Ideal boiler size

[bobtail]

Being as this is my first boiler ,i'm not really sure what size might be best. I'm sure many of you have bought a boiler and after a while wish you had gotten a different size for whatever reason. I'm looking at the milk can style in the 13 &26 gal size. 5500w heater ,4in colume, all things being equal would you go 13 or 26
bobtail

[Odin]

Hi Bob,

Difficult question ... I know that I always whished I had something bigger. Started with a 4 liter airstill, then got a 8 liter one, and later on builded my own 30 liters pot. Now I am thinking ... I should have one of 100 liters!

Good luck, Odin.

[Prairiepiss]

Beer keg. 15.5 gal

[rad14701]

If you really think you need a 4" column you're going to need at least a 15.5 gallon keg to supply enough distillate for the column to function properly throughout a run... You'd end up with a lot of alcohol right in the column itself at that column size... What's your rationale for wanting to go so big...??? The only practical purpose of going with 4" would be a plated flute build...

[Bushman]

Odin is right that is a difficult question with a lot of factors involved. I am happy with my beer keg at 15.5 gal. my runs are in the 10-1/2 gal/run size. With a 2" column and running it very slow a run usually takes me between 13-16 hours. I would need a larger column to run it any faster than that so I do not need anything larger at this point. Mash Rookie however has me interested in building a new still with a 3" column (so I have set aside a second keg that I will use to build something of that design). Good Luck!

[bobtail]

I'd like to age my whiskey in a 5gal oak barrel . I was thinking it might take awhile to distill enough to fill one on a smaller boiler.
As far as the 4in colume, i'm looking at the hillbilly flute. its a 4 plate made by KS. He says either boiler will work with the colume , i just have to decide

[myles]

I like the 30 litre keg with 2" column combination for shorter run times. A 50 or 100 litre pot still is good too.

[rubber duck]

I'd like to age my whiskey in a 5gal oak barrel . I was thinking it might take awhile to distill enough to fill one on a smaller boiler.
As far as the 4in colume, i'm looking at the hillbilly flute. its a 4 plate made by KS. He says either boiler will work with the colume , i just have to decide

If you set it up right you would be surprised how much booze you can produce in a day with a 15 gallon keg rig.

Also I think your jumping the gun on KS's 4" plate still. I'll bet if you ask him he'll tell you to buy his simple pot still rig to learn on and then upgrade if you feel the need.

[rad14701]

Also I think your jumping the gun on KS's 4" plate still. I'll bet if you ask him he'll tell you to buy his simple pot still rig to learn on and then upgrade if you feel the need.

I have to agree with this advice... Not trying to put the quash on one of KS's sales but that would be a lot of money to lay out for a hobby start-up rig... KS also has a mighty fine pot still head that would be great for learning... You don't want to be overwhelmed, and potentially disheartened, right from the get go...

[losthog]

This is something I am interested in also. Where is the tipping point in having a boiler and set up large enough to have room for error in distillation and small enough to escape the all seeing eye of suspicion. I wanted to run a 50 gal boiler, but I have heard that it is a large system.

[Braz]

This is something I am interested in also. Where is the tipping point in having a boiler and set up large enough to have room for error in distillation and small enough to escape the all seeing eye of suspicion. I wanted to run a 50 gal boiler, but I have heard that it is a large system.

50 Gallon is huge for a hobby still. I think a 15.5 G beer keg is just about ideal for our purposes.

[Mud Mechanik]

This is something I am interested in also. Where is the tipping point in having a boiler and set up large enough to have room for error in distillation and small enough to escape the all seeing eye of suspicion. I wanted to run a 50 gal boiler, but I have heard that it is a large system.

50 Gallon is huge for a hobby still. I think a 15.5 G beer keg is just about ideal for our purposes.

+1 here, 50 gallon boilers would push the limit of hobby distilling ( see rule #6 ), not to mention the time and heat involved.

[losthog]

This is something I am interested in also. Where is the tipping point in having a boiler and set up large enough to have room for error in distillation and small enough to escape the all seeing eye of suspicion. I wanted to run a 50 gal boiler, but I have heard that it is a large system.

50 Gallon is huge for a hobby still. I think a 15.5 G beer keg is just about ideal for our purposes.

I thought that kegs were aluminum...

[Prairiepiss]

I thought that kegs were aluminum...

No most newer kegs are stainless steel.

[rad14701]

I thought that kegs were aluminum...

That's so 70's..

Yes, kegs used to be aluminum but have been made from stainless steel for many years... Aluminum kegs a very rare these days...

[losthog]

I thought that kegs were aluminum...

That's so 70's..

Yes, kegs used to be aluminum but have been made from stainless steel for many years... Aluminum kegs a very rare these days...

Shows how old I am I guess. Standard beer kegs can be bought fairly cheep...

[rubber duck]

Keg still's are perfect for what we're doing. If for some reason the law where to search your shop all you have is a keg, a crab/crawfish boiler, and some funny looking copper.

I prefer a worm coil but a libeg is better for being covert. Any idiot can spot a worm and know what it's for, a libeg doesn't look like anything if you aren't looking for it.

A full on copper rig is a dead give away.

[hstuurman]

A full on copper rig is a dead give away.

But so damn nice

[Ayay]

18 Gall is a bit too much for a slow reflux column and just right for a pot still doing a single run, (Hobby style where a day is only 18 hours).

'Too big' is easier to accommodate, and 'Too small' is a complex problem. Going beyond 'Too big' is just as bad as 'Too small'.

My ideal is closer to 15 Galls than 20 Galls.... like 17 Gals!

[DAD300]

The 15 gal kegs are perfect in that they are just to damn easy...

If you look long enough, you'll get the keg for $0 to $30 bucks, vs $230+shipping for a 13 gal milk can.
If you care what it looks like, you can polish it to a mirror in a couple of hours.
If you put it on your porch, no one asks what it is.
It already has a 2" triclamp flange.
Even full, ~130#, you can still move/roll it if necessary...

[bobtail]

well i decided onthe 13 gal milk can, with the flute. placed my order yesterday.
bobtail

[Odin]

Looks like a good decision! Keep us posted on how it works for you!

Odin.

[bobtail]

Business must be good at hillbilly stills, I just received an email that my boiler & flute just shipped a few days ago. Its been a long 3 months waiting, but well worth it.
I have read & reread the thread on sweet feed whiskey @ least 3 times and been gathering supplies. hopefully be fermenting in a week or two. . I'll get back when i have more to share

bobtail

[astronomical]

a dream rig and zero fermenting experience? All I can say is take a lot of notes on your ferments so you can pinpoint potential problems fast. Watch PH, temp, SG, FG, and don't go tweaking recipes. Id try using both tap water and buying an RO/DI system (works well for me and you've got the scrilla). Maybe you have some background in beer or wine. I'd start with sugar washes due to the decreased amount of variables. Anyhow, whatever you do, don't frack it all up and quit and go to turbo washes. Make whatever your heart desires but don't get upset if things fail. I've done over 30 washes and I still run into problems. Also, if you really have no experience, i'd stick to ~7G fermentation vessels to begin with and try keeping different ones at diff temps or doing different SG's.. nuff said

[Mud Mechanik]

Business must be good at hillbilly stills, I just received an email that my boiler & flute just shipped a few days ago. Its been a long 3 months waiting, but well worth it.
I have read & reread the thread on sweet feed whiskey @ least 3 times and been gathering supplies. hopefully be fermenting in a week or two. . I'll get back when i have more to share

bobtail

Did ya get a visit from the UPS/Fed ex man today?

[LWTCS]

Fermenting in a week or two???

Figured yew'dah had a couple buckets clear'd already!

Christmas will be gone before ya know it.

[Lester]

Right now I do stripping runs in batches of 18 liters in my 25 liter boiler, then run those low wines for a second time on my 2" VM/LM column for neutrals. I would like to cut down on the time & effort to make neutrals.

Am I on the rigt track if I went for a 50-liter boiler so I can do away with the stripping run? I will load it with 40 liters of BW @ 12% ABV and make neutrals in a single pass with the reflux column. Will I actually save on time? Will quality suffer? Please advise before I run off and buy some SS materials to make the boiler!

I know the advise to do stripping runs first but ......... my neutrals are gone in no time so I need to make a lot more. That's the downside of having a lot of drinking buddies but it's much more fun than drinking alone.

[Prairiepiss]

Does your still make a good single pass neutral. That you would ne happy with? I would try it a few times before you decided.

A single run neutral around that size can take 10 to 14 hours to do. For most 2" columns. Many things can change the time it takes.

Do a few single runs with your setup now. First see if you like it that way. And also time them. And use that as a gauge. Time how long it takes average for one run. Multiply that time by how ever many runs of that size will equal. If you are wanting to go with a 40 lt charge. And you are running 10 lt batches now. Multiply the time it takes by 4. For example. That will het you close. The heat up time will increase as the boiler charge volume increases. It won't be exact. Bit close enough to give you a better idea.

[OldtimeDistiller]

I'm thinking about building a 15 gallon all copper pot still with a 5 gallon whiskey barrel thumper. I got the 5 gallon barrel for just 20 bucks but i'm a little worried it will be on the small side for a 15 gallon pot.

[Lester]

Thanks PP, will do as you say. Cheers!