15 gallon keg still

[utvol]

I will preface this by saying i know nothing about how to convert my 15 gallon keg still into an electric still. It has been something that i have never put a lot of thought into.

But as I feel like i will be getting deeper and deeper into this hobby now that my kids are older and i have more time I am thinking it would be a more economical choice over time. Propane is a lot more expensive than 12 years ago when i was dabbling in this hobby.

My questions are this
1. it seems i will have to find someone who can weld aluminum is this correct? As I do not posses these skills or have the equipment.
2. Make the decision if i want to invest in an electrician putting in a 220 outlet.
3. do i really need to do 220?
4. if I can find someone who will cut my keg i should just be able to buy the heating elements and controller online pretty easily?

Any additional guidance is appreciated if there is something that i am not considering above.

thank you

Utvol!

[jonnys_spirit]

Is it SS or aluminum? Aluminum is not recommended.

I use a dryer outlet for my 220V heating element feed but yes I would recommend a 220V / 30A drop. Heatup and strips will benefit from this additional power.

You can cut a hole with a hole saw and use silver solder and a torch if you don't mind working outside of your comfort zone a little.. A cutoff wheel might also be useful. It's not that hard once you dive in.

Cheers,
j

[Laredo7mm]

I would think that it would be stainless steel if it is a keg. You can solder stainless with Harris stay-brite solder. It melts at less than 500F so it is easy to work with and doesn’t require special torches.

[utvol]

Yes the keg is stainless steel.

What do you need to solder into the hole?

Yes I am sorry for all the newby questions. i was just trying to figure out if it is possible or feasible before i do all the research needed.

some people use more than one heater it seems?

[Stump Lake]

I'm going to subscribe to this thread. I have a 15 gal. SS keg coming. And have the same questions.

[TwoSheds]

It's a good way to go, for sure. 5,500 Watt does a nice job.

Electric code for heating elements like we use in stills should not max out the circuit they're on. I think they recommend staying at or under 80% of capacity, so 5,500 Watt is just a little under that at 240v. (5,500w/240v=just shy of 23a).

There are other tricks like running two 120v elements from different circuits. On 15a circuits you'd end up around 1,500w each for a total of 3kw, which would get the job done but heat up will be slow.

Insulation will help either way and is a no-brainer once you get the flames out of the equation.

I have used both silver solder ports and welded. If you just need one I'd say have it welded but if stainless you might have to ask around to find someone capable. Expect to pay a few bucks too!

Have them put in 2" tri-clamp flanges and you'll have no shortage of heating elements to choose from. Spend a couple bucks on decent ones and your welder will thank you, quite literally. I, and others here, have had good luck with Dernord elements.

Off-the-shelf controllers are available, or many of us have built our own from Auber components. A dial and an SSVR is cheap(ish) but an Auber DSPR400 and SSR (and case, heatsink, wiring, indicators, switches, a contactor is a good idea) can be built for $150 US if you're into playing with electricity.

[Laredo7mm]

For a 15 gallon pot, I would use one 5500W 240V heating element, with a GFI, that can be controlled from 0 to 100% power. You would need a stainless steel tri-clamp ferrule in the size that you want for your heater. My boiler has a 2” tri clamp on it, but I have seen ones with 1.5” also.

Check out brew hardware to get some ideas. https://www.brewhardware.com/category_s/1841.htm

[jonnys_spirit]

Useful ports:

- 2" TC - Heater element #1 (as close to the bottom as possible for minimum required boiler charge)
- 2" TC - Heater element #2
- 2" TC - Drain on bottom
- 3" TC - Fill port on top. Could also be used for steam injection.
- 6" TC - Cleanout/riser/column port on top. Easily necks down to 4" for plates, 3" or 2" for packed column or pot riser.
- 1/2" NPT - or some TC fitting - boiler thermometer

Just recommendations to consider. You could do it with a single heater port and 2" fill/riser port on top.

Cheers!
-j

[zed255]

Some inspiration perhaps?

viewtopic.php?p=7513655#p7513655

[Salt Must Flow]

My questions are this
1. it seems i will have to find someone who can weld aluminum is this correct? As I do not posses these skills or have the equipment.
2. Make the decision if i want to invest in an electrician putting in a 220 outlet.
3. do i really need to do 220?
4. if I can find someone who will cut my keg i should just be able to buy the heating elements and controller online pretty easily?

First decide if you intend to use a 2" riser or column on your still or larger. If you intend to use a 2" column or riser then you you can connect directly to the existing fitting on top of the keg using a 2" Tri-Clamp ferrule. If you intend to use a larger column or riser then I personally prefer to have a Tri-Clamp ferrule TIG welded to the keg. I cut the hole myself using a grinder, have it welded then I grind the interior smooth. I do as much work myself as possible and only pay for the welding. You can solder a 2" Tri-Clamp ferrule on the lowest side of the keg for a heating element, but I just have it TIG welded. It's really easy to solder a bottom drain in the keg so it drains really easy. I use a 1" ball valve for a bottom drain. Any smaller is painfully slow. 1" works well for me and drains relatively fast.

240V is the way to go because it's approx 4 times more energy/power. Things to think about ... where do you intend to run your still? Where are your service boxes? I have one in my house and one in my garage. For that reason I installed multiple 240V receptacles in my garage. It's really simple to install a 240V circuit to a receptacle.

When it comes to controllers, many if not most build it themselves. You can find them online too and are overpriced as expected. Building an even better controller is less expensive and it's difficult.

I use this 5500W heating element. This one is very similar too.

[utvol]

currently running a 2 foot 2 inch column that clamps on the top. At this point i do not plan on upgrading.

was hoping to have to cut as few holes in the keg as possible.

I just watched a video on Barley and Hops and the guy cut a hole in a keg with a hole saw bit.

So you would have a 2 inch hole cut or drilled. Put in a stainless steel tri-clamp ferrule. And then the heating element screws into this or how does it attach?

Uvol!

[Salt Must Flow]

currently running a 2 foot 2 inch column that clamps on the top. At this point i do not plan on upgrading.

was hoping to have to cut as few holes in the keg as possible.

I just watched a video on Barley and Hops and the guy cut a hole in a keg with a hole saw bit.

So you would have a 2 inch hole cut or drilled. Put in a stainless steel tri-clamp ferrule. And then the heating element screws into this or how does it attach?

Uvol!

I would stay clear of that YouTube channel. That guy doesn't know what he's talking about, ESPECIALLY when it comes to controllers.

In my previous post there's links to Tri-Clamp heating elements. They attach to Tri-Clamp ferrules using a clamp and a gasket.

I've used hole saws in the past, but now I just trace the ferrule using a permanent marker, crude cut using an angle grinder then buzz away the rest using a Die Grinder. After the ferrule is welded to the keg, I clean it up real nice using a Die Grinder.

[Chucker]

Installing a tri clamp ferrule gives you a tri clamp connection. Your order the element with a tri clamp connector and the two sides clamp together using a tri clamp and gasket. These are very common brewing/beverage/dairy supplies and readily available from Amazon as well as other places.
Be wary of information taken from Barley & Hops. Most is just right enough to be not quite wrong but also wrong enough to be not quite right, and until you know the difference it can lead to some disappointments.

[elbono]

You can do it yourself or you can buy a keg boiler or pay a welder to fab your own design. What you want will determine the cost of each.

If you want to do it yourself with a minimum set of options all you really need is a fitting to mount the heating element.
This post shows kit to solder that on. If your keg is a US Sankey I strongly recommend a ferrule on the top, getting a triclamp in the Sankey is a huge source of aggro. It can be soldered or welded.

If you're going to cut holes yourself you want a carbide holesaw. Slow with lots of pressure and lube is the way to go.

My electric advice is targeted to a US installation but other locations will be similar.

You can do 120v but it will be very slow on stripping runs. 240v will give you 4x the heat. On spirit runs I usually run around 70-80v on the element so 120v would be fine then.

Stilldragon has a basic controller for a good price I'm putting together a more sophisticated rig but this has served me well so far. All I needed to add was a fan.

A 5500w/240v element will need a 30A circuit on 240v or on 120v will run fine on a 15A circuit. A 240v controller works on 120v too.

The only thing I consider non negotiable is GFCI. On 240V a "spa panel" is normal. On 120V the kind in your kitchen or bath is fine.

All that said I'm a strange guy, when decided to go electric I installed a sub panel in the basement fed from a 50A GFCI breaker, bought a TIG welder, learned how to weld and 6 months (and mucho dinero) later I have two boilers going and still sticking stuff on them...

[Stonecutter]

If you're going to cut holes yourself you want a carbide holesaw. Slow with lots of pressure and lube is the way to go.

This point cannot be stressed enough. If you attempt to rush the cut you will find yourself in terrible shape.
Jonnys_spirit has laid out a phenomenal setup. I’d definitely fit at least two TC ports on the bottom with 3 being ideal. A dump port, and the option for two heating elements if you please. The top cutout you’ll want big so that you can rinse out the boiler with relative ease.
The electric keg is a common setup for various reasons.

As a warning! You’ll find your thread locked VERY quickly with much more mention of a banned YouTube site or vendor.
Hard to believe you haven’t Checked out the rules by which we live.

[MooseMan]

If it's any help, I was where you are a while ago and, after spending lots and lots of time researching what my best build options were, I did this.

viewtopic.php?t=83586