DRILLING A HOLE IN STEEL POT FOR BALL VALVE

[periolus]

Hello!

I am after some techy know-how! If I want to drill a hole in a steel pot for a ball-valve, how big do I need to make it? I want to fit a 15mm ball valve.


ALSO - I want a hole at the top of the boiler to take a 15mm pipe in (detachable) - so a quick release hose-lock, or cam or something. WIll this just be a 15mm hole?

 

[Aleman]

For a 15mm or 1/2" BSP ball valve the hole needs to be 21 mm . . .Yes I know don't ask

 

[periolus]

Do you know, I thought it was for some reason but just didn't believe it in my own head

How strange. Fortunately, I now know someone with a VERY good drill and lots of bits, cutters etc.

 

[periolus]

AH! NOW I know what a holesaw is! And an Arbour! Hoorah! I'll be like Iron Man - I'll go to do my first AG and realise that I AM the brewery.

Oh this is going to be fun - no more metal-hole-a-phobia for me! Let's get power-tooled up. Oh, some painkillers first though. I dropped a Ford Mondeo Mk II on my thumb today, which split at the pad and bled everywhere :nono: Bad idea.

 

[31bb3]

use a qmax cutter you get a better cut

 

[periolus]

Oh, I had read about these before.. I have seen one that allows cutting through 1.62mm of SS. I take it that a 21mm Qmax cutter will cut a 21mm hole? Please let me know if that's not the case!

 

[31bb3]

Sorry cant help with the size of cutter but i know you need to drill hole big enough to fit allen bolt through which attatches to the cutter

 

[Muddydisco]

Yeah a 21mm q max will cut a 21mm hole you'll need a 10mm hole in the pot for the Allen bolt to go through to use the cutter

 

[periolus]

Nice one MD! Can I just ask, if I am making a hole in the base of a Thermobox, do I need to make the bigger hole on the outside all the way through the insulation and as far as the inner wall, and then bring the QMax through? Do I use a holesaw for the outside? I am going through the base to put a Burco Washboiler element in, as this is supposed to be the most convenient way - I think.

Would the pilot hole just go all the way through the whole thermobox anyway so that you have the same centre mark on the inside and outside for reference?

 

[Muddydisco]

Yeah thatS right pilot hole all way through and holesaw a larger hole on the outside to allow the qmax to fitt through.

 

[artyb]

im tempted to cut a hole in my 70l stock pot its fairly thick around 2mm and made of stainless,
is a q max the best option...? :wha:

 

[Aleman]

im tempted to cut a hole in my 70l stock pot its fairly thick around 2mm and made of stainless,
is a q max the best option...? :wha:

No it's too thick for a QMax . . . best option is a hole saw - Bosch Cobalt can be had from Screwfix - - - Take it slow and use plenty of coolant (water is fine) along with lots of pressure.

 

[periolus]

That's not the Marmite Cocotte by any chance is it? That's what I am going to get for my boiler and had hoped to be able to use the QMax with it.

Can anyone confirm the thickness of the Marmite Cocotte 70L pot?

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

That's not the Marmite Cocotte by any chance is it? That's what I am going to get for my boiler and had hoped to be able to use the QMax with it.

Can anyone confirm the thickness of the Marmite Cocotte 70L pot?

If it's a marmite pot a Qmax will cut it. :thumb:
I've done the 70L and the 100L

 

[Aleman]

the Marmite pots are nowhere near 2mm thick - 0.6mm if you are lucky . . . I broke a Qmax when punching a hole in a Stainless keg (ok too near a weld), which is around 1.6mm-2.0 mm thick . . . I chipped the cutting edge, and seriously stripped the thread of the bolt.

With a marmite the problem is the opposite, and it is all too easy to tear the metal. . . . Take it easy and keep the 'pressure' even when using the allen key and you'll have no issues

 

[periolus]

I have bought two cheap steel pans from charity shops to practice to try and get the technique right - hopefully I won't ruin the real thing!

Can you recommend a supplier of the QMax cutters?

 

[Aleman]

Can you recommend a supplier of the QMax cutters?

Rapid Electronics
PowerTool Direct
Cromwell Industrial Tools

 

[keith1664]

The cheapest place I found when looking for mine.

http://www.my-tool-shed.co.uk/

 

[keith1664]

By the way, cutting the hole with the q max is the easy bit. I found the hardest bit was drilling the pilot hole. Use a cobalt drill, a slow speed and press hard. Lubricant is advised (But I didn't have any). Basically if the metal gets hot then it becomes very hard and is a bitch to get through.
Once the pilot hole is done (use a 3-4 mm drill) then the 10mm hole and q max are plain sailing.

 

[periolus]

How do you apply the lubricant, do you just spray the thing down in between small bouts of drilling? OR set up a trickle onto the thing all the time?