Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

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Sporacle
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by Sporacle »

Good point Chris :thumbup: wasn't too sure why he needed the exact temp
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by morefog »

I'm using a hybrid system with multiple controls. When distillate gets too hot the switch turns off the boiler. When the stack temp gets too hot a different switch turns off the electrical element. I've only been doing stripping runs with this new setup, but I'm hoping the element control will be important during the spirit runs.

Apologies to OP for hijacking his thread.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by The Baker »

Switches turning off and on the element are a no-no.

You need a controller that adjusts the POWER.

Others will explain the details.

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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by Saltbush Bill »

morefog wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:48 pm When the stack temp gets too hot a different switch turns off the electrical element.
What are you calling "the stack" do you meant the top of the column or something.
Best if we all speak the same ling here , otherwise things get dreadfully confusing very quickly.
morefog wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:48 pm When distillate gets too hot the switch turns off the boiler.
the wash in the boiler can only get as hot as it needs to be to boil......it cant get any hotter, in the same way that water cant boil at any hotter than 100c. You cant control temp of the boiler or wash, only how hard it boils.
You cant have things turning on and off when ever they feel like it .....it just wont work that way.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by LWTCS »

Saltbush Bill wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 5:10 pm
morefog wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:48 pm When the stack temp gets too hot a different switch turns off the electrical element.
What are you calling "the stack" do you meant the top of the column or something.
Best if we all speak the same ling here , otherwise things get dreadfully confusing very quickly.
morefog wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:48 pm When distillate gets too hot the switch turns off the boiler.
the wash in the boiler can only get as hot as it needs to be to boil......it cant get any hotter, in the same way that water cant boil at any hotter than 100c. You cant control temp of the boiler or wash, only how hard it boils.
You cant have things turning on and off when ever they feel like it .....it just wont work that way.
Well the caveat to that is that with oil as the heating media, you can far more easily tolerate cycling. Oil does a very nice job of maintaining heat and so the cycling has a far more spread out, delayed affect.
But you as the operator would be monitoring oils temps. Not vapor temps.
Oil is also very slow to respond to adjustments.

Not a big deal if your protocols are dialed in and you're just doing the one thing.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by jward »

Another caveat is Pulse Width Modulation(PWM). It's a technique that involves cycling the power on an off to control power. The system I use one sets the power to some fraction as a percentage and the controller turns the power on and off to represent the fractional power. This controls a boil very well. Unfortunately the monitoring amp-meter generally shows full power or no power instead of the fractional power.

One can manage the boil by turning on and off if one is controlling heating media or using PWM.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by hartmanhooch »

Although I have no experience with steam I have now completed 2 runs on my new 100l jacketed boiler. I’m running a mix of 6gal mineral and 2gal vegetable oil. When purchasing I decided to stay state-side for the boiler so I knew it was safe. Paul at ADE was a huge help and built the boiler according to my needs, the build and delivery were completed in 4 weeks and the quality is outstanding.
Although it’s true that the power adjustments are delayed and not directly proportional, I was able to successfully get through my first two tries.
38C6B57D-28C8-40F9-81B9-E6EDE940F60A.jpeg
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by LWTCS »

How long did it take for you to come to temp?
How many watts did you throw at the kettle ti come to temp.

That kettle was not manufactured state side btw.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by hartmanhooch »

When I did the vinegar run I timed it at 90 minutes to boil with 5kw put into the oil.
And I believe that ADE does build their own boilers as I had them make mine with an additional offset 4” opening for the column when I mount the agitator in the center.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by LWTCS »

Yes I can see the weld on the cap is quite different than the other polished welds.
He modified the cap for you.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by Windy City »

hartmanhooch wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 5:10 am When I did the vinegar run I timed it at 90 minutes to boil with 5kw put into the oil.
And I believe that ADE does build their own boilers as I had them make mine with an additional offset 4” opening for the column when I mount the agitator in the center.
Did you get a mixer for that kettle??
I have found using a jacketed kettle it makes a huge difference.
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Re: Large oil/steam jacketed boiler questions

Post by hartmanhooch »

CFD0D213-662B-445A-B9C7-DD5FA73D7B9F.jpeg
Yes, I have a speed controlled agitator with a 2” tri clamp mount. I used it on an angle with UJ because of the small amount of corn in the pot during distillation. When I do my first all grain in this I will set up the agitator in the middle and mount the column on the offset 4” opening.
When I drained the UJ mash out of the 2” boiler drain it went really slow through the waste hose and I scooped out what had coagulated around the bottom edges. Not looking forward to cleaning out after an on the grain run with a big all grain bill.
(And no, I didn’t have the gun basket mounted during the UJ run)
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