Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Simple pot still distillation and construction with or without a thumper.

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Bearpig
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Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Post by Bearpig »

Howdy,

I have a 15 gallon SS double-walled (oil jacketed) still that I use for burn-happy fruit brandies, but it's less than ideal for running clear washes and due to the design of the bottom I can only use it with propane.

I just bought one of these (40L / 10.5 gallon):
badella.jpg
Compared to US prices we get the shaft here across the pond, but I think I got a great deal on it at $70 US :shock:
It's surprisingly good quality with a thick triple bottom, solid welds, heavy gauge SS. I was afraid the little clips would be a weak point but they're spot welded on with EIGHT spot welds each :shock:
I plan on using it as a small fermentation vessel and an alternative boiler, for which the only safety modification I have to make is to replace or wrap the silicone gasket around the lid with teflon.

I have one of these (SS 2" tri-clamp weldless bulkhead connector):
weldlessTC.jpg
Which I plan on attaching to the lid (with a teflon gasket). I went for the bulkhead connector because I'm hesitant to weld on thin SS like this.

My dilemma is that the lid is a typical 'bain marie' style lid with a deep divot where the handle goes. So placing the bulkhead in the center wouldn't be ideal.
So I plan on placing the 2" triclamp bulkhead off-center, and while I'm at it I may as well place an SS 1/2" NPT bulkhead across from it in case I want to install a thermowell or emergency pressure relief valve.
lid.jpg

Thoughts?
Is an offset column a problem? Tipping this thing over is not going to be an issue since it's huge, when full it's going to be nearly 50 kilos.
My column/liebig (without water) is 9 kilos (20 lbs). The clamps hold the lid on very securely, and the bulkhead connector is way overengineered for this, but I'm a little worried about the stress that a 20 lb column is going to put on what is essentially a sheet metal stock pot lid. Has anyone had experience with anything like this? Should I make a tea-saucer sized SS washer to sandwich between the bulkhead/lid to spread the stress out over a larger area or am I worrying too much about this?


When making wine/distilling you can never have too many containers, so I figured I'd see how it works out as another boiler, and absolute worst case scenario I end up with an ideal 40 L SS fermentation vessel (can just pop an airlock on the 2" triclamp at the top). I'm trying to transition even my fermentation vessels to all metal not just because of the alcohol+plastic safety issues but for ease of cleaning and durability. They eventually die from being dragged around or punctured or various other mishaps: a few weeks ago I did something retarded that cost me a HDPE barrel and almost half my wash. I was preheating my jacketed boiler (with a 5kw propane burner on high) while ladling the wash into the still. There's a windscreen around my burner to improve heating efficiency and one of the holes was pointing towards the barrel which I'd nudged a little too close to the still to make ladling it across easier. A few minutes later I noticed a really nasty bulge in the side of the barrel that was about to burst, I managed to tilt the barrel on it's opposite side right as it popped :cry:

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice!
Cheers!
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still_stirrin
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Re: Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Post by still_stirrin »

Bearpig wrote:I have a 15 gallon SS double-walled (oil jacketed) still that I use for burn-happy fruit brandies, but it's less than ideal for running clear washes and due to the design of the bottom I can only use it with propane.
I don't understand "why" it won't work for neutrals if it works for a brandy wash.
Bearpig wrote:My dilemma is that the lid is a typical 'bain marie' style lid with a deep divot where the handle goes. So placing the bulkhead in the center wouldn't be ideal. So I plan on placing the 2" triclamp bulkhead off-center, and while I'm at it I may as well place an SS 1/2" NPT bulkhead across from it in case I want to install a thermowell or emergency pressure relief valve.
There is no need for the vapor outlet to be in the center of the lid. Offset is perfectly fine. And 2" is a good size that will give plenty of mass flow yet keep the vapor velocity slow.
Bearpig wrote:The clamps hold the lid on very securely, and the bulkhead connector is way overengineered for this, but I'm a little worried about the stress that a 20 lb column is going to put on what is essentially a sheet metal stock pot lid. Has anyone had experience with anything like this? Should I make a tea-saucer sized SS washer to sandwich between the bulkhead/lid to spread the stress out over a larger area or am I worrying too much about this?
This can be a problem. So, supplemental column support may be required. You'll just have to figure this one out.
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Bushman
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Re: Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Post by Bushman »

I agree with still stirring, there will be more stress with an off center column and support will probably be necessary. Those lids are not very solid for holding that load. I put a 4” ferrule in the middle of my keg and welding was a PITA for the reasons you mentioned. On a keg (at least my keg) the top had different thicknesses so once I cut the larger hole welding the ferrule and getting it perpendicular was a challenge.
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Re: Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Post by greggn »

You could build a split-column configuration in order to take the weight and stress off the lid.
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Bearpig
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Re: Multi-purpose Boiler Build, thoughts?

Post by Bearpig »

still_stirrin wrote:
Bearpig wrote:I have a 15 gallon SS double-walled (oil jacketed) still that I use for burn-happy fruit brandies, but it's less than ideal for running clear washes and due to the design of the bottom I can only use it with propane.
I don't understand "why" it won't work for neutrals if it works for a brandy wash.

It works fine it's just inefficient as hell. I built it for grappa at a time I didn't consider I'd ever be dabbling in anything else.
It's really heavy, only works on special legs, and the lid is held down with bolts so it's less portable/convenient than this one can potentially be.
Heating up a mass of 15 liters of oil in the jacket takes a long time, and you can't just crank up the heat on stripping runs or you'll burn the oil.
Also due to the design of the bottom I can only use it with propane, with this one I can put it on an induction plate and run it just about anywhere.
still_stirrin wrote:
Bearpig wrote:My dilemma is that the lid is a typical 'bain marie' style lid with a deep divot where the handle goes. So placing the bulkhead in the center wouldn't be ideal. So I plan on placing the 2" triclamp bulkhead off-center, and while I'm at it I may as well place an SS 1/2" NPT bulkhead across from it in case I want to install a thermowell or emergency pressure relief valve.
There is no need for the vapor outlet to be in the center of the lid. Offset is perfectly fine. And 2" is a good size that will give plenty of mass flow yet keep the vapor velocity slow.
Thanks. I chose 2" mainly because I don't think I'll ever go above a 16 gallon still, and I'd like to keep everything standardized so I can swap parts between different stills with the tri-clamps. Also the price between 1.5" and 2" is negligible, but 3" and over starts to get way too pricy for me.
I have a little 22mm copper lyne arm/liebig that I plan on using on a mini 11L still, but that's another build for another day :)
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