New 28 gallon Project

[Scott817]

Hello all,

I have been wanting upgrade to a larger still for some time now from my 15 all copper setup. I ran across this tank for storing wine that I hope will make a pretty easy conversion. Its all welded and I hope it can deal with being heated up a lot. I am going to cut through the cap and tig weld in a 4 x6 inch copper pipe and attach a 4 inch brass ferrule to that. That should make it pretty modular and I can build a nice column someday but I will probably just make a quick Whiskey still cap and attach that to the matching ferrule to get going. You can get these tanks for $160 to $250 out there on the internet and they come in various sizes but I went with the largest.

Here is the tank

[Scott817]

Here is the tank with the copper pipe and ferrule and where it will be once I get over to my buddies shop and borrow his plasma cutter and tig welder as a reference.

[Scott817]

I removed the plastic skirt from the bottom and then I removed the plug it came with and stuck a 1/2" stainless ball valve setup I had leftover from another project I had.

[pfshine]

When you cut it with the plasma fill it with water first. The water cools the slag so it doesn't stick to the sides or bottom contaminating the SS. This will keep it from rusting out quickly.
As for the pipe and ferule why not just use a long SS ferule?

[zach]

The are a few threads with pre fabricated clamp type lids for this type of tank if you want to avoid the shop work. Search Fusti tank.

[Scott817]

When you cut it with the plasma fill it with water first. The water cools the slag so it doesn't stick to the sides or bottom contaminating the SS. This will keep it from rusting out quickly.
As for the pipe and ferule why not just use a long SS ferule?

Thanks for the tip. I haven't spent much time with stainless but quite a bit with aluminum and steel. I am going to practice a bit on some scrap first. I had the copper pipe already and didn't really see any long stainless ferrules that would clear the lid as most are only about 1 1/2 inches.

[Scott817]

The are a few threads with pre fabricated clamp type lids for this type of tank if you want to avoid the shop work. Search Fusti tank.

Hello zach! I have been searching all over and cant find anything other than this thread and one other with that term that are unrelated. I did find a guy in new zealand who made one but I couldnt find anything here. I am still thinking about maybe just soldering it and cutting the hole and handles with a jig saw. I will continue my search for new ideas. I really wanted to get away from the stock screw on lid and go in some other direction but I am still looking around at possible ways. Originally when i bought the tank the lid size was supposed to be 7 3/4 but really the opening is 9 inches so it wasnt the 8 inches that I hoped for where i could have just welded on a 8 inch ferrule and done whatever from there. I will continue my search. Have a nice day!

[Swedish Pride]

I'd go bigger on the drain, 1/2 will take an age to drain

[Scott817]

I'd go bigger on the drain, 1/2 will take an age to drain

Yes I would like to go to 1 inch when I get a chance. Its kid of weird trying to upsize the 1/2 hole and threaded insert as I will have to cut that out and weld in a new fitting. I wont be doing more than a single run at a time with this new tank compared to having to drain and refill my 15 gallon still as I typically make about 30 gallons of mash at a time. This was one of the reasons I went with this size.

[DAD300]

I have what appears to be the same fusti. Mine was Minox.

The lids from Mile Hi or others designed for the milk can boilers fit and use an 8" Triclamp clamp or the clamp that comes with the lid.

If the sizes don't match, I'd keep that one as a fermentor and look for a fusti the premade lids fit.

[jonnys_spirit]

Hi DAD300, You don't happen to have a source for a ~30g Fusti with the 8" lid do you? I am looking at options which are all very pricey and I was also concerned about the mili-hi lids fitting. Would be great if it does and can then do some soldering for elements and other ports.

Cheers!
-j

[Scott817]

DAD300

This was the description of what I expected to get.

16.5" Diameter x 31.5" Height.
Made from 304 type stainless steel, these tanks come with a 7.5" opening on top with a screw-top lid that seals against a gasket

Well my tank opening is larger unfortunately so I am on my own for this one. I am guessing the sizes get smaller as the tanks get smaller and its incorrect in the description listed. I have a 2 1/2 gallon one for tea and its only 4 inches across. I really didn't see any other fusti tanks that were larger than this one and the next size down is 26 gallons I think and really I wanted a 30 gallon and was compromising with the 28 because of the low cost. I may get another one though to look at if the price is right.

[raketemensch]

Are those wide enough to get an element into?

[Scott817]

The tank is 16.5" so yes its plenty big to add a element or 2. I am not a electric guy and really don't have a way to get a bunch of 220 power out there so I will most likely always be using propane or fire. There is a neat video on youtube of a guy who put 2 elements into a smaller fusti tank you might like to view.

[Scott817]

Well my buddy is down in Houston rebuilding houses for the time being so no access to his super cool shop but that didn't stop me. I cut the lid and soldered the copper to the stainless. I added some tabs and then screwed them back to the original cut handles to make it all a little more solid. Seems good and passes a water test. Yeah! Next I soldered the ferrule and then I had another 6 inch piece I made into a heavy duty pot still cap with another ferrule and a 5 inch piece of copper I cut into a 4 3/4" circle for the top cap and a 1 inch lynne arm. Now I can get to messing with this setup and seeing how well the tank holds up and all. I still have the final plumbing to do but home depot and lowes no longer sell 3/4 sweat couplings so I need to get to a plumbers supply house still. I will try a run after getting all cleaned up and do my vinegar run and sacrificial sugar run I have fermenting now. I will probably work on a bigger thump keg next and then start working on a actual column although I really haven't started reading to much about what direction to take with that.

[pfshine]

Looking great.

[Scott817]

I never finished this build here but here is a quick pic. I know the thump keg was too small but it has a larger one now. It sure it easy to clean compared to copper I must say.

[RunRufusRun]

Get back on that saddle and finish it up! I’ve taken 1 year+ breaks from this hobby and I always seem to come back to it. And trust me I have a couple hobbies.

[Bushman]

When you cut it with the plasma fill it with water first. The water cools the slag so it doesn't stick to the sides or bottom contaminating the SS. This will keep it from rusting out quickly.
As for the pipe and ferule why not just use a long SS ferule?

+1 this is what I did when I cut my 4” opening in my keg.

[Scott817]

Get back on that saddle and finish it up! I’ve taken 1 year+ breaks from this hobby and I always seem to come back to it. And trust me I have a couple hobbies.

Thanks for the encouragement but I finished it back then I just forgot to come here and update. I am currently working on a keg still project that is kinda different that I will publish when its finished this time.