Do I really need a larger filling port?

In our view 30 gallons and under is considered hobby size. Do not bring anything larger than this to our site.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
greybeard
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:01 am

Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by greybeard »

So I have a keg that I will use for my boiler. Obviously it has a 2" opening on top that I will connect my copper column to. Is a 2" opening not sufficient for filling the boiler? I have seen some use a siphon, and I can't see a larger port being useful. I'm certainly not going to try and lift the bucket and poor it into the still with a funnel whether 2" or 4". I plan to install a drain on the lower side or bottom so I wouldn't need a larger port to dump. Am I missing something? Just don't want to go through the time, expense, and hassle of cutting stainless if I don't have to.
Greybeard
"Keep it secret. Keep it safe." -Gandalf the Grey
User avatar
Cu29er
Bootlegger
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 6:21 am
Location: Midwest

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Cu29er »

.

If you only boil liquid then you should have no problem. Some like to boil mash and liquid together then you need a way to get solids back out or scrub out scorched solids on the bottom of the boiler.
Can you use a carboy brush to get all the spots in the boiler scrubbed if you need to? Or build an extension arm to bolt the carboy brush to that can fit all the way down? What is the largest diameter drain you can install to remove any debris?
1/8th inch diameter drill holes in the bottom of a lauder tun can filter out a lot of debris so you only ferment and boil 'liquid'.

.
User avatar
nuntius01
Rumrunner
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:51 pm
Location: upper midwest

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by nuntius01 »

Cu29er wrote:.

If you only boil liquid then you should have no problem. Some like to boil mash and liquid together then you need a way to get solids back out or scrub out scorched solids on the bottom of the boiler.
Can you use a carboy brush to get all the spots in the boiler scrubbed if you need to? Or build an extension arm to bolt the carboy brush to that can fit all the way down? What is the largest diameter drain you can install to remove any debris?
1/8th inch diameter drill holes in the bottom of a lauder tun can filter out a lot of debris so you only ferment and boil 'liquid'.

.
he hit the nail on the head. you really only need a larger opening for cleaning. i will say, though that you can add a wider opening at any time. get your feet wet first. then when you upgrade, you'll have an idea as to what works for you. check out some of the other stills guys have. if you're planning on going electric, you may want to turn your keg upside down and use the 2" opening for the drain. but, really the best advise is to read everything you can here and ask lots of questions. good luck
I'm just the bank and the mule

post your still pics here
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 16&t=66917
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Here are a few uses for a fill port:

If doing multiple runs you can refill the boiler without removing the still head. If you're running a simple pot still this may not be a huge benefit, but if you have a reflux setup it might be worth it.

You can use the fill port to "shoot" the boiler, adding fruit or other flavoring to the boiler after you've cleared heads. I'd consider this an advanced technique as you need to keep your wits about ya when performing this trick.

If the fill port is large enough it will allow you to get your arm into the keg to clean it out really well. If you ever scorch something onto the inside of your keg you will appreciate how nice this would be.

All that said, I don't have a fill port, or a drain for that matter, and I've never really felt the need to take the time to add one. Then again it might be one of those things that if I ever add them I'll wonder why I didn't sooner.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
bluefish_dist
Distiller
Posts: 1502
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:13 am
Location: Eastern Ia

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by bluefish_dist »

If you can do it, put a 6" port for filling and cleaning. I found my arm doesn't fit through a 4" much further than my forearm so it isn't all that great for cleaning.
My keg still has a 2" fill right now and it is great for refilling without disassembling the column, but lacks the ability to do a good scrubbing. Not a huge issue as I only run low wines in it. Fwiw a large funnel allows easy filling.
Formerly
Dsp-CO-20051
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by NZChris »

If you need a fill port but don't want to mess with the boiler, you can put a tee under the still head.
goose eye
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2846
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:19 am

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by goose eye »

All dependin on your outfit an what you cookin you can keep it stired til it's ready to cap. Your burner causes hot spot in your kettle.

If it pukes don't matter why it'll leave a callin card in your kettle .




So I'm tole
jb-texshine
Master of Distillation
Posts: 3036
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:03 am
Location: Texan living in Missouri

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by jb-texshine »

NZChris wrote:If you need a fill port but don't want to mess with the boiler, you can put a tee under the still head.
T+90°

Mch,put a drain in that boiler before you blow your back out.
Remember not to blow yourself up,you only get to forget once!


Deo Vendice

Never eat Mexican food north or east of Dallas tx!
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Its more a luxury than a necessity.
User avatar
Bushman
Admin
Posts: 17988
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:29 am
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Bushman »

A fill port would be nice for double runs without taking down my column. I made the 2" opening on my keg 4" for my larger column which really helps in cleaning. I also love my drain port. Having gone electric it makes emptying it a lot easier.
johnsparrow
Bootlegger
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:11 pm
Location: NZ

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by johnsparrow »

If you are going to cut a hole, cut a 4" and be done with it!
User avatar
greybeard
Novice
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:01 am

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by greybeard »

Thanks much for the input. I'll have to ponder it. The cost of the right drill bit is between $20-30, then the cost of the ferrule, needing to weld, cap and clamp. I'm new to this so not sure that I will be doing much in the way of double runs. I'll have to investigate recipes a bit more to see if I'll have grains/solids in any mash. My main goal is whisky and maybe some rum. I will put a drain. I can't seen any reasonable way to empty the keg without it.
Greybeard
"Keep it secret. Keep it safe." -Gandalf the Grey
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

Tip it over.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
bluefish_dist
Distiller
Posts: 1502
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:13 am
Location: Eastern Ia

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by bluefish_dist »

Put the drain and fill port. It's worth the effort. After a run or two of moving a full keg outside to dump it, I built a new still with a drain.
Formerly
Dsp-CO-20051
User avatar
raketemensch
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2001
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 2:10 pm
Location: Tralfamadore

Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by raketemensch »

The first time that you try to carry a hot keg somewhere to tip it over, you’ll wish you had a drain port.

The first time you use your drain port you will thank the gods for your unburnt ankles.
Last edited by raketemensch on Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Truckinbutch
Angel's Share
Angel's Share
Posts: 8107
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:49 pm

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Truckinbutch »

Already having a bad back and delicate hands when I started this hobby I built fill and drain ports on the getgo . Never looked back . They are a 'must have ' for me .
Don't think anyone that's seen my rig can fault it too much .
If you ain't the lead dog in the team , the scenery never changes . Ga Flatwoods made my avatar and I want to thank him for that .
Don't drink water , fish fornicate in it .
johnsparrow
Bootlegger
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:11 pm
Location: NZ

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by johnsparrow »

greybeard wrote:Thanks much for the input. I'll have to ponder it. The cost of the right drill bit is between $20-30, then the cost of the ferrule, needing to weld, cap and clamp. I'm new to this so not sure that I will be doing much in the way of double runs. I'll have to investigate recipes a bit more to see if I'll have grains/solids in any mash. My main goal is whisky and maybe some rum. I will put a drain. I can't seen any reasonable way to empty the keg without it.
For a bigger hole you can use an angle grinder and a cut off disk. It can be a little fiddly but it works. If you have not worked with stainless a lot it will be easier than a drill.
User avatar
DAD300
Master of Distillation
Posts: 2839
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:46 am
Location: Southern U.S.

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by DAD300 »

For years I used an unmolested keg. Then when I wanted to do multiple runs I drilled a hole in the top surface that fit a wine cork. I filled and siphoned through that hols for many more years. Wine corks are cheap and can act as a pressure relief. Set a towel over it during distillation if you're afraid it might puke your eye out.
CCVM http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... d#p7104768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Ethyl Carbamate Docs viewtopic.php?f=6&t=55219&p=7309262&hil ... e#p7309262
DSP-AR-20005
johnsparrow
Bootlegger
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:11 pm
Location: NZ

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by johnsparrow »

DAD300 wrote:For years I used an unmolested keg. Then when I wanted to do multiple runs I drilled a hole in the top surface that fit a wine cork. I filled and siphoned through that hols for many more years. Wine corks are cheap and can act as a pressure relief. Set a towel over it during distillation if you're afraid it might puke your eye out.
If the boiler was to amass pressure, then the cork blew out, wouldn't that mean you would get a heap of vapour escaping into the atmosphere. The vapour being heavier than air, this could be quite dangerous running gas no?
User avatar
Oldvine Zin
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2414
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:16 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Oldvine Zin »

johnsparrow wrote: If the boiler was to amass pressure, then the cork blew out, wouldn't that mean you would get a heap of vapour escaping into the atmosphere. The vapour being heavier than air, this could be quite dangerous running gas no?
Thinking that if you got to the point of a pressure build up great enough to blow the cork,(were you asleep or left the still untended?) I would rather have a fire around the burner rather than having a stainless steal bomb burst. By the way I use electric so I don't have an open flame around flammable vapors.

Back to on topic, I built my keg boiler with an 8" tri-clamp opening thinking that it would be great for cleaning, it is but way over kill. Next one I do will have a 6" center tri-clamp with a 2" clamp off to the side for a filling port. I cut the 8" hole with a grinder - cheaper and easier than a hole saw that size. You can always add the fill port later - like I've been meaning to do for the past two years :oops:

OVZ
User avatar
Saltbush Bill
Site Mod
Posts: 9675
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:13 am
Location: Northern NSW Australia

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Saltbush Bill »

johnsparrow wrote:If the boiler was to amass pressure, then the cork blew out,
If that was to happen you have already been doing something very, very wrong. As already mentioned , the cork blowing out at an early stage could be a god send.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by NZChris »

If a cork blows out, the charge boils until it reaches the boiling point for it's abv at atmospheric pressure, so don't bang it in tighter thinking that it will be safer.
User avatar
Old Man Bakke
Novice
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2017 6:26 pm
Location: PNW-Valley of Death

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Old Man Bakke »

I have had a similar question, that Grey Beard posted, brewing in my pre build mind lately. I see everything from 2"-8" center keg Ferrules. I totally get the cleaning aspect and am leaning towards a 6" ferrule to accommodate my arm. But what I am struggling with is...running a larger column, larger than 2" better or serve some purpose down the road when you want to upgrade your keg / abilities? Or...am I still going to just reduce the 6" opening down to a 2" ferrule?
"If you look down at me you'll see a fool; if you look up at me you'll see a god; if you look straight at me you'll see yourself"....C.manson
Pikey
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2444
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:29 pm
Location: At the edge of the Wild Wood

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by Pikey »

I have a tap to drain my pot and the top comes completely off for cleaning.

There is no way any of my stills going forward would have a 2" hole in the top and no access - c'mon !
User avatar
bluefish_dist
Distiller
Posts: 1502
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:13 am
Location: Eastern Ia

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by bluefish_dist »

If I was limited in area on the top of the keg and don't have any height concerns a 2" for the column and a 6" for cleaning/filling would work well. Two 6" or a 4" for the column and a 6" for cleaning would be ideal. Adapters don't cause any issues with operations. I ran a 4" column on a 2" keg no problem. Now I run a 4" column on a 6" opening.
Formerly
Dsp-CO-20051
User avatar
FL Brewer
Swill Maker
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:28 pm
Location: Somewhere in Florida

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by FL Brewer »

I do my stripping runs in a 1/2 bbl keg, no additional ports other than the factory standard 2" at the top. Agree with others here, as long as you run cleared beer/wash scorching and the resultant cleaning shouldn't be a problem - hasn't been for me. I have one bulged and one ruptured lumbar disk, so I'm not big on lifting heavy weights, but the only time I have to lift the filled keg is to remove it from the propane burner and set it down on the floor, and that's not a problem if I'm careful..... the key is to be careful, keep your back straight, use the legs to lift. I use a hand truck to carry it outside, then tip it over to dump where I wanna kill weeds (hot backset does a real good job on that). A drain and a 6" port would be nice, and if you have the capabilities to do the welding yourself, probably worthwhile additions. I don't have welding capabilities, and I've found I can live without those nice to have features. My $0.02, FWIW.
Everyone has to believe in something. Me? I believe I'll have another drink......
User avatar
pfshine
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3106
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:59 pm
Location: Vegas

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by pfshine »

Lots of great replies here. I think of it this way, spend a few hours and a little more money now and save much much more time, headaches, frustration and your back later. You don't have to weld it, it's the best option but soldering on a ferule works great. I haven't had any problems so far in the last 5 years. Rums and rye love to foam and puke, that foam sticks to the top of the boiler and can require manual cleaning. I have a bad back like lots of guys here, I will not pick up a half full keg hot or otherwise when I don't have to.
Put it to you this way. I can hammer in a screw with a crecent wrench that I had next to me but, wouldn't it be much better to walk a little bit and grab the drill?
Life is a journey you take alone. Make sure you do what you what makes you happy
User avatar
FL Brewer
Swill Maker
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:28 pm
Location: Somewhere in Florida

Re: Do I really need a larger filling port?

Post by FL Brewer »

Can't argue with pfshine..... if you can cut and weld stainless (or solder, something I wasn't able to successfully pull off) or know somebody that can, cleaning ports and a drain are very nice features. I can't and don't so that's what drove me to my decision; if I did, the decision would be different. I'll probably change my mind the first time I scorch a mash that hasn't been filtered/cleared sufficiently, but for now I think I made the right decision for me. Ya'll are all different, so YMMV. PITA now, or maybe PITA later.......
Everyone has to believe in something. Me? I believe I'll have another drink......
Post Reply