Hot spots using a stainless keg?

[madscientist]

Alright guys long time lurker first time poster, here is my question. I have been running a brewhaus essential extractor for a year and want to step up a little in size.

I am considering a high capacity head from brewhaus and mounting it with clamps and adapters to a 15 gallon stainless bud light keg. I want to continue to use the propane as heat but was worried about scorching the sugar wash I normally use.

Should I use a dissipator plate or weld a steel plate to the bottom with some sand in the bottom and a gas release hole in the side of the bottom of the keg?

How do you aussies do it since I see a lot of keg still photos in the forum?

Later,

Madscientist

[MORGAN]

I am a new distiller. Maybe made a half dozen runs. Corn sour mash and fruit. I run a milk can pot still and also a 15.5 gal beer keg pot still. Just run it slow and easy and you should be fine. You regulars are a great bunch of people and this a most rewarding hobby. M.

[maze48]

Should I use a dissipator plate or weld a steel plate to the bottom with some sand in the bottom and a gas release hole in the side of the bottom of the keg?

Welcome to the forum MORGAN.

Well you don't have to worry using a 15.5gal. keg. Those things are mighty thick, and will last a long, long time. If your using a sugar wash it won't burn or scorch, cause you'll be out of product long before it get's that low, if using propane. If you are using electric water heating element the same thing will apply.

[Aceonline]

Also Consider using Boiling Chips

Courtesy of Tony Ackland
(Home Distilation of Alcohol)

Boiling chips
If you're heating your still over an external heat source, then you should have a couple of boiling chips inside it to help break the boil. These are any rough-surfaced, inert object - like bits of broken pottery (unglazed so as to avoid lead based glazes), broken glass, or even a couple of marbles.

The rough surface acts as a site where the bubbles can start to form easier. If your pot is nice and smooth on the inside, then its difficult for the bubbles to form, and you can end up super-heating the liquid. When it does boil, it might be quite violent, and give surges of vapour up the column, ruining that nice equilibrium you're trying to create. Boiling chips, although making the job a little noisier (rattle like hell!), do help give a smoother simmer.

David

[Hackers]

If you are using an internal souce then boiling chips are not necessary at all as the elements themselves will do the same job.

To save the rattling when using an external heat source (my neigbours even complained) I got a stainless steel mesh and welded three little legs on to it and set it in the bottom of the keg. Has the same effect without all the noise

[Tater]

I also use ss keg and propane burner. I use a few hand fulls of copper fittings and or pices of tubing cut about 1 in long. Would probley help some newbes in another way as well .Most anything you break boil with will rattle.By listening to rattle you can judge easy to hard boils by sound.

[LeftLaneCruiser]

Tip for a 'boil-breaker' that doesn't rattle:

In thin mashes i use one or more (depends which still i'm using) scrubbers to break the boil. Yup, the same as which my column is packed with. They have lots of surface-area to break the boil, but weigh almost nothing, so no noise.

KJH