Building a boiler out of a sand filter

Post by **shadylane** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 5:12 pm

Ever heard the saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" You might teach him the new knowledge but never the lost coordination

Post by **still_stirrin** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 5:54 pm

shadylane wrote:Ever heard the saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" You might teach him the new knowledge but never the lost coordination

Now, now...that just sounds like "practice" to me. I think you'll get it just fine. In fact, I think your external spud weld is mighty purdy. With a couple more projects...you'll have it nailed.

Did you get much sugaring on the TC welds? It's hard to see in the photo. The outsides look nice and clean though.

And no, I can't Tig. I'd love to learn though. Maybe some day.
ss

Monkeyman88 · Post by **Monkeyman88** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 6:51 pm

shadylane wrote:The SS nuts are pretty cheap and easily converted into weld spuds.
Real 1 inch NPS weld spud's are rare since they are made out of unobtainium

http://www.amazon.com/Merit-Brass-Stain ... B00K0D8TZK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
$6 from Amazon.

Post by **firewater69** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 8:16 pm

rock on shady!

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:32 am

Monkeyman88 wrote:
shadylane wrote:The SS nuts are pretty cheap and easily converted into weld spuds.
Real 1 inch NPS weld spud's are rare since they are made out of unobtainium
http://www.amazon.com/Merit-Brass-Stain ... B00K0D8TZK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
$6 from Amazon.

Those are NPT but thanks for the try

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:39 am

still_stirrin wrote:Did you get much sugaring on the TC welds?

There were spots of sugaring where I used too much heat or traveled too slow.

Post by **still_stirrin** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:19 am

This is encouraging Shady.

I'm building a eHerms system with kegs and I've got a ton of stainless welding to do. I've thought many times to invest in a Tig welder (rather than paying a contractor to do it), but the learning curve has me anxious. Seeing your progress is motivating me to take that step too.

Thanks for the build thread. I will continue to follow your progress.
ss

Post by **bearriver** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:52 am

still_stirrin wrote: Seeing your progress is motivating me to take that step too.

Be sure to post your progress whenever that bird takes off. I'd love to see it.

Post by **MoonBreath** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:13 pm

Sight glasses, thermometers, drain valves, fill options, electric element options, auxiliary bungs, gallon markers, polishing.....Then theres the stand ...Powder coating??
OMG the possibilities are almost endless!

Post by **raketemensch** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:17 pm

MoonBreath wrote:Sight glasses, thermometers, drain valves, fill options, electric element options, auxiliary bungs, gallon markers, polishing.....Then theres the stand ...Powder coating??
OMG the possibilities are almost endless!

Definitely gonna need some nice rims, maybe some flames....

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:49 pm

still_stirrin wrote:This is encouraging Shady.

I'm building a eHerms system with kegs and I've got a ton of stainless welding to do. I've thought many times to invest in a Tig welder (rather than paying a contractor to do it), but the learning curve has me anxious. Seeing your progress is motivating me to take that step too.

Thanks for the build thread. I will continue to follow your progress.
ss

Go for it, The only time I've ever regretted buying a tool, is when I bought one that was too cheap.
One piece of advice. Don't be like me and learn to weld while building your eHerms system

Figured out why I couldn't see. Now I have 2.0 cheaters in the helmet and 1.5 reading glasses. I can now see the weld puddle just fine.
I also used an old CPAP machine to blow air into the helmet to keep the lens from fogging up.
My welding is getting a lot better.

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 1:49 pm

Here's the rusted remains of a expanding rubber plug that was in the bottom of the boiler.
I knocked it out and cleaned it up. It's a shame the hole is too small for the heating element.
But at least it's in the right location.

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 2:16 pm

Making weld spuds out of two 1" NPS nuts.
Mrs Shady is holding the grinding fixture while I take the picture.
She came out to the shop to make fun of my welding, so I tried to put her to work.
No she didn't do the grinding, she's much smarter than I am.
The basic idea on grinding the nuts is to let them spin will the grinder cuts a grove between them.
A lathe would be a better tool for this, but I don't have one yet
Threw in a picture of the old chop saw, one of the most useful pieces of shop equipment I ever built.

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 2:41 pm

Used the plasma cutter and made the holes for the two heaters and the drain.
First I put the parts in place, one at a time and sprayed a fast light coat of primer for marking were the holes needed to be.
Cut the holes out slightly under sized, then filed them to size. A big coarse file tears up thin SS

Cleaned up the SS and proceed to weld on the fittings for the heaters and drain.

Post by **jedneck** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 2:48 pm

Shady are you gonna be steam injecting it for on the grain. With a drain that size it looks like it.

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:15 pm

I found a 2" SS valve for $34 and a elbow for $14, looked like a good idea. Didn't realize how big they were until they arrived.

Now I've got to figure out how to support that big heavy valve sticking on the end of a 9 inch pipe.
I've got a better Idea for steam stripping and I'll get to it latter. For a preview.
There's a bunch of kegs under the bench, figure to modifie them with a 4" or bigger ferrel welded on top. They can be used for cooking, fermenting and then stripping. After they have gone through the cycle, I'll wheel them outside, turn em over and dump them. In other words each keg will be used from start to finish before it's emptied

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:19 pm

Forgot to add, several strippers could be run in series. The only thing better than a steamy stripper, is another one coming immediately after...

Post by **jedneck** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:22 pm

shadylane wrote:Forgot to add, several strippers could be run in series. The only thing better than a steamy stripper, is another one coming immediately after...

I likey

Post by **shadylane** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:27 pm

The steamy strippers or the modified kegs ?

Post by **Brutal** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:27 pm

Nice boiler ya got comin' along there Shady!

Mash, ferm, strip in the same vessel is gonna be great.

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:35 am

Sorry for the confusion, the steam stripper will be a separate project. This boiler is for powering a CM still head.
I'll start a separate post for the stripper.

Post by **MichiganCornhusker** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:54 am

Very cool, Shady. I wouldn't have thought to just weld the elbow to the boiler like that, very clean.
Your welds look good to me. I have access to a TIG, but have never taken the time to learn how to use it. You make it look like something I should definitely figure out.
Looking forward to steam thread, too.

Post by **googe** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 12:14 pm

Nice work shady, keep the pics coming

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:20 pm

The original stand was a good idea, until I decided to add a second heating element.
So, back to the drawing board. Making the new stand will keep me busy will I'm waiting for the two 4500w heaters.
Can't weld the two halves of the boiler together until I'm sure the heaters aren't going to interfere with each other.

Post by **raketemensch** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:27 pm

Are you going with the bent ULWD heaters? It might get interesting trying to screw them in.

Post by **jedneck** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:41 pm

shadylane wrote:The original stand was a good idea, until I decided to add a second heating element.
So, back to the drawing board. Making the new stand will keep me busy will I'm waiting for the two 4500w heaters.
Can't weld the two halves of the boiler together until I'm sure the heaters aren't going to interfere with each other.

Could you clearance the band for the element instead of making a new stand? Just throwing ideas.

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:46 pm

Screwing a pair of bent ULWD heaters in might get interesting.
I ordered a pair of these.
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02923-Screw ... B0002YUDSI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Posting with jed
Thought about it. But the original stand was also bowlegged. Don't know how it happened. it was straight when I finished welding it.
In the morning when I was sober, the legs were all bowed in the exact same amount.
Figured it must have been the damned leprechauns hiding under the still house that did it.

Post by **MoonBreath** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:59 pm

Just a though...How bout some legs..Welded directly to boiler.
Round or angle, maybe threaded at the bottom for leveling?

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:02 pm

MichiganCornhusker wrote:I wouldn't have thought to just weld the elbow to the boiler like that, very clean.

There will be a lot of weight on that weld. I'll have to figure out a way to support the valve. If I don't, it will crack and leak.

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:07 pm

MoonBreath wrote:Just a though...How bout some legs..Welded directly to boiler.
Round or angle, maybe threaded at the bottom for leveling?

That's exactly what I'm in the process of doing, The three legs are made from angle iron salvage from a bed frame.
Three 1/2" nuts, washers and carriage bolts are used for leveling.
Thought about adding wheels, but my shop floor is unlevel enough the still would roll away.

Home Distiller

Building a boiler out of a sand filter

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