The tube though was not the score that I’m so proud of.
I saw out of the corner of my eye an old style beer keg; you know the ones I mean, slightly fatter and taller. At first I thought I thought nothing of it, hell, I have 2 sankey kegs at home waiting, when I noticed what looked to be a stainless steal pot sitting on top. On closer inspection, the pot on top was welded to the top of the keg with a home made lid, complete with wingnuts and a 1 inch threaded nipple in the centre of the lid… May the Gods Bless the Old Italian and Greek families in my suburb, ITS AN OLD GRAPPA/ RAKIA STILL!!!
I made an audible school girlish squeal when I realised what it was, which didn’t go un-noticed by the scrap yard workers, so I coughed and spluttered to try to cover it up. I dealt with the boss’s son when transaction time came; 5 kilos of copper and 21 kilos of stainless. The owner’s son has one of these teeth dryer moments and inhales through his teeth.
“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ‘snot gunna be cheap mate with all that stainless!” he says.
So I tell him to give me the damage, and he says,
“All up… let’s say $120.”
Considering I had more cash in my pocket, I agreed. Probably could have talked him down too, but considering the copper tube alone would have been $50 worth at $10 a kilo I thought it was a pretty good deal. I’m estimating the capacity of the boiler to be over 80 litres, maybe 100 with the additional cylinder on top. I have to replace the 1 inch nipple in the centre of the lid, which is quite corroded as it’s made from galve, with a larger connector and drill out the hole. The tube I bought I’ve started cleaning with vinegar as it has loads of green oxide on it; it’s coming off ok though and cleaning up.
The ultimate question now for me is, “What do I do with the extra 50 litre kegs now? Can anyone say Thump keg! I’m planning on the initial setup being as simple as possible with just a line arm and worm until I work out the feasibility of having a full sized keg as a thumper. Would take a lot of gas to heat it I know, and I’ll have to insulate.
Tomorrow I’ll finish the cleanup of the tube and wash out the boiler which still has remnants of wine residue on the inside, and post some pics of my find.
I still need to acquire some elbows, reducers, 1 inch compression couplings and possibly some T’s and I've made a worm from 6 meters of 1/2 inch which is nearly ready to go. I think...
I'll be needing some mentoring on this build I thing Guys and Dolls
Peace!