Building a boiler out of a sand filter

Post by **shadylane** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 5:17 pm

A while back I bought a really big stainless steel sand filter at a junk store. From the measurements it would appear to be 15-16 gallons, kinda hard to say since the sides aren't straight and the ends are rounded. Didn't know what I was going to make out of it but figured it would be good for something. Anyway, decided it would make a good boiler, so I ordered the SS fittings for the project, so here it goes.
The filter was made in two pieces with a clamp, that way it could be taken apart to renew the sand. I didn't get the clamp that went with it. But that don't matter, since I'll be throwing way the rubber seal and welding the two half's together.
Figure on having a 2" gate valve for a drain, 3" ferrel on top for the vapor outlet, a 4" ferrel for the fill port and weld on two 1" NPS nuts for the heaters. I'll have to figure out a three legged stand for the boiler that's tall enough so I can drain it into a 5 gallon bucket, so I can use the boiler for heating water for mashing. Kinda figure to go slower than normal on this project since it's a case of wanting it but not needing it.
But it will still be crude by the standards of some of the builders here.

Post by **firewater69** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 5:29 pm

that'll make a fine boiler!

Da Yooper · Post by **Da Yooper** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:18 pm

Looking good

Post by **shadylane** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 4:22 pm

Still waiting for parts, so there's not much I can do. But I did get a little bit of prototyping done on the stand.

Post by **S-Cackalacky** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 4:26 pm

It's gonna be a nice piece of work. Looks kinda like that thing that landed on the moon back in '69.

Post by **Condensifier** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 4:32 pm

It's looking good shadylane and looks like a fun project.

Post by **shadylane** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 4:48 pm

One of my ideas was to stick a keg in it and use it as a baine marie.
It's a couple inches bigger in diameter and a few inches shorter than a keg.
Or I could have used the two halves to make two baine maries.
But I've found a couple better ways to do that. One is steam injection and the other is an electric oven boiler.
The electric oven boiler is the cats meow for cooking fruit

Post by **shadylane** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 5:32 pm

All the fittings, electronics, metal and the plasma cutter have been shipped and on the way. The fun is about to commence

Post by **MoonBreath** » Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:15 pm

Man thats cool ...I'm liken this 'boiler stand' fad that seems to be catchn on ...
Yep, gonna have me a stand for my rig hopefully one day (soon).
Nice work indeed.

Post by **skow69** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:14 am

And a plas' cutter to boot! Way cool. Have fun.

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:46 pm

Well one of the fittings came in, the elbow for the drain.

Post by **S-Cackalacky** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:44 pm

Shady, can't wait to see this thing finished and all purdyed up.

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:54 pm

Wish the 3" and 4" ferrels would come in. I need to figure out the best way to use them and were to put the drain.
There's already two holes in the top/bottom of one half and a hole in the side of the other half.
At this point, I'm not even sure which half of the SS filter is going to be the top or bottom ?

Post by **shadylane** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:18 pm

Wish I knew where the holes needed cut. I feel like a little boy with a Barlow knife that ain't allowed to cut anything.

Post by **firewater69** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:26 pm

I like the stand you built, I built one for my friends keg, and welded the drain in the bottom. no more keg tipping just rinse it out and it's all gone.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:58 pm

Parts are in

By golly the spent mash should drain out of this without plugging up the drain

Post by **bearriver** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:06 pm

Hrmmm... Shiny new fittings...

Every boiler should be so lucky to have such a loving owner.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:17 pm

Now comes the hard part, making decisions.
My original idea isn't going to work, there's not enough room because of the holes that are already there.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:58 pm

A small flickering light just came on in my head.
Yes, this might be dangerous considering how much flammable alcohol has been stored there over the years.
Plan B. The hole in the back will get a 1 or 1-1/2" ferrel. It will be used for the boiler pressure safety release and the manometer.

Post by **S-Cackalacky** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:04 pm

Could the ferrules be offset a bit to make room for the TC to fit? Or, could the second (fill port?) hole be plugged somehow and then relocate a new hole in a more convenient place? Maybe weld a piece of plate over the existing hole.

Edit: Looks like you found a solution.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:24 pm

I've moved the ferrels around until my head is spinning, even turned the two half's of the sand filter upside down and can't find a better solution.
My origin plan was to use the 3" for the vapor out and the 4" was going to be the fill port.
But I changed my mind. In the future I might want the ability to mount a 4" column, I've been having dreams of copper flutes.
What good is a well built pot without the ability to put something pretty on top of it.

Post by **S-Cackalacky** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:27 pm

Go with the 4 inch and use a reducer if need be.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:33 pm

That's what I was thinking. It's real easy to make a 4"ish copper disk and braze/weld/solder the size fitting on it you need then cut the hole out.

Post by **shadylane** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:09 pm

Got a little bit more done. Welded the ferrels on the inside so my crappy welding wouldn't be visible

Didn't want to wait for a 1" ferrel so I welded a 3/4 weld spud in the extra hole. It was almost too big so there wasn't much material left over for welding on. So I welded it from the outside. Also found out the Stainless steel filter is only .050" thick, guess that's a good excuse for not being able to weld it very good.

Post by **shadylane** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:57 pm

I've got the top of the boiler almost done, now it's time to tinker with the bottom for a little while.
Figure to weld two 1 inch NPS nuts to the bottom of the boiler for mounting the heaters. Before I do, I'll probably modify them by turning them into weld spuds. Here's how I figured to do it, two SS nuts, jammed together on a short piece of all thread, with something to let them spin while you hold them to a cutoff grinder that grinds between the two. If that don't make cense I'll post a picture.
The NPS nuts a perfect for screwing water heater elements into, the threads match and PTFE washers are available for the seal.
I forgot how much the 304 SS nuts cost but they were fairly cheap and it's time to order some more.

Post by **DFitz** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:19 pm

Moving right along. Looking good so far!

Post by **shadylane** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:44 pm

The hell of it is, I don't even need the still. Well maybe I might want it.

Post by **raketemensch** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:59 pm

I used those same nuts for my element, they were 2.95 on eBay.

Post by **shadylane** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 4:26 pm

The SS nuts are pretty cheap and easily converted into weld spuds.
Real 1 inch NPS weld spud's are rare since they are made out of unobtainium

Post by **still_stirrin** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 4:31 pm

A plasma cutter and a Tig welder...I'm insanely jealous.

Great job Shady. How's the learning curve with the Tig?
ss

Home Distiller

Building a boiler out of a sand filter

Building a boiler out of a sand filter

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