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So I have a couple brewzilla’s and a T500 reflux. I bought the T500 thinking it was perfect for me. No research but YouTube.

I soon found out I should have done a lot more research. So I figured I would give an electric keg still build a chance. I just purchased a Auber DSPR 400. And was trying to figure out my tri-clamp ferrule sizes and went over to my old MoreBeer fermenter to gauge sizes. Then I thought, why can’t I drop a 2” tri-clamp heating element in where my dump valve is. The lid has a 4” tri-clamp on it already.

Any thoughts on this?

Looks like you have three tri-clamps. One on the bottom, one on the top, and one mid-low. If you plan to ferment in the vessel, or distill on the grains, then placing the element at the bottom risks scorching either the grains or the yeast. I'd place the element in the mid-low port for a stripping run. Now if you plan to rack and place a clean beer back in, then the bottom works great. In fact, you will likely have to place the element in the bottom to do a spirit run, but there aren't any grains or yeast in your low-wines so you're good there.

One mistake I made was not having sufficient cooling. Ramp up your cooling more than you think you need.

Question … what do you do with your ferment while you’re in the process converting your conical fermenter into a boiler?

If it were me, I’d keep the fermenter busy doing what it does best … fermenting beers!
Make yourself a keg boiler for your still instead, that way you’ll have the best tools for both jobs.
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I have heard of others using a heating element to sanitize a fermenter. You should be able to make it work with caveats mentioned like not scorching contents and keeping the element submerged.

Been brewing beer for over 20 years and have built up a good number of fermenters through the years so I could pull this out of the fermentation line up.

Thinking about it more, it would make a lot more sense to just build a keg boiler instead. And probably much happier in the end; was trying to save a bit of money I guess.

I’m thinking either a 6” or 8” tri-clamp on top and three 2” tri-clamps on the bottom, figured 2 for the heaters and the other for a drain.

Tresguey wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 8:19 pm
I’m thinking either a 6” or 8” tri-clamp on top and three 2” tri-clamps on the bottom, figured 2 for the heaters and the other for a drain.

Sounds perfect