Keg to Kettle Part 2 (adding the valve)

Back in January I posted an update about how to convert a keg into a kettle.  In this post I will show you how I added a valve to the kettle.  The valve makes life a lot easier and safer for brewing in a keg.  I bought a stainless steel weldless valve from the homebrew store. My best friend Jim came over to help with installing the copper uptake pipe that we connected to the valve.  That part of the process involved some soldering, and I didn't have any experience doing that.

This is Jim drilling a small starter hole to make it easier for the step bit to get going

This is the step bit.  It made the job much easier but was also really expensive.  That one bit cost $45

The step bit allows you to drill the hole one size up at a time making it a lot easier to judge how much more you need to go.  This is useful in making sure you don't make the hole to big, because there's not much if anything you can do if you make the hole to big.

Here is the hole with the inside half of the valve sticking out.

We used the vice grip to hold the valve while we soldered the copper in place.  

 I wish I had taken more pictures during the soldering but I was busy learning, and I forgot.  You may notice that between the steel and the copper it appears to be white in the middle.  This is Teflon tape which you wrap around the the thread to help it stick in place.  It also helps prevent leaks.

I attached a hose with a clamp to the valve so that I can have it drop right into a fermentation bucket.  It's so much better than picking up the keg and trying to pour the wort into the bucket.