Mash tun / stripping still

[tjsc5f]

I was thinking about the steam generator the other day, and unless you're preheating the water going into it, you won't be anywhere near 4500W steam output.
If you rearrange your plumbing a bit, you can use your PC as a preheater to gain some efficiency.

[Bolverk]

That's a good idea, thanks

[Bolverk]

I found this video with a 1/4" eductor with 11 kw of steam input in what looks to be a 55 gallon barrel



I just received a 3/8" eductor that I'm going to try with with 15 KW. It might be too loud.

I've been thinking about this video.... man I hope my 4500w and this 1/4 educator work. I'm not exactly looking for high performance. I'll be happy if it creates enough agitation just to keep the grain from settling on the bottom

[tjsc5f]

Are you still waiting on some aliexpress parts?

[Bolverk]

Are you still waiting on some aliexpress parts?

Yeah the educator won't be here until sometime next week.

[Bolverk]

Test 1 was a failure, there was a leak in the seal.of the sight window

Here's test 2

[Bolverk]

First fire up

Something hinky is going on with my controller that I need to figure out so I popped in my 1650w element just for this test. Sorry for the rambling haha

[Yummyrum]

Nice work Bolverk
Should be a cracker when you get the big element in there .

[Bolverk]

Filled up with just enough water to cover the nozzle

Part 1


Part 2


Just as I cut off this video, the auto top off fired just a spurt so it worked as described. That check valve with the 1 bar check pressure was absolutely necessary

[Bolverk]

Nice work Bolverk
Should be a cracker when you get the big element in there .

Thanks, man! I'm pretty stoked. Even if that little educator doesn't work, I'll make a steam wand for it, and then I can do all the grain!

Hell, I've got 2 buckets full of grain; one is 80% rye, and the other 60% rye just waiting to be mashed.

[tjsc5f]

Exciting stuff. No surprise that the eductor wasnt working with only 1650W. Can't wait to see it at full power.

What controller are you using? I've been using one of these for a few years now and it's been great (and not as questionable as the cheap SCRs off of amazon IMO)
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/22518324 ... pt=glo2usa

And if you want to get fancy, you can run it with one of these for a plug and play wireless controller option:
https://a.co/d/hzNMft0

[Bolverk]

What controller are you using?

I've got a StillDragon controller, I think ive got the potentiometer hooked up wrong, it's reading 240 regardless of where I set it. Not a big deal as I planned to run this at 100%, but I'd feel better with a slower heat up that first time or two and the ability to kill power quickly in the event of an emergency.

[Yummyrum]

What controller are you using?

I've got a StillDragon controller, I think ive got the potentiometer hooked up wrong, it's reading 240 regardless of where I set it. Not a big deal as I planned to run this at 100%, but I'd feel better with a slower heat up that first time or two and the ability to kill power quality in the event of an emergency.

Bolverk , two likely possibilities.

1) the SSVR is faulty ( usually the internal switching triac is short circuit or ,
2) you have a short circuit in the Pot circuit .

A quick test is to disconnect the Pot wires to the SSVR . If the output now drops to zero then the SSVR is OK . You need to look at the wiring to the Pot .

Note: it is important that you have a load connected to the output when measuring the voltage . IE , you should be measuring the voltage across the load , element or even an incandescent light bulb .

SSRVs have a small leakage current and can give an almost full voltage output reading on a Digital multimeter even when they are turned to zero.

This is my controller turned to Zero . It is reading 234 Vac

Turned up full , it goes up a bit to 239 Vac .But if you didn't know, you might think it is faulty .
Incidentally , I disconnected the Analog Voltmeter to prove the point . Even the Analog volt meter was almost enough to load it down

Sorry not wanting to derail your topic but might be helpful

[Bolverk]

Thanks, Yummyrum. I'll check this out tomorrow.

I appreciate it. This is good, it saves me from having to go searching through posts for troubleshooting pointers, so thank you very much.

[NormandieStill]

I'm really intrigued to see how the eductor will perform when there's solids in the boiler. I find with my steam setup that I need a reasonable amount of liquid in the slop when I start it up and that I need to give it a good stir once the steam is coming in to get the solids suspended. After that the steam input seems to be enough to keep them suspended. If I don't stir I get noticeable cold spots in my boiler.

[Bolverk]

Me too! I got the idea from the SD forum. Some of the pros over there use them, so in theory, it should work.

[Bolverk]

Turns out the controller works just fine, I measured voltage without a load so I was getting bad readings.

Full tests incoming....

[Bolverk]

4500w element with empty kettle


I went to fill up the boiler with some water, and start that test and after 2 minutes I had no steam, I suspect I fried the element... there was only about 2" of water above the element and the cavitation may have exposed the element. I'm waiting for everything to cool off enough to service it and we'll check it out.

[Bolverk]

Well... shit, I'd say it's safe to assume I need more headspace in the tube boiler...

Yummyrum, I know we spoke on one of your threads and said 2-3" of element coverage should be enough, but after seeing this id say you probably need 5-6" at a min, 8" would be safer or move up to a 4" spool with like 3-4".

[tjsc5f]

Damn! Looked promising with the empty boiler.

[Yummyrum]

Well... shit, I'd say it's safe to assume I need more headspace in the tube boiler...

20240310_114744.jpg

Yummyrum, I know we spoke on one of your threads and said 2-3" of element coverage should be enough, but after seeing this id say you probably need 5-6" at a min, 8" would be safer or move up to a 4" spool with like 3-4".

Oh shit that sucks Bolverk .

I can’t help but wonder if it is the effect I was talking about here . . Where there seems to be a higher apparent water level in the sight glass than in the boiler when the two are connected at the outlet viewtopic.php?p=7771499&sid=cfa46bddfa4 ... d#p7771499
Regardless , I will take your bad experience and add a few more inches to mine .

[Bolverk]

It's hard to say for certain since the top is shaped a little differently... but you may be right. I could always do a sight glass at the top of that tube boiler, but with that much heat, it seems unsafe.

The element sits in a 12" spool with 2" section below it to feed the water in (total of 14"), I have an 18" spool I can swap for the 12".

I'm also going to take the opportunity and get the water heater element adapter, so if I blow another element, it's only like $8 to replace it vs. $50. Since this is solely for water, I don't really see the need for an ULD element, I mean, it is not like I need to worry about scorching the water.

[Bolverk]

Damn! Looked promising with the empty boiler.

Right! I was so bummed when it wouldn't fire for the next test.

[tjsc5f]

Are you going to replace that element with a 5500W, or are you limited to 4500W because of your electrical hookup?

[Bolverk]

Sticking to 4500w because of the circuit.

[Yummyrum]

It's hard to say for certain since the top is shaped a little differently... but you may be right.

If it is due to this you should see the level in the glass start to rise as soon as the water come to the boil. If it doesn’t rise then it is a cavitation thing as you suspect .

[Bolverk]

If it is due to this you should see the level in the glass start to rise as soon as the water come to the boil. If it doesn’t rise then it is a cavitation thing as you suspect .

I didn't notice once it was blowing steam... I'll look again once the new parts arrive lol

[tjsc5f]

You could use a 2" sight glass as your extender, this would give you more head space and let you see if the water level is staying even with the cool side.

[Bolverk]

You could use a 2" sight glass as your extender, this would give you more head space and let you see if the water level is staying even with the cool side.

I like the idea.... being able to see in the boiler would definitely reduce any risk of dry firing the next element, but even with a the borosilicate glass I'm still kinda concerned about the heat in the boiler.

You guys think it'll be ok?

[Tōtōchtin]

Max working temps is 260* C , as long as you keep it away from water or below zero breezes you should be ok.
From Google
At what temperature does borosilicate glass break?
In terms of temperature, the maximum thermal shock range (the difference in temperatures it can withstand) of borosilicate glass is 170°C, which is about 340° Fahrenheit.
Hope you get it rockin soon
Tōtō