Simple Beer Keg Pot Still?

[deanodeano]

I am interested in brown spirits. Have been making beer for years....Like 1980. I have seen a couple examples on the forum of using a beer keg as the base for a simple pot still, but don't seem to be able to find plans or kits to use get started. I can sweat a copper fitting, simple instructions on creating the basic set up (no thumper) with a flake stand condenser would be great.

[still_stirrin]

The Sanke tap on the top of kegs is perfect for a 2” Tri-clover (T/C) ferrule. Get a PTFE T/C gasket and sand off the bead on one side and it will fit perfectly with the 2” ferrule. Solder a short riser into the ferrule and solder a 90* elbow to the top. Then, reduce to 1” and add a copper union. From the outlet of the union, solder another 90* elbow and make a Liebig (1/2” vapor tube inside of a 3/4” liquid water jacket). A Liebig is easy to build (since you can solder) and will work much better than a worm & flake. Plus, you’ll use less water for the run.

In the Construction forum, there are many, many builds from which you can get ideas. And, you don’t NEED plans. You’ll understand simply by looking at the pictures.

Heat source for your boiler? I assume propane fired. But electric elements are easy to regulate and save money in the long run. Sure, maybe a litlle more expensive at first, but well worth the investment.

Have a look at my signature for my build thread(s). There’s some ideas there.

Good luck.
ss

p.s. - I suggest insulating the boiler if you can (especially if electric powered). The insulation will help with boil stability and efficiency.

[Wildcats]

viewforum.php?f=50 have a look it's all here. When you do build your still,make a build thread and take pictures of the whole process. That way we can help. And we love pictures.
Good luck with your project. Have fun and stay safe.

[Saltbush Bill]

You can find boiler builds and a lot of other relevant information here.
Start off cheap and easy, add things as needed and once you have a bit of experience, things like electric elements for heating , drain taps, four or 6 inch flanges for mounting stills and fill ports.
Many many of us started out with a simple unmolested / un-modifed keg.
A keg , a 2 or 3 ring gas burner and something to stand it on are all that you need.
Once you have collected up the right fittings you can build a simple pot still in a half a day, a liebig condencer is easier and quicker to build that a worm in bucket type imo.

If you make an easy flange for the bottom of the pot still head it will clamp straight to the beer keg using a triclamp . Instructions on easy flanges are also here on the forum.
It doesn't have to be hard or cost much to start out.......the end result will be 10 times as good a still than the cheap shit Vevors for sale.

[The Baker]

You can make a nice stand from the rim of a car wheel.

Geoff

[deanodeano]

Thanks everyone! I just did not know where to look in the forum and was reading the wrong threads.l This is a huge help

[The Baker]

Many use four bricks as a stand.

Geoff

[Yummyrum]

Many use four bricks as a stand.

Geoff

I’m one of those .
But a word of warning .
A big Banjo burner under a keg creates a lot of heat . Not only does it heat the keg , but also whats below the burner .

I found the hard way at my last place . I sat the bricks on tue concrete carport and did a few runs . One day I removed the bricks and burner to find my concrete was all cracked and blistered .

So from then on , I always place a sheet of compressed cement under the burner to protect the concrete .

This is the setup in my new shed .

When I remove the burner I find the compressed cement sheet has taken a real beating after maybe a dozen runs.

I slid the lot away and the concrete floor is looking fine . The blue stuff is spray paint over shoot the last owner left and the brown patches are where the Dunder spill from yesterday ran under the cement sheet

So while the brick method does work and is cheap and easy , you need to protect the floor under it or ideally raise the burner well off the floor on a proper stand .
Saltbush bill has an excellent burner stand .
Maybe he can post it .

Also I just remembered . I use common house bricks …. only because I’m lazy and I had a few .
They also crack .
Best to get some proper fire bricks if you gonna do this because eventually the house bricks crack and become rubble . Not something you want a boiler sitting on .
Having said that , I’ve been doing it this way fir nearly ten years without an accident .

[Wildcats]

I use bricks as well. Burnt spot under a piece of metal that I slide under the bricks. Not really an issue. I've been using the same bricks for about 12 or 14 runs. I just grabbed a few from work today to replace the ones i have now. Really need to get or build a stand but haven't worried about it much.

[shadylane]

Here's a DIY riser for a keg.
The riser is 1.5" I used that size because that's what I had.
At the top of the riser a 1" tube is soldered on horizontally with a union to connect it to a liebig.
There's a small tube for a temperature probe.

[shadylane]

Here's a modification to make the seal stay in place while trying to clamp it onto the keg.

[Yummyrum]

Here's a modification to make the seal stay in place while trying to clamp it onto the keg.

Thats cunning Shady , because they do tend to slide around sometimes when you’re trying to align them up.

Having said that , I’ve always managed to centre them in the end .

[Saltbush Bill]

Run a half a dozen winds of thread tape around the middle , overlapping where the two flanges meet then clamp .....no need for a seal between flanges then, ran mine that way for years.

[shadylane]

Moonshiners are noted for making what's needed.
Things are easier now, Folks can buy a big copper erector set.
Not making fun of that, I'm jealous.

[shadylane]

Here's another option.
Have a taper so the tri-clamp pulls it into the keg and use cotton string for the seal.

[shadylane]

Run a half a dozen winds of thread tape around the middle , overlapping where the two flanges meet then clamp .....no need for a seal between flanges then, ran mine that way for years.

PTFE tape is our friend.
Bubba winds it around yarn for more thickness and give.
All that's needed is a variable speed drill and three hands.

[Tōtōchtin]

I would consider getting 2 kegs and if you see 3 grab them. Easier to get flavor with a thumper. I bought a 60 and a 30 liter as I want to make rye whiskey and rum. I ended up buying 2 more 60l because I want to run on grains,so I'm looking at using steam to cook my mashes and run my still. Going with tri-clamps is a no brainer, I bought most of my parts from oakstills.com sight glass, clamps,ferrules,and gaskets. They now offer 3"copper disc to make a shotgun condenser. Though a worm would be damn easy to make compared with the time involved. I believe steam/electric combo for a boiler is a better option then gas,unless you live in snow country then all that wasted heat can warm up your shed. Gas and electric can easily scorch your mash unless your real attentive.
This is what I have absorbed stumbling around this site,and coming from a guy who still has yet to finish my still.
Tōtō
One thing more if you are short on time and don't really enjoy working with your hands and get joy from what you build, buy your still already made from oakstills or someone like that. If time is money/value you don't save that much, but I have enjoyed and learned a lot working on my project.

[Tōtōchtin]

I would consider getting 2 kegs and if you see 3 grab them. Easier to get flavor with a thumper. I bought a 60 and a 30 liter as I want to make rye whiskey and rum. I ended up buying 2 more 60l because I want to run on grains,so I'm looking at using steam to cook my mashes and run my still. Going with tri-clamps is a no brainer, I bought most of my parts from oakstills.com sight glass, clamps,ferrules,and gaskets. They now offer 3"copper disc to make a shotgun condenser. Though a worm would be damn easy to make compared with the time involved. I believe steam/electric combo for a boiler is a better option then gas,unless you live in snow country then all that wasted heat can warm up your shed. Gas and electric can easily scorch your mash unless your real attentive.
This is what I have absorbed stumbling around this site,and coming from a guy who still has yet to finish my still.
Tōtō
One thing more if you are short on time and don't really enjoy working with your hands and get joy from what you build, buy your still already made from oakstills or someone like that. If time is money/value you don't save that much, but I have enjoyed and learned a lot working on my project.
Edit: I choose 3" and now I wish I went with 4 inch. Also use a 6 inch ferrule on top of your keg to help clean and work inside your boiler. Few extra bucks for going bigger is worth it.

[Wildcats]

Come in ToTochtin... Get that thing built!!

[deanodeano]

Like I mentioned, I have been making beer for 40 years, so I have beer keg that I cut most of the top from for my mash boiler and I put a valve near the bottom to draw off the resulting delightful mash. I will keep using that. It looks like a great deal of my beer making tools will translate to making whiskey. I have always used a turkey frying stand for making beer, so I have that too.

Since I can handle a torch, should I bother stepping up from the standard 2 in collector to a 3 inch? Is it worth the extra fabrication for a rookie like me? Or should I just stay with the two inch keg connection to a two inch collector?

[Salt Must Flow]

Like I mentioned, I have been making beer for 40 years, so I have beer keg that I cut most of the top from for my mash boiler and I put a valve near the bottom to draw off the resulting delightful mash. I will keep using that. It looks like a great deal of my beer making tools will translate to making whiskey. I have always used a turkey frying stand for making beer, so I have that too.

Since I can handle a torch, should I bother stepping up from the standard 2 in collector to a 3 inch? Is it worth the extra fabrication for a rookie like me? Or should I just stay with the two inch keg connection to a two inch collector?

I wouldn't unless you think you will be building a 3" refulx column. A 3" reflux column would outperform a 2" column, but other than that, 2" is perfectly fine for a pot still and no advantage.

I was given a LOT of 3" stainless dairy pipe for free. I used it to build a 3" VM as well as a 3" pot still. When using a pot still for stripping or a spirit run, the same amount of vapor and product is produced by a 2" as a 3". Parts just cost more for 3".

If you are specifically interested in a plate or bubble cap still then that would likely be entirely different. I have only barely dabbled with a couple of bubble caps so I'll leave that to those with much more experience.

When I modified my keg to become a boiler, I had all of my Tri-Clamp ferrules TIG welded to the keg. The only things I trusted with solder is a stainless weld spud for the bottom drain and a thermowell.

[deanodeano]

I have no interest (yet ) in making a column still. I will stick with the "natural" 2 inch collector

[Sporacle]

Since I can handle a torch, should I bother stepping up from the standard 2 in collector to a 3 inch? Is it worth the extra fabrication for a rookie like me? Or should I just stay with the two inch keg connection to a two inch collector?

Plenty of people have run 4 inch flutes on a standard 2 inch keg opening.

Using the existing 2 inch and simple "riser" will produce a good quality product.

If you were to modify the top of the keg there are two main ways

1. Leave the two inch and then add a 4 inch or bigger port off to the side for cleaning (4 inch is the minimum port that I can fit my arm through)

2. Remove the two inch and replace it with a 4 inch or bigger, then use a sanitary reducer to get back to your riser size.

I made do with a two inch opening for a quite some time, worked fine

[deanodeano]

[img

IMG_1742.JPG (2.98 KiB) Viewed 11637 times

][/img]Thank you Sporacle. The 2" sounds like the way to start, and since it works, there isn't much pint is getting myself all wrapped around my axle making it more complicated than necessary.

A couple of members mentioned making a shotgun condenser since I was comfortable with using a torch. The shotgun looks like it is a type of Liebig condenser, just with multiple tubes? Going back to my comment about simplicity and effectiveness, it seems that making a much simpler singler tube Liebig is a a good way for to get started.

Thinking about condensing, since I been a brewer, I already have a wort cooler I made with multiple copper coils that perhaps I could repurpose by significantly reducing the number of coils and highly refining the descending pitch of the coils and put it in a flake stand type container = I have both a keg brew kettle I could and a large cylindrical igloo water cooler. See the attached photo

All in all, building a single tube Liebig seems like the simplest yet elegant way to go.

[MooseMan]

I'll give my opinion as a user of a keg, and a Liebig.

To get you started you can't get better than just using the existing flange on top of a keg.
It's not exactly the same as a 2" Tri clamp flange, but it's close enough that it works fine.

And for simplicity, again to get up and running with little fuss, a Liebig is the way to go.
Make it as long as you sensibly can, once you get to the stage where you want to strip washes as fast as possible, you will be glad you made a long one as they can cope with anything.

Whatever you do, take photos and put up a build thread, we like those and it always helps people to see how others get things done.

[BrewinBrian44]

It’s a tad more complicated, but if you’re willing to start with electric, it works very well.

I too have have a keg boiler. I turned mine upside down and use the original neck opening as a drain port. I welded on some legs with adjustable feet so I can level it. I put a 90 degree turn on the drain with a long extension to a 1/2” ball valve.

For the top “originally the bottom,” I cut two holes. The center hole has a 4” tri clamp ferrule welded on, the other hole is a 1.5” Tri clamp ferrule for a fill port. In retrospect, I wish I would have gone with a 6” ferrule in the center for easier rinsing and a slightly larger fill port, but it still does quite well in my current configuration.

On the side, as low I could get it, I cut a hole and welded on another 1.5” TC ferrule for the 5500W heating element.

This really didn’t cost me much, but performs very well. The advantage of having the neck at the bottom is draining all the liquid without anything left behind. It allows for simple back to back runs with no disassembly required. The fill port gives me the ability to keep either my pot still riser or column attached, while going back to back.

After a run, I hook up an electric pump to the ball valve and easily remove all the hot back set down the drain. Then I’m ready to go again!

[deanodeano]

@Mooseman: How long would you recommend?

[Salt Must Flow]

I know there's a lot of people that have flipped their keg upside down. I personally don't see the point. I just soldered a 1" NPT Stainless Weld Spud to the bottom of a keg after drilling a hole. The rest can be as simple as a 1" copper Street Elbow, a relatively short length of 1" copper pipe, a 1" NPT Copper adapter and a 1" ball valve. I personally like having the handles on the top of the keg rather than on the bottom. I use 4 swivel casters for convenience and it can be leveled if absolutely needed.

I totally agree, electric is really nice. I'll never use gas/fire unless I absolutely had to. As long as the electric grid is in operation I'll be using electric.

[Wildcats]

Nice boiler SMF!! I like it. Thanks for sharing this. I haven't done anything to my boiler yet. Hope to someday do something similar to what you have here. Would love to have a drain. Cheer's

[Salt Must Flow]

Nice boiler SMF!! I like it. Thanks for sharing this. I haven't done anything to my boiler yet. Hope to someday do something similar to what you have here. Would love to have a drain. Cheer's

If I could do it over ... I'd reverse the 6" and the 3" ferrule on the top. Other than that, it does everything I need it to do.