom of my 5 year old kettle. It didn't come off after applying some elbow grease. Other than a small ridge I couldn't feel anything by touch. So I used my smartphone camera to take a picture of it. Imagine my dismay when I saw this...

I am further dismayed that I did not buy a Spike Brewing kettle last week when they had a sale....because I told myself that I didn't NEED a new kettle!

 

[Sunfire96]

Feels wrong to "like" it. So sorry about your loss

 

[Craigerrr]

That hurts

 

[GFHomebrew]

Oh now I see it a little hole.
Dam that sux.
You know old commercial kegs are pretty thick walled I'd say 3mm off the top of my head.
Their pretty cheap too if your prepared to do a bit of DIYing.

 

[Herm brews]

Well that sucks!
Does it look like the hole was maybe filled, but not filled well?

 

[Sunfire96]

Oh man, I thought it looked like the metal is flaking off too. So who made the kettle? How long was the warranty?

 

[Donoroto]

Ugh, my sympathy. It can be repaired by an experienced stainless welder.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

It was part of a DIY kit that cost just over $100. So definitely not top-of-the-line. From the grind marks around the damage, it looks like they tried to fix the problem when they manufactured the kettle. A couple years ago, when I took it apart for a thorough cleaning, I filled it with a bleach solution then forgot about it for a few days. That may have helped expose the defect.

I could probably have it fixed but, it would probably cost as much to fix it as buy a new quality kettle. Plus who knows if there are other defects waiting to expose themselves.

 

[west1m]

Some types of stainless steel and bleach is a bad combination.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

Considering the cost of this kettle, I'm sure it's one of those.

 

[Craigerrr]

Unfortunately welding any metal makes it more susceptible to corrosion.

 

[Hawkbox]

Yeah, for a brew kettle I would suggest maybe drilling it out like you were going to put a port in and then just putting a port seal in there instead? Or just get a new Anvil one cause you obviously have a lemon there.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

Yeah, for a brew kettle I would suggest maybe drilling it out like you were going to put a port in and then just putting a port seal in there instead? Or just get a new Anvil one cause you obviously have a lemon there.

That is a great idea! I still have the hole saw that came with the kettle. So, as long as the defect isn't wider than 3/4 inch it should work.

 

[Hawkbox]

Nice! Yeah as long as it is water tight that should solve your problem.

 

[Donoroto]

So what you need is a tinker!