My apartment still boiler evolution

[diode663]

Hey everyone,

I started this hobby a little less then a year ago and initially started a thread but failed on the pictures and got busy so lets do it again.

The boiler is a 1/6 barrel keg that I modified for my purposes. It started off unmodified and heated by my stove. With that setup it took about 2 hours to come to temp. This was longer then i had wanted so I decided to go electric bringing my time down to just under a hour with a 120 volt 2000 watt element. I am in a 900 square foot apartment so power and space are limited.

Original stove fired setup

Spacers

Above is the original stove fired setup which took forever to heat.

And below we have the modification phase.

Welding Setup

Warning: You must be single or have an awesome wife for this setup. Luckily I have a very understanding spouse.
The welder is a Miller Dynasty 200DX. Settings: 90 Amps, 100 Pulses per Second, 30% background amps, 40% on time. Note the second cylinder for purging.

Purge Line

I purged at 20 CFH for 30 minutes then backed down to 3 CFH while welding. This allowed me to weld the fittings with no sugaring and only a light straw color in some spots where I camped out for too long on the inside.

1/2" NPT weld spud.

Another 1/2" NPT Spud and 2" Tri-clamp ferrule.

Note that if i had to do it again I would have cut the sanke fitting out and put a 4" fitting so I could get in there. I also didn't really like the weld spuds, at least on this diameter keg. There was some large gaps because it didn't fit the contour of the keg. I would suggest half couplings with a flare tool and that 4 inch opening for the tri-clamp would make it possible.

[diode663]

The almost finished product

Please ignore my wife's wine. As stated before the element is a 120 volt 2000 watt hot water element. I will make another post for the controller build. I know the thermometer is looked down upon around here but it is nice to know when i can expect to start boiling. There is a 1/2" stainless 3 piece ball valve with a camlock fitting on it so I can easily get backset out at the end of the run. The element cover is from brewhardware and is a real nice piece of kit.

This is it. I think.

Hopefully the final revision. I plasma cut the ring off the top because it interfered with getting the triclamp on. I used a 4.5" 2SF Norton Rapid finish wheel to get that finish. I don't think I will do a full mirror polish, I haven't decided yet.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any input.

[bellybuster]

you gonna love electric....

[still_stirrin]

Great project diode. Looks great.

Do you have column plans in the forecast? I bet your wife would love some quality neutral too.

ss

[CR33G3R]

Very slick..

[shadylane]

Looking good.
Just a thought weld spuds can be ground on till they fit the contour of the keg.

[diode663]

Thank you for all the comments. I really appreciate it.

Bellybuster- I have run it on electric a few times now and you're absolutely right, I love it. From fermenter to first drips takes just about an hour. Previously it took two hours to come to temp.

Still_stirin- Thank you, I have no plans at this time for a column build. I just don't have the space to use or build it. I have actually been pretty happy with the pot still design and my wife takes the liquor and puts fruit in it to make all sorts of delicious stuff to hold us over at the moment. My next step is to try an all grain ferment and get started on the ultimate reason I built this thing, bourbon.

Shadylane- I originally was going to grind the spuds to match the contour. Unfortunately I would lose the locating boss on the back of the spud and that to me seemed to defeat the purpose of the spud. What I ended up doing was taking a 5 lb sledge to the wall to try to make it flat in that area. It somewhat worked but the small diameter (9" ) was really too stiff to flatten out in a controlled manner. I am sure they work a lot better on something with a larger diameter. The other problem was that I couldn't find my tube of 3/32 308LSI filler which would have made the gap a lot more manageable. I used 1/16th for the whole project and it worked great everywhere except the spuds.

[firewater69]

Great job Diode!!!

[Ghostpepperman]

Sweet boiler dude...You must have a awesome spouse

[diode663]

Thanks guys. Shes pretty awesome. She was actually watching tv behind me while i was welding everything up.

[dan_buddy]

Awesome still man
Gonna try and get me a 30 liter tall keg and try something like this
I use a 50 now it's a bit big

[NcGunny]

She let you weld right inside the house?!! Thats definately a keeper there.I am still gathering parts for my first "electric build".

[ranger_ric]

Sweet Build !!

[jedneck]

You mite be a shiner if your other half lets you weld your boiler in the house.

[dan_buddy]

Hey before you did your swap from propane did you did that the propane fumes were alot for you apartment ?