PalCabral wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 2:21 am
I want a boiler with a capacity minimum of 75 liters of wash plus the necessary head space, so 85-110 liters.
In England and parts of Europe they have 100L beer kegs.
There are places that sell them second hand.
Ive seen a link once to a site selling them.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on one here in Au.
If I lived on your side of the world id be looking for one of those.
I know you're not in the UK but I'm sure you'll find similar. That's cheap!
Mooseman, I'm 99% sure that'd be fine, but I think we need to be aware of stainless alloys that aren't considered food grade. If it's not 304 or 316, I'd be slightly leery. There are inexpensive dropper chemical test reagents available to identify if an alloy is 304.
Mislabeled steels come out of Asia all the time. There was a guy who bought an expensive maple syrup boiler cheap that was supposed to be 304, it was labeled 304, but it wasn't. He had to scrap it.
Something to keep in mind...
I get what you're saying on this, but in reality there's no such thing as non food grade stainless.
The knives and forks you eat with are more than likely 400 series, and the majority of stainless cooking pots are 200 series.
It's primarily the chromium content in the alloy that dictates the grades, but there's just so many speciality grades.
316L is of course the best for our purposes in general with higher nickel, but I wouldn't say no to most stainless really, it's fine if rinsed and dried.
Username wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:47 pm
They're a bit like the snuffleupagus, I've worked in the beer industry for 15 years and only heard rumours of their existence
Username wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:47 pm
They're a bit like the snuffleupagus, I've worked in the beer industry for 15 years and only heard rumours of their existence
I've got one, and I know where there's another!
Store them in a dark room and see if they breed and multiply.
Username wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:47 pm
They're a bit like the snuffleupagus, I've worked in the beer industry for 15 years and only heard rumours of their existence
I've got one, and I know where there's another!
There are plenty around if you do the research as far as I know.
Mine had German beer in it originally.
Username wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:47 pm
They're a bit like the snuffleupagus, I've worked in the beer industry for 15 years and only heard rumours of their existence
I've got one, and I know where there's another!
Maybe they just don't make it to my corner. The trend is to go smaller than bigger, 30, 20 and even 10's are becoming more popular
I used to sometimes deliver the odd Firkin here and there, and take delivery of 50L kegs. I would hate to have to handle a 100L, I can see why they're not used often!.
You don't see them very often at all in the UK and when you do they tend to be European lagers. Expect they get used more for export than domestic use.
MooseMan wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 12:53 pm
I get what you're saying on this, but in reality there's no such thing as non food grade stainless.
The knives and forks you eat with are more than likely 400 series, and the majority of stainless cooking pots are 200 series.
It's primarily the chromium content in the alloy that dictates the grades, but there's just so many speciality grades.
316L is of course the best for our purposes in general with higher nickel, but I wouldn't say no to most stainless really, it's fine if rinsed and dried.
I hear you. I guess one other issue is that some 200 series can and do corrode in an annoying way, and it wouldn't be fun to work hard on adapting a vessel only to have it deteriorate.
After hearing Moose (famous) story of the 100L keg I have looked. Never saw a trace. Not saying they dont exist, just that I dont know which hedge row it’s lying behind
PalCabral wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2026 11:00 pm
However, the lid is also the weak spot. The clamps needs to hold the lid tight, and a good sealing gasket is needed to avoid leaks, and I have my doubts about the life-expectancy of the clamps themselves. The lid also needs to be made in thick sturdy metal, both to fit snug but also to hold the weight of all still head components that are going to sit on top of it. All-in-all, this type of construction may come with issues if the construction is not great.
Thoughts?
Look at the "lids" used on these traditional copper stills.
Not saying they dont exist, just that I dont know which hedge row it’s lying behind 