Home Distiller

Not to sound like the asshole I sometimes am, here at Homedistiller we want our hobby to be legal.
Accidents could be held against our plans when and if that ever happens.
Be good or be sneeky, think about the big picture, be safe and have fun.
A leak or crack with steam can make a major big bada boom.
Next time use water from a garden hose to pressure test with.

shadylane wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 1:27 pm Not to sound like the asshole I sometimes am, here at Homedistiller we want our hobby to be legal.
Accidents could be held against our plans when and if that ever happens.
Be good or be sneeky, think about the big picture, be safe and have fun.
A leak or crack with steam makes for a major big bada boom.
Next time use water from a garden hose to test with.

I didn't think that at all. The "Yes Sir" was 100% out of respect for your experience. I should have never tested anything steam that way and I certainly should have never posted about it.

Rusty

Be good or be sneeky.
Your learning and we want to help.

Steam is one thing. Hot ethanol vapor releasing quickly is another .

A thermometer to monitor temperature might actually be useful in this case too since rising pressure also increases max temp and temp rising beyond expected could be a sign of a clogged pipe and impending explosion which would be a good time to shut down before the hot ethanol vapor is released.

Cheers,
-jonny

A steam setup is a closed distillation process...as long as you follow the rules of never leaving your still, and you KNOW you equipment, there is very little to fear...

I have had a plugged system ONCE (before the relieve valve was installed) BECAUSE i know my equipment, and things was taking longer to produce heat to the thumper... I know something was amiss.

I HIGHLY recommend this type of setup, but it is not for the novice. (not trying to scare you from trying) but some things to take into consideration. This is a closed loop system. Be aware of pressure...

However this setup will cook, ferment, and distill (on the grain in the same vessel) without scorching...

Please be EXTRA careful but live to tell the Fun
BlackStap

When using a thumper for steam stripping, having a big removable lid is must.
Something that let's you easily fill, mash in, empty and clean it out
If the thumper is too big to manhandle and manually dump it out, having a drain that's larger than 2" will be needed.

shadylane wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 7:04 pm When using a thumper for steam stripping, having a big removable lid is must.
Something that let's you easily fill, mash in, empty and clean it out
If the thumper is too big to manhandle and manually dump it out, having a drain that's larger than 2" will be needed.

This has triggered me a little shady.

I've gotten into the habit of doing sugar heads for neutral, on half of my spent grain, so I tend not to worry about a bit of alcohol left in it.

But I have thought a few times about a thumper for stripping the slop.
Reading the first line of your post, I realised I have the perfect vessel, a 30l water boiler with a domed, removable lid.

MooseMan wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 12:32 am

This has triggered me a little shady.

I've gotten into the habit of doing sugar heads for neutral, on half of my spent grain, so I tend not to worry about a bit of alcohol left in it.

But I have thought a few times about a thumper for stripping the slop.
Reading the first line of your post, I realised I have the perfect vessel, a 30l water boiler with a domed, removable lid.

I use a still spirits boiler with a tri clamp as a thumper. It has the bonuses of not only being just the right size for my keg boiler, but its also the right size to use for the spirit run from the resulting low wines. But the biggest bonus is definitely being able to take the whole lid off to dump the grain out. Squeezing grain is not an activity i miss doing.

Homebrewer11777 wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 9:14 am ...
1. Will this general design work for stripping solids? Put the clear siphonable beer into the boiler and the stuff you would otherwise have to squeeze into the thumper? I am concerned you might really need some sort of manifold or false bottom to distribute the steam evenly through the muck.
...

I don't have a thumper per se, but I do have a 7.75 gal pony keg that I use as a steam generator. This goes into my 15.5 gal boiler keg that is my normal still boiler.

I do 25 gallon mashes/fermentations with 50-60 lb grain. I'll siphon off 10 gal of the clearest beer, leaving 15 gal mash slurry. I'll do 2 stripping runs with half the beer (topped with water) in the steam genny (boiler), and half the slurry in the boiler (thumper). I strip to <5% off the spout. I do some preheating of the 1st mash slurry charge using propane and a drill stirrer, but on the second charge I preheat using the PC water out thru a wort chiller, followed by the backset from the first charge. By the time the second charge in the genny is boiling, the mash slurry is already 150F+.

The bottom (foot) of my down tube into the boiler (thumper) has a tee with 2 silicone tips clamped on. The silicone has a slit cut across the end to allow steam out, but keep most of the grains out of the foot.




NOTE: pic was NOT uploaded just now - that isn't working. But in the user control panel I can see all the images that I have uploaded, so I just linked to the one already there.

Edited to add: My 15.5 boiler (when used as a thumper) has a 4" TC port alongside of the sanke port on the top, and it sits on a 10" high platform. I can easily unclamp the still parts (I hang them in place with bungees), tip the kettle to dump it into 2 6 gallon buckets, tip it back up, fill with 2nd charge, reclamp the still parts and start the 2nd strip.

Posted with higgins work around.
Here's the water seal and lid for my steam rig.

viewtopic.php?t=59138

Here's another idea I call a roller.
viewtopic.php?t=50567

It's a pity one can't load up pics on the site, because I wanted to share how I was planning on joining the two equal sized boilers.

My plan was to use 2 inch tubing connected by tri clamps all the way, then a reducer on the second boiler from 2 inch to whatever dimension the down tube will have. However, I notice that in almost all builds here on the forum, the tubes between "boiler" and "thumper" are reduced from 2 inch to smaller dimensions, 1/2 or 3/4 inch (it looks like). Why is that? Is there a reason why not use 2 inch the whole way?

I can think of reflux being more prominent in the bigger tube than in the smaller.

Rusty Ole Bucket wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 5:11 am
I have pressure tested my set up to 20PSI+ checking for leaks, so I set my PRVs at 14PSI, or just about 1 bar. I wasn't confident they were set accurately from the manufacturer so I made a tool to verify and adjust the pressure they release at. I was right, one was set at 1bar the other was set at 2 bar. From my research the steam generator should produce about 7 psi against the kettle spear and the kettle should produce about the same, maybe a little less, to the thumper spear.

Rusty, how did you pressure test your boiler? You closed it up with a manometer on top or how did you do it?

In a terrible terrible way.

See if you can modify a power washer to test the pressure safely

PalCabral wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 11:54 pm I notice that in almost all builds here on the forum, the tubes between "boiler" and "thumper" are reduced from 2 inch to smaller dimensions, 1/2 or 3/4 inch (it looks like). Why is that? Is there a reason why not use 2 inch the whole way?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it due to parts availability.

Using something like this makes it stupid easy
https://shop.stilldragon.com/2-x-1-housing.html

PalCabral wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 11:54 pm It's a pity one can't load up pics on the site, because I wanted to share how I was planning on joining the two equal sized boilers.

My plan was to use 2 inch tubing connected by tri clamps all the way, then a reducer on the second boiler from 2 inch to whatever dimension the down tube will have. However, I notice that in almost all builds here on the forum, the tubes between "boiler" and "thumper" are reduced from 2 inch to smaller dimensions, 1/2 or 3/4 inch (it looks like). Why is that? Is there a reason why not use 2 inch the whole way?

I can think of reflux being more prominent in the bigger tube than in the smaller.

Here's a thumper with 2" plumbing. viewtopic.php?t=79428
My preference is to use 1" copper and unions in the same configuration instead of sanitary fittings, because 2" is massive overkill and copper is easy to work with. Plan B is to use flexible corrugated copper.

PalCabral wrote: ↑Sun May 25, 2025 1:10 am Rusty, how did you pressure test your boiler? You closed it up with a manometer on top or how did you do it?

Hi Pal. Sorry it took me a minute to respond. We took advantage of the long weekend to get in two runs and make 40 more gallons of panela rum wash that will be ready to run in a couple of weeks.

I made the little pressure tester tool you see below. 2" tri-clamp to 1/2" NPT, 1/2" tee, (2) 1/2" x 1/4" reducers, a gauge and a Schrader valve. I would use this with 2" tri-clamp caps to close off individual pieces than then add 5PSI to 20PSI depending on the part. Then I would just spray the joints with soapy water. The only thing I did at 20PSI was my main kettle after soldering on the 6" ferrule, everything else was 5 to 10PSI.

Rusty

I built a set up basically like what you’re looking to do. Link below. I sourced SS spools/triclamp fittings and soldered the injector from copper. The 90 degree Tri clamp fittings allow flexibility for height adjustment between the two kegs so consider how you configure those. The boiler has a prv but also added a manometer for backup/plus can keep track of the water level and observe pressure issues before they blow a valve. Overall very happy with this set up.

viewtopic.php?t=91741

Powder Monkey wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 5:33 am I built a set up basically like what you’re looking to do. Link below. I sourced SS spools/triclamp fittings and soldered the injector from copper. The 90 degree Tri clamp fittings allow flexibility for height adjustment between the two kegs so consider how you configure those. The boiler has a prv but also added a manometer for backup/plus can keep track of the water level and observe pressure issues before they blow a valve. Overall very happy with this set up.

viewtopic.php?t=91741

I've drooled over your set up several times during my research, nice build.


Rusty

This was kinda how I was planning to connect the two boilers. The left boiler would be the steam boiler and the right boiler would be where I have the mash. Obviously, the element would be switched over and the the pipe into the mash boiler would be the thumper tube. Missing is the tubes to the product condenser. What do you think?

I have an 88 liter milk can that I use for a thumper to distill grains or fruit pomace. Sometimes with pure steam, other times with beer or wine in the boiler.

My steam injection line is installed on the upper side connection so I can heat with steam when I mash in the thumper with the lid off. This allows me to stir the contents with a paddle.

I installed a sight glass on the vapor outlet on top of my milk can thumper. This will allow you to see if you miscalculated and have a high level from steam condensed. There is a danger of overpressure if you high level and carry over solids into your condenser.

I had a power failure (ran out of propane) during a run and sucked pomace from my thumper into the boiler before I noticed. I have a keg steam generator with a 1/2 psi vacuum breaker valve. A 1/2 psi vacuum will lift water 13 inches. Not sure how resistant your milk can is to vacuum, but I would not operate without an vacuum breaker valve. I open the manual valve to atmosphere when I power down.

PalCabral wrote: ↑Thu May 29, 2025 2:03 pm This was kinda how I was planning to connect the two boilers. The left boiler would be the steam boiler and the right boiler would be where I have the mash. Obviously, the element would be switched over and the the pipe into the mash boiler would be the thumper tube. Missing is the tubes to the product condenser. What do you think?

Double boiler.jpg

If you have a couple more 90* elbows you can add one to the top of each riser. It will allow you to be able to compensate for any height differences between the two.

30xs wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 7:34 pm

If you have a couple more 90* elbows you can add one to the top of each riser. It will allow you to be able to compensate for any height differences between the two.

Plumbed like this.

30xs wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 7:34 pm If you have a couple more 90* elbows you can add one to the top of each riser. It will allow you to be able to compensate for any height differences between the two.

Thanks for the tip. I reckoned I needed at least one more 90* elbow but probably two more would be appropriate.

shadylane wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 10:57 pm Plumbed like this.

Gotcha. Great with a picture, it really helps me. Is it on the top of the Tee above the steam boiler where you are having the "turn off"/"emergency" valve, Shady?

zach wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 9:36 am I have an 88 liter milk can that I use for a thumper to distill grains or fruit pomace. Sometimes with pure steam, other times with beer or wine in the boiler.

My steam injection line is installed on the upper side connection so I can heat with steam when I mash in the thumper with the lid off. This allows me to stir the contents with a paddle.

I installed a sight glass on the vapor outlet on top of my milk can thumper. This will allow you to see if you miscalculated and have a high level from steam condensed. There is a danger of overpressure if you high level and carry over solids into your condenser.

I had a power failure (ran out of propane) during a run and sucked pomace from my thumper into the boiler before I noticed. I have a keg steam generator with a 1/2 psi vacuum breaker valve. A 1/2 psi vacuum will lift water 13 inches. Not sure how resistant your milk can is to vacuum, but I would not operate without an vacuum breaker valve. I open the manual valve to atmosphere when I power down.

Would be really interesting to see a picture of your set up.

I really don't want to find out just how resistent my milk can is to vacuum. The steam boiler has leaking problems, so I am not even sure just how high pressure it can build up. I have distilled in it and it worked but I lost so much to the "angels". Bad welding. But my thesis is that I should be able to generate enough heat to feed the mash boiler/thumper with steam.

I stole the pic from Chauncey. viewtopic.php?t=79428
Maybe ask him on the link I provided and he can answer the question.
If I remember right he wasn't using the thumper as a steam rig.

Here's the setup I use for pressure testing boilers.

PalCabral wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 11:47 pm
Would be really interesting to see a picture of your set up.

Here is a photo of stripping by the pool. It is 40 C today so I had to cool off during the run.