Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Steam powered cooking and distillation devices.

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Andy_NZ
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Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Andy_NZ »

Hey guys,

This has been inspired by Bolverk and his system and the many before that i guess!

So i dont have running water in my shed. I had to come up with a reservoir type system for my steam generator, i used the principle of the office water cooler.
The 20 litre keg has a dip tube which gives me the height of water in the horizontal 3" tube. After some testing I placed a bubble plate in between the sight glass and the dip tube this slows any surges from the boiling column and helps keep water at a constant level.

Works great and has no floats, solenoids or controls.

Please excuse the chicken scratch drawing.!

And how do i rotate pics? Thanks.
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Bolverk
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Bolverk »

Dude! That is clever AF!

Does your boil crash when the keg sends a slug of water down the pipe?
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NormandieStill
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by NormandieStill »

I guess the feed rate from the keg depends on the tube diameter. I have a chicken water trough that works the exact same way.
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Yummyrum
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Yummyrum »

That really is simplicity .
I was wondering how you fit the keg without getting wet . Then I saw the valve with no handle .
Andy_NZ
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Andy_NZ »

Hi Bolverk,
i tried with a setup like yours with water into the bottom of heater tube and had lots of issues with surging and boil stopping .
With the horizontal tube to the reservoir that water heats up to the bottom of the upside down keg and pre warms it.
I also have placed the bubble cap in between heater tube and keg and so the water keeps a nice level so it doesnt get a big slug when level changes.
There is a ball valve i can adjust to the keg but havent needed to at the moment.
Bolverk
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Bolverk »

Andy_NZ wrote: Mon Apr 22, 2024 1:44 pm Hi Bolverk,
i tried with a setup like yours with water into the bottom of heater tube and had lots of issues with surging and boil stopping .
With the horizontal tube to the reservoir that water heats up to the bottom of the upside down keg and pre warms it.
I also have placed the bubble cap in between heater tube and keg and so the water keeps a nice level so it doesnt get a big slug when level changes.
There is a ball valve i can adjust to the keg but havent needed to at the moment.

That's awesome. How close does the water supply down tube sit to the bottom of the horizontal reservoir?
There are two types of people in this world.
1. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete information.
Andy_NZ
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Andy_NZ »

The dip tube sits about 15mm from bottom of the horizontal. The water level at rest is about the same distance 15mm above the end of the dip tube.
I can send more pics later.
Bolverk
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Bolverk »

Andy_NZ wrote: Mon Apr 22, 2024 2:16 pm The dip tube sits about 15mm from bottom of the horizontal. The water level at rest is about the same distance 15mm above the end of the dip tube.
I can send more pics later.
Neat, i would I have expected it would need more water to hold it back
There are two types of people in this world.
1. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete information.
Andy_NZ
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Re: Steam Generator with 20L Keg Reservoir

Post by Andy_NZ »

NormandieStill wrote: Mon Apr 22, 2024 12:15 pm I guess the feed rate from the keg depends on the tube diameter. I have a chicken water trough that works the exact same way.
Hi Normandie,
yep i got the idea from the office water cooler systems and there was an idea in the SD Tulleride post i saw.
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