My first keg build ... good, bad, suggestions?

[realestwhiteboy]

I got an old keg that had been left in a barn/outside for who knows how long. I say possibly outside because it came with a tank and 2 5-gallon kegs that had leaves and twigs inside. But at $100 for everything, I couldn't pass it up. Some BKF and a couple hours had them all looking good again, and now I am unexpectedly in the midst of my 1st keg build.

My preliminary gameplan ...
2 of these 2,500 watt elements for heating: https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAING ... tems_2E757

This cooper & condenser: https://shop.distillery-equipment.com/p ... key-column

Maybe a sight plate, if only because they look cool
https://www.amazon.com/Beduan-Line-Sigh ... 087N4PDKK/

[CopperFiend]

That all looks good to me. I would try to get triclamp elements though if you can. Makes taking them out for cleaning 100x easier. Good score on the kegs, especially the corny kegs!

[cob]

And the CO2 tank too? Damn! I am with CopperFiend if you're going to weld

anything onto the keg it may as well be tri-clamp compatible. Good score!

edit; you can build much cheaper than you can buy. posting this because

that condenser looks to small.

[realestwhiteboy]

And this is why I have learned to post here before I submit any orders. Made the mistake of diving in head first with my 1st pot still build and cost myself double what I should've ... I made my 1st drinkable spirits barely 6 months ago, and have never seen a tri-clamp element. hahaha Will give me something new to look for tomorrow.

And the CO2 tank too? Damn! I am with CopperFiend if you're going to weld

anything onto the keg it may as well be tri-clamp compatible. Good score!

edit; you can build much cheaper than you can buy. posting this because

that condenser looks to small.

Yea, I lucked across it on Facebook market for $200, but was marked down to $100. I got the impression I could've talked them down cheaper, but I would've felt like I would have been taking advantage.

When you say the condenser looks too small, is length or diameter? When I first saw it, I thought the diameter was small, but I'm not familiar with liebig & planned to research more on that in the next week.

[cob]

3/4 over 1/2 is actually recommended but 36-48 length is also recommended.

[bcook608]

Yupp, the longer your condenser is, the better you'll be able to control the temperature gradient with the water flow. As I've learned the hard way, shorter liebigs tend to be touchy and want to start huffing if you're not 100% on top of the power to the boiler as well as the water to the PC.

[PhatFil]

one 2.5kw element will be more than you need to create vapour for that head. But Zinc coated elements??? I really think you want to look at SS sheathed elements, Low watt density gets you a couple of brownie points tho

forget the sightglass until you venture into reflux, in a pot still you may catch glimpse of the odd shift of vapour but not a lot else.. if running a reflux still a sightglass under the condenser can provide visual confirmation of the knock back

5 us gallons ? so 17-18l? so your looking at about a 10l or 2 real gallons or a 3 us gallon load? ( you do not want the still to puke.. )

imho check out stock pots or tea urns sub 1mm wall thickness is way easier to drill than SS keg walls, and give you 30-50l of kettle volume to work with

and once you get going 2 x 18l ss kegs will be far more useful as storage or proofing vessels.. large glass bottles/jars are a real pita when they clink and crack especially when full

Also factor in some power-heating control, if using electrc then 20$ should get you a resistance controlled ssr heatsink and guitar volume knob to box up..

[NormandieStill]

If you've got the sight glass it can be useful if you're running a full boiler of AG wash which might puke. Although you can learn the sound of a near puke if you don't have eyes on it.

[TwoSheds]

So I'm collecting parts for a keg build too. Here are some of my thoughts.

Most of my gear now is tri clamp, 2" or 3" so that plays into some of my decisions.

Your first decision is right-side up or up-side down. You can use the original fitting to either attach the column, or flip it and use it as a drain. I'm setting mine up to mash so having a very low drain like that is my preference.

Wanting to mash in it as well as wanting to be able to get an arm into it to clean leads me to put a 6" tri-clamp portal on the bottom (now the top.) I picked up adapters to go from 6" to 3" to 2" so I can run any of my existing gear on there and if I need to get in to give it a good clean I can. It also means an opening big enough to dump grains through or stir during a mash.

For side ports, welding is the strongest option, but if you have DIY inclinations and access to the inside (like if you're cutting a hole for a 6" tri clamp anyway) pull-through tools are available for tri clamp and some NPT fittings. Not the easiest to work with but with a little sliver solder to follow up they are plenty functional. https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ ... ool2tc.htm

If you can, I'd go tri clamp on the top. It'll serve you better in the long (or not so long) run. A spool to get you as high as you need to (possibly even just the sight glass, they are cool, don't let anyone tell you otherwise) then a couple elbows to a tri-clamp shotgun or adaptor to copper and a homemade liebig. That would keep the vapor path big as long as possible and let you swap parts at will.

Welcome to the wormhole. It seems like I'm always on the search for one or two more fittings... Glad tri-clamp is a standard!

[realestwhiteboy]

5 us gallons ? so 17-18l? so your looking at about a 10l or 2 real gallons or a 3 us gallon load? ( you do not want the still to puke.. )

I'm going to build on the 15.5gal keg. I dunno what to do with the 2 5-gallon kegs yet, they just came as part of the package. Thought about storage or just reselling ... maybe just end up trying a batch of beer, never have before.

[TwoSheds]

I dunno what to do with the 2 5-gallon kegs yet, they just came as part of the package. Thought about storage or just reselling ... maybe just end up trying a batch of beer, never have before.

I have a handful of corny kegs and love them. They're great for collecting and storing low wines. One has a less than airtight seal so I keep StarSan in it. I may use them to ferment smaller test batches and might even fill one of them with neutrals after the next big run. Pouring out of them isn't ideal, but workable.

[corene1]

With a 15.5 gallon keg at your disposal I would think about your long term goals. Are you going to just use it as a pot still or will you at some time want to have some type of reflux column to go with it. If so I would install a 4 inch tri clover flange on the top for future use with a column. You can always adapt it down to your 2 inch pot column. A good drain is always handy as well as a fill port on top for easy loading when it is already assembled for those times when you are doing multiple stripping runs. I like to make a small spool with a screen on the bottom to pack with copper so I get a good amount of copper contact with my vapors when distilling. I would definitely build a longer liebeg condenser so you don't overpower that small one when doing hot fast stripping runs. You can use those 5 gallon vessels for storage or convert one into a thumper as it will make the minimum required size for a thumper on a 15 gallon keg. The thumper will come in handy when stripping a corn mash. Load the clears in the boiler and some of the not so clear in the thumper so you can maximize the amount of alcohol per ferment. This will let you distill the liquid that will scorch if put in the boiler. It will also add the ability to instill flavors to your spirit. I would definitely stay modular with the build so you can add options at any time without a major rework.

[realestwhiteboy]

Thanks all for all the advice. We are starting to finalize our plans on this and move towards the build next week.

3/4 over 1/2 is actually recommended but 36-48 length is also recommended.

We decided to make our own. Picked up 5' cuts of 1/2" and 3/4" today, getting the last couple fittings and hose barbs tomorrow. Already have the silver solder & lead free tinning flux from our previous build.

Zinc coated elements??? I really think you want to look at SS

We are heeding this warning, as well. But our local stores only stock stainless steel element in 4500 watt & 5500 watt (both 240v).

We had seen a setup we liked with 2 elements, one on a controller and one with a manual control. But is 2 4500w elements going to be ridiculous & overkill on 15.5gal still?

[bcook608]

you can run those 5.5kw elements on 120. That's what I'll likely be doing.

[realestwhiteboy]

you can run those 5.5kw elements on 120. That's what I'll likely be doing.

Wow, and the learning continues. I didn't realize that, but just googled and it looks like you are correct.
"The same water heater rated for 240V can be operated on 120V. Keep in mind that you can't operate a 120V water heater on 240V AC.

These are the ones they carry near my house, so I think I'll be grabbing a couple of them tomorrow: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CAMCO-Element- ... 1003017406

That'll leave me only needing the tri-clamps & 2" copper pipe & 2" fittings ... they don't carry either near my house, so will have to order both from the interwebz.

[realestwhiteboy]

you can run those 5.5kw elements on 120. That's what I'll likely be doing.

Quick question. Since it sounds like you're going to have a similar heating setup, I figured you might have an idea on this. Figuring out what I will need to pick up to wire these 2 heating element. Should these be run on separate breakers? If so, do they need to be dedicated breakers?

I know water heaters are on dedicated breakers, and a 120v water heater is normally on a 15amp breaker. Since they're not constantly running (like a water heater could be), I'm guessing I wouldn't need dedicated breakers. I'm thinking I would just need them running on 2 different 15-amp breakers, as long as nothing else is on them breakers at the time?

[Salt Must Flow]

I would get a 1" NPT Stainless Weld Spud, grind the bottom of it flat, drill a hole in the bottom of the keg using a step drill bit and silver solder the weld spud to the bottom. It's super easy and makes for a perfect drain. Now all you need is a copper elbow, some copper pipe an npt adapter and a ball valve. This is how I installed bottom drains in all of my electric heated boilers.

I'd have a 2" Tri-Clamp ferrule welded to the side of the keg as low as possible. This is a great heating element with its own built in element guard to protect the the wired connections.

[cob]

Some folks just flip the keg over and weld a new larger ferrule to the former bottom.

As long as your welding might as well do it all at once. check out some other keg builds.

[Bushman]

Some folks just flip the keg over and weld a new larger ferrule to the former bottom.

As long as your welding might as well do it all at once. check out some other keg builds.

The first time I saw this idea I had already cut a bigger hole on the top and drilled a whole in the lower side for a drain port. The advantages of your suggestion cob is the bottom is more uniform thus easier to weld a ferrule. On the top it has different thicknesses and makes welding more difficult with the thinner parts. Another advantage is by flipping it over you already have the whole for the drain port.
Disadvantage if you want to call it that is you probably need to add legs to get the drain port raised off the ground.

[Salt Must Flow]

Swivel casters are really convenient.

[bcook608]

you can run those 5.5kw elements on 120. That's what I'll likely be doing.

Quick question. Since it sounds like you're going to have a similar heating setup, I figured you might have an idea on this. Figuring out what I will need to pick up to wire these 2 heating element. Should these be run on separate breakers? If so, do they need to be dedicated breakers?

I know water heaters are on dedicated breakers, and a 120v water heater is normally on a 15amp breaker. Since they're not constantly running (like a water heater could be), I'm guessing I wouldn't need dedicated breakers. I'm thinking I would just need them running on 2 different 15-amp breakers, as long as nothing else is on them breakers at the time?

That is correct. You don't NEED to have dedicated breakers, but it wouldn't hurt if you're able to set that up.

You'll want to make sure you have a GFCI outlet on the circuit. If it is the first outlet in the circuit, the rest of the outlets downstream will also be protected.

I haven't figured out how exactly I want to wire mine up, but if you look here, you will see my post discussing how I want to set things up with my rig. It has a lot of useful information and direction to other threads you may find helpful.

Good luck with your build!

-Cookie

[bcook608]

Swivel casters are really convenient.

Boiler.jpg

GENIUS!

[Bushman]

Swivel casters are really convenient.

Boiler.jpg

I keep my boiler on a home made hand truck with swivel casters. Works great for moving it around and storing. Most of my setup is mobile as my fermenting is done is an insulated enclosed cart.