Simple Beer Keg Pot Still?

[deanodeano]

Thank you everyone. Pretty much what I figured.

[deanodeano]

Getting closer!

I just received the 5 inch ferrule and it just fits. A local metal fab operation will cut the port and weld the 5 inch on. I don't have the equipment to do that, Thanks to all of you who steered me away from my idea of the large hat style cover.

Still have to remove the label

It doesn't get much simpler than this.

[deanodeano]

When I am all done I will put together a start to finish post

[Salt Must Flow]

deanodeano, It looks like you really need to cut the brim off of at least the front of that keg otherwise that 5" ferrule can't be welded to the top of the keg. There just isn't any physical access to weld it without cutting the brim away. That takes a decent amount of cutting, grinding and finish grinding to remove any rough edges. Doing that will allow that 5" ferrule to be moved away from the 2" ferrule a bit to make enough room to remove and reinstall both clamps. If the ferrules are too close, you just can't install both clamps. There's a recent thread here where a guy had his ferrules welded too close and had to grind material away from his clamps to make them thinner so that they can be installed & removed. It's going to cost money for someone else's time, but it is absolutely necessary.

In the future it pays off to buy some basic tools like an angle grinder. You could use hand files, but I bought a cheap Die Grinder & air compressor and that makes doing all of this work very easy. Once all the work has been done, I then take parts to a local guy to TIG welds for a very good price. That way I'm only paying for the welding, not any of the cutting, grinding and cleanup work. The tools pay for themself real quick

[OtisT]

Denodeno, this may have been covered previously.

If you do get tools to do some of the boiler cut work yourself, or perhaps you borrow some tools, be sure that the metal tools are made of stainless or that they are virgin tools that have not been used on other metals. A non-stainless wire brush or a composite grinding disk that has been used on other metals can pollute your stainless and lead to rust.

There are multiple threads on here that talk about fabricating with stainless, cleanup and passivation after work, etc. Hopefully your TIG person know about this.

[MooseMan]

Getting closer!

I just received the 5 inch ferrule and it just fits. A local metal fab operation will cut the port and weld the 5 inch on. I don't have the equipment to do that, Thanks to all of you who steered me away from my idea of the large hat style cover.

IMG_2246.JPGIMG_2247.JPG

Still have to remove the label

It doesn't get much simpler than this.

Looks like a still Dean!

Deffo need part of the chimb cut away with that big port though, for practically and aesthetics.

[deanodeano]

Thanks everyone. As I mentioned, I am going to have a local metal fab shop install the larger port. They will do a much better, and more elegant job than I would.

Also @Salt Must Flow shared this picture of his boiler with me a few post back. While I am keeping the original 2 inch port, the 5 inch will be installed beside it and the upper skirt will be cut away much like what Salt shows here.

15.5 gal Keg Boiler.jpg (15.62 KiB) Viewed 2196 times

[higgins]

I made mine leaving the 2" port and adding a 4" port at the edge of the top.

I wish I had made it with the 4" in the center and added a 2" beside it.

[deanodeano]

My keg and 5 inch are out for fabrication....should have it back this week

[Sporacle]

My keg and 5 inch are out for fabrication....should have it back this week

Deano, just a thought.
Have you checked the clearances of the two ports with tri clamps on?
I know that binding can be a bit of an issue
Good luck and looking forward to seeing it done

[deanodeano]

@Sporacle, great question! Yes, I did a rough check the clearances, and I left both tri clamps with the fabricator so he could test any fitment issues.

Looking forward to gearing up and doing my cleaning runs, and then actually getting down to business.

[deanodeano]

Just got pics from my fabricator. I am out of town and will pick it up on Monday. Pretty cool!

[Yummyrum]

Your fabricator done you well looking at that.
Nice

No worries with clamp spacing .

Good call Sporacle on the precaution .

[deanodeano]

Exactly! Thanks Sporacle.

Next task is to remove that label.

[MooseMan]

Looks a good job that.
Make sure you put up some pics of the fully assembled still when you can Deano!

I wouldn't bother removing the label, I'd just insulate the keg to make it more power efficient and that will hide the label anyway.

[deanodeano]

@Mooseman. I am using propane to get started and I'd rather not scorch the label it permanently to the keg.

[MooseMan]

Ah got you.

Probably won't hurt to dry fire it anyway and burn the label up, then just scrape it off.

[Dancing4dan]

Nice work.

Reconfigure that last bit of 2” copper so that it won’t hold a puddle of liquid just before it reduces to your Liebig condenser. As set up in your picture it will hold a puddle and will cause smearing.

You might try a 90* set up similar to this tri clamped to the top of your riser. It won’t hold a puddle unless the whole still is tilted toward the 90*. You can see what I use for the Liebig swivel.

[deanodeano]

If I put a significant wedge under distillation keg, I can achieve a slope that should reduce any puddling?

What do you mean when you refer to “smearing?”

[deanodeano]

The picture you are referring to was a general working mock up

[Salt Must Flow]

He's referring to the 2"x 1/2" reducer and it's potential for vapor to condense (due to passive reflux) and pool/puddle at that location. Throughout a run that pooling product is said to cause your cuts to smear from jar to jar. It's always ideal for all vapor and any condensed product caused by passive reflux to continuously exit the still. It's probably a relatively minor "issue", but worth pointing out.

You could prop your keg up on something higher creating a steeper angle with your Liebig condenser therefore product cannot pool in that location. Another way is just use a taller riser which would create a steeper angle with your Liebig condenser too. I use a very tall riser so I can collect on a table or counter top with my boiler still on the floor. I hate the thought of squatting down and collecting on the floor.

[Dancing4dan]

The picture you are referring to was a general working mock up

I had a look at your mock up and you have the ability to rotate the still head to bring the Liebig condenser to gentle slope. This will also reduce the potential for pooling in the 2 1/2 inch reducer area but it won’t eliminate it.

Smearing always happens, especially in a pot still. But any pool of liquid in the still head will cause more heads to smear into your hearts as long as heads remain in that pool. Or hearts into tails. You just want to be able to control the smearing of heads hearts and tails as much as possible. Small collection jars allow you to blend back in what you want to keep after a run. But it only really works if your still is running clean, as in smearing as little as possible so you have collection jars with distinct differences.

If you position the 2 1/2 to 3/4 reducer so LIQUID runs back into the still and ONLY vapor goes into and down the condenser you will reduce the amount of smearing. This will give you a larger hearts cut.

As stated elsewhere a taller riser will also allow collection at table or counter height. That is handy! My pot still riser is often made up of several sections to get the condenser outlet to the desired height. A sight glass or two 4” x2” reducers for a foam break all add height.

[deanodeano]

I have some practical learning to do that will only come through trial, error, and gathered experience. This is especially true in being able to track the distillates' transition from heads to hearts to tails. I don't know what I don't know. There is a pretty good body of literature on this subject, but "book larnin'" only goes so far.

[Dancing4dan]

I have some practical learning to do that will only come through trial, error, and gathered experience. This is especially true in being able to track the distillates' transition from heads to hearts to tails. I don't know what I don't know. There is a pretty good body of literature on this subject, but "book larnin'" only goes so far.

All good Deano! There is a LOT to learn! Enjoy the ride.

[deanodeano]

I've read these through a couple of times.


Christopher Yorke's second edition looks like it has a particularly detailed, step by step process on how to begin

[deanodeano]

Getting for my cleaning and sacrificial runs. Do I need to do both a vinegar run and an alcohol run?

My distillation vessel is made from a 15.5 gallon keg. What are the recipes/ratios for both the vinegar and spirit runs for a vessel of this size?

I assume I need to dilute both with water? For the spirit sacrificial run I was thinking of buying a few handles of cheap vodka - any opinions or preferences on other spirits for this purpose?

[andystanton74]

People talk about using a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar and run it through with the condenser off for about an hour. Sugar wash is probably the cheapest and best thing to do for a sacrificial run.

[Salt Must Flow]

Yeah 50/50 white vinegar and water. You just need enough in the boiler to keep the element covered for about an hour of running. I just blast the vapor straight through the still. Either outdoor or through a door or window. Shut down and rinse. Some people try to operate their still, run their condenser/condensers and freak out when the still doesn't function like they thought it should. That's because the still behaves totally different with alcohol so don't be concerned at all with how the still functions during this cleaning run. That's why I just blast the hot vapor completely through the still.

Sugar washes are usually the easiest and cheapest. Some people don't want to fuss with making a sugar wash, buffering the ph, etc... and just buy some cheap vodka. Dilute to 10% ABV and do a sacrificial run. Toss out the end product.

Now you're still is ready to do a keeper run.

[Dancing4dan]

People talk about using a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar and run it through with the condenser off for about an hour. Sugar wash is probably the cheapest and best thing to do for a sacrificial run.

I think you are saying is with the condenser coolant water off but with the condenser connected so it gets cleaned as well.

[shadylane]

Getting for my cleaning and sacrificial runs. Do I need to do both a vinegar run and an alcohol run?

I'll put on my Nomex panties.
If the SS and copper has been properly scrubbed clean "everywhere" on the inside, the vinegar and sac run is at your discretion. Personally, I'd do both runs for the experience if nothing else.