Keg Still repost

[jon1163]

Well Tapatalk sucks. Some people couldn't see the photos of my original thread and I couldn't edit from my desktop. I'm reposting the original build of my keg still so that everyone can see them. Sorry for the confusion. So...here it is.

So right now I'm working with an 8 gallon Dual Purpose still from Mile Hi Distilling. I use a heating element and usually only use it as a pot still although I've run it as a reflux once or twice. The still has served me well and I think the quality is magnificent.

However , that 8 gallons is a bit small for what I'm doing right now and to where Ive progressed to in this hobby. While browsing through the forum I found Badmotivators keg build and it inspired me. Most of this build is inspired by his creation. And to Badmotivator, thanks for the advice that you gave me when I messaged you. It helped a ton.

For my build I wanted increased capacity from the 8 gallons and I also wanted a thumper. I we'll have a 15 gallon sanke keg with an 8 gallon Thumper. I picked up the sanke keg with a keg from a friend in exchange for some .223 cartridges. The 8 gallon keg I bought off of Craigslist for a good price.

In this post to start I have taken a photo of the Keg I used. I cut off the top but placed back on for the photo.

[jon1163]

So I spoke to Badmotivator about the element holes being placed at the bottom of the keg. I think it's probably 50-50 pluses and minuses whether these are placed on the bottom or the sides. There seem to be great advantages to both. The elements being on the bottom certainly save space and look much better.

I decided to place mine on the side mainly because I want to be able to set it on the ground if need be and I can always build my cabinet out just a little bit when I decide to put it in a cabinet in the future. I also wanted the wells to be able to be washed out easily without moving the keg.

The plan is to have a keg with a 6-inch opening on the top as well as a 3-inch fill hole so that I can fill without necessitating disassembly of the still column. There will be two 3 inch sight glasses vertically aligned on the side of the boiler. Directly underneath those aligned horizontally, are two, 2 inch fittings, for dual 110 volt heating elements. On the bottom of the keg in the middle will be one 2 inch fitting for a drain hole that I will attach a valve to so that I can easily drain the keg and clean it without moving it.

I Enlisted the help of a friend of mine who's a welder and has the ability to weld stainless steel. I began by cutting The Keg top and then the holes. Here's a photo of the plans I drew up. Also shown is the keg after the holes were cut with a plasma torch.

[jon1163]

I then taped the fittings on The Keg for reference and to make sure that the attachments would fit once everything was welded together.

The thumper keg I just removed the keg fitting on the top and replaced it with a true TCP fitting, 2 inch... The last photo is the fitting after being welded to the 8 gallon thumper. The thumper will only have one fitting on top. I figure it will be easy enough to clean out with just the 2-inch TCP fitting

[jon1163]

Latest update... Got the fittings welded onto the keg. The welds were back gassed using a dam and the area behind the welds flooded. This should prevent contamination and make cleaning and maintenance easier.

[fizzix]

This new guy is absolutely blown away by what some of you artisans come up with!

[acfixer69]

That sure looks perty. Have you tried to dry fit your element? They look to be at the same level. I had to stagger mine to prevent interference. They will bend a bit but wanted to be sure that it didn't have a hot spot. Nice job you got going there.

AC

[nuntius01]

came our awesome. i built mine and wish in retro, that i had flipped it like that one. only difference in mine is i went with a six inch ferrule makes it supper easy to clean. what u have is awesome. when it's set up, post a pick of your rig in my link. your gonna love the bigger set up.

[jon1163]

My boiler and thumper were finished today. Shown below are photos of the setup: boiler, thumper, and underneath the boiler for the drain valve connection. Photos of the completed still are yet to come.

[jon1163]

And here is the still completed.

[Danespirit]

Excellent work...
Did you consider some insulation around the boiler and thumper...?
Or maybe you want to integrate it in a cabinet..?

[jon1163]

Excellent work...
Did you consider some insulation around the boiler and thumper...?
Or maybe you want to integrate it in a cabinet..?

Yes! I plan on insulating then I just have to look around for some photos and copy something

[jon1163]

So I sanded everything down and polish them up a bit. I think it would have been a lot nicer had I started out with a keg that wasn't so beat up. My Thumper I left the handles on but cut out about a third of the rim so that I can access the fittings easily. So far so good I'm on my second run and everything is going great. One of the problems I ran into was the fittings on the side of the large boiler. Because they're welded and welds didn't cool at the same rate the fittings warped just a bit following the Contour of The Keg. I had to take a block and sand them. The sanding took a long time to get them level again. Just food for thought for anyone looking to build a keg boiler. Again I stole almost all my ideas from Badmotivator but if you have any questions feel free to message me

[sltm1]

Excellent work and set up !!!

[cede]

Hey Jon,
is this a 6" ferrule on top ?
I'm about to do my keg too, but I've ordered a 4" ferrule and I tried to fit my arm in it to check for cleaning and got stuck...
6" is a few times the price of the 4...

[acfixer69]

Hey Jon,
is this a 6" ferrule on top ?
I'm about to do my keg too, but I've ordered a 4" ferrule and I tried to fit my arm in it to check for cleaning and got stuck...
6" is a few times the price of the 4...

I got all into tha cleaning access thing and 8 yrs later I still only got a 2" keg access and never even needed a long brush to clean it a good rinse and the boiler is clean. I back flush the column back to the boiler after the backins cool and drained.
Cleaning isnt a much a problem unless you are running something prone to scorching.

AC

[cede]

I've only been doing "pure" vodka with a bok on a pot with the lid clamped on the pot.
Never had to deal with solids in the mash.

I guess that if I got to wash it, I can put a CIP ball and with a pump recycle brewery wash mix for an hour. Should be clean

I think I'm a bit afraid to try thing with this new still. I have to de-stress

[hellbilly007]

That's a nice build man. Kudos!

[Danespirit]

That's the way to do it..
Did you have time for a real run of the whole setup?
How much power do the elements handle..?

[jon1163]

Hey Jon,
is this a 6" ferrule on top ?
I'm about to do my keg too, but I've ordered a 4" ferrule and I tried to fit my arm in it to check for cleaning and got stuck...
6" is a few times the price of the 4...

It is a 6". I wanted 8"but they were out. I think the 6"is just about right if a bit on the small side. 4" will be difficult to get implements/arms into the keg in my opinion.

[jon1163]

That's the way to do it..
Did you have time for a real run of the whole setup?
How much power do the elements handle..?

I have. It has two real runs of 15 gallons of HBB, 13 in the boiler and 2 with slop in the thumper. It works great. The elements pull about 110 volt 2000 watts each. I don't have my garage wired for 220 so it's what I have to do. The only problem is that I have to plug one in inside the house and run the cord to the garage as the garage outlets are in the same breaker.

From cold still to finish with 15 gallons stripping run takes me 5 hours.