New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

In our view 30 gallons and under is considered hobby size. Do not bring anything larger than this to our site.

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gary.angie
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New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by gary.angie »

steam power
steam power
top pot
top pot
Pot
Pot
Hello All ...
Its been a while since i visited the forum , just been a working and distilling rum .
Anyway , at work, i managed to pounce on these before they were sold for scrap .
I got two of them with lids.
They are jacketed steam boilers for vegetables stews etc ,. in very good condition i might add. ( and big and heavy )
Gave it a test and run and put some steam through one as you can see in the pick.
I put in 5 liters of water and 1/2 liter of 92% ethanol it came to the boil ok, but after the ethanol boiled of it was maxing the heat at about 90C. That's all i could get using my still as water boiler , I'm Thinking I had to much heat loss from radiation off the stainless.
One side says steam in and the other side says condensate out , i think there is a pipe on the condensate side running inside the jacket to the bottom of the pot , as every 10 min or so a cup of water comes whistling out with a hiss and roar , and i noticed the my keg boiler was building about 4 pound of pressure, until it could push the water up the condensate pipe.
Ok so im posting some pictures for you to check out , and im looking for ideas on which way to go with these.

1. steam run still with flat lid and build new copper column .
2. steam run still with other boiler half on top and hinged like a clam shell ( like a big ball still) with new copper column.
3. Keep them both as fermenters on tilt stands , and i can run warm water through them to keep them at 27 to 32 deg C .
4 ....?

cheers to you all

Gary
gary.angie
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by gary.angie »

Oh i forgot to add my main reason for grabbing these.
It was the surface area that there would be , for distilling vapors , compared to my narrow 50 l stainless keg , and cleaning would be a breeze .
I would use a heavy cork gasket and clamps on the lid , and the copper column would just slide into a sleeve on the top.
Any way that is what i was thinking , and op n to all ideas

cheers Gary
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mock up column
mock up column
gary.angie
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by gary.angie »

Sorry forgot to add The Volume of the pot.

20 gallons about 75.5 liters - that's allowing 80 mm (3.14) inches head space to the top of the rim (lip).
If... i build a column, I was thinking a tall one 1.5 to 1.8 meter mat 80mm diameter copper , condenser at top with slanting catch plates inside , and needle valve take off. :think:
cheers Gary
RevSpaminator
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by RevSpaminator »

You should instead consider making this a pot head. This boiler looks like it would be very well suited for on-the-grain mashes. Your keg in the background would make an awesome boka.
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gary.angie
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by gary.angie »

cheers for the idea :)
cob
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by cob »

low pressure steam can't build heat. high pressure steam carries all the heat you would ever need, but has all the danger of high pressure steam.
be water my friend
gary.angie
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by gary.angie »

High pressure steam , would be good , i have been looking at some home made boilers on you tube , some look a bit dodgy , but some seem ok with descent safety valves etc.
But a still ...and boiler... are 2 big build projects, I can do the still but i may need to buy a used boiler from a auction site.
But the thought....cold morning, light rain and a brisk southerly wind coming down from the mountain . coal and wood in... light the flame fire the boiler .... opening of valves the hissing, whistling and steam. sour mash bubbling distillate dripping , and me slurping ...
its very nostalgic and reeks of olden times, it excites me ... ha ha

G
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old times
old times
1965 wite
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by 1965 wite »

i just visited a new local distillery that had two of these exact same steam boilers, He had sealed off the steam chambers and added some reservoirs to the bottom of them. He then fitted three 5500 watt elements into the reservoirs and filled the steam chambers and reservoirs with vegetable oil. It was a open system so no pressure could ever build. seemed to work well for him. he had some nice flutes mounted to the top of the boilers. cool setup
DFitz
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by DFitz »

By ASME standards high pressure steam is greater 80lbs psi. Low pressure steam is more in line with what these kettles are rated for. What brand kettle are these? I have a Groen DTL60. Rated as I implied (low pressure) at 24lbs psi. This is more than enough to scorch a batch of mash. Problem with steam is, its difficult to manage the temp. Not to mention the money its going to cost to provide a boiler and condensate system. Education and decision in whether or not to go with steam have delayed my build for as long as I'd like to admit. I'm ending up going with internal heating coils installed in my jacket through a ferrule and blank, heating my medium (be it steam @ 12lbs or glycol). In the long run it seems the cheaper route. 20 gallons is a nice size but will work your ass off if you want to do 5 barrel batches. As hobby level, this site frowns upon boilers over 25 gallons however larger boilers can be great for 2BBL beer batches.

Just saw the post above... small world I reckon... :lol:
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Windy City
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Re: New steam boilers Acquired looking for ideas

Post by Windy City »

I would use it as a mash tun
90c is all you need to gelitinize grains and with the low pressure/temps your producing there should not be a risk of scorching.
Put some valves on it so you could introduce cold water into the jacket,then you could crash temps for either stepped mashes or fermentation temps. The only other thing it would be missing is a mounted mixer but you can get by with a drill and drywall paddle mixer.
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