Gutted... HELP!

[floydmeddler]

Hey folks,

I spent £150 on a 120L pot to convert to a boiler. Here is the one I bought: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111670145885? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Anyway... it arrived with a dent at the bottom so i thought i'd simply knock it out with a hammer. Big mistake. It f*cking split!



Was surprised that it split as it is described as a 'high end' pot and is made from stainless steel...

What can I do here? Should it have split so easily? Can I weld it? Should I contact the seller?

GUTTED!

[alexlark]

Cant you tell them it arrived like that?

[Dave-Leeds]

I would contact seller asap and say its been damaged in transit

worth a go mate

[floydmeddler]

No... he knows it had a dent and said so in the listing which I was fine about. Plan was to simply knock it out... which didn't go too well...

Just shocked that it split.

[vacant]

Check that the area that split is 1.2mm thick or more

[floydmeddler]

Here's a pic. It's exactly 1mm. It's advertised as 1.2mm



The metal is quite 'bitty' and brittle. Almost powdery if that makes sense... Is this normal for stainless steel?

[steambrew]

I used to work in the cider industry and if we had splits on brewing vessels we used to drill a small hole either end of the split hammer out the dent them weld up as for the powder substance I would think this shows sub standard material but take it to a local welding firm to give good advice

[floydmeddler]

Cheers steambrew. Hoping that I can get it welded... Also hoping the seller helps me out a bit.

[chris2012]

Out of curiosity how do you weld a split, do you need to add a plate of SS over it, or can you just weld the seam together?

[floydmeddler]

Spoke with a welder. He said he could fix it easily for £20 - £30... Might just go for it...

[chris2012]

Nice That sounds very reasonable

[Pinto]

Shame you arent closer m8 - could TIG that up in 5 minutes. For £20 tho, thats not a bad deal for the welder's time and gas. Stainless at that thickness wouldn't take much to work harden, so the dent and then trying to knock it out again after was probably just too much for it. Unlucky tho.

[Pinto]

Out of curiosity how do you weld a split, do you need to add a plate of SS over it, or can you just weld the seam together?

Drill it at each end to stop the split spreading and then TIG the crack together with a little bit of (probably 304) rod. If it was a fermenter, or anything touching finished beer, it's a little more complex as the the seam would have to be made without any flaws that could harbour nasties - not an issue in a boiler tho.

[chris2012]

Thanks for the info Pinto

I've only just started learning to weld (only MIG at the moment) but I really want to learn TIG.

[Pinto]

Thanks for the info Pinto

I've only just started learning to weld (only MIG at the moment) but I really want to learn TIG.

If you can draw a line with a pencil, you can learn to TIG weld. Then it's practice, practice, practice to get it right/not blow holes Stainless pots like this get pretty fine - probably only be welding at 20-25 amps with 1.6 tip.