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Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 5:20 pm
by Up in the Shed
Hello Everyone,
I have been running a 20 gallon boiler with 2” pot and reflux stills for the last 5 years. It’s a 20 gallon Spike brew kettle and I have a 4” and 2” TC tigged to the lid. I have an electric brewery, and use full electric controls, with 0-100% imput.
However, my element requires a minimum of 12+ liters to cover the element. The element attaches to boiler with 1.5” TC.
I would like to buy the smallest boiler possible, that I can use the 1.5” TC 5500 element for smaller batches. I regularly do macerations with all the botanicals in the pot, running power at lower levels and no scorching.
What is smallest boiler folks have used with an internal tc attached element? Thanks
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 6:02 pm
by SW_Shiner
I was planning on making a small gin still out of a 5L (1 and a bit gal?) Zip hot water heater.
I ended up using it for something else, but it had the same type of element we use for distilling, only it wasn't triclamp.
As long as the element fits, and wont boil dry there isn't really a min size boiler. I have fit an element into a 10L (2 and a bit gal?) pot for the same reason, but never ran it as a gin still as i couldn't find a correct lid to use so I ended up just buying a 25L boiler already made.
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:05 pm
by MooseMan
Up in the Shed wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 5:20 pm
Hello Everyone,
I have been running a 20 gallon boiler with 2” pot and reflux stills for the last 5 years. It’s a 20 gallon Spike brew kettle and I have a 4” and 2” TC tigged to the lid. I have an electric brewery, and use full electric controls, with 0-100% imput.
However, my element requires a minimum of 12+ liters to cover the element. The element attaches to boiler with 1.5” TC.
I would like to buy the smallest boiler possible, that I can use the 1.5” TC 5500 element for smaller batches. I regularly do macerations with all the botanicals in the pot, running power at lower levels and no scorching.
What is smallest boiler folks have used with an internal tc attached element? Thanks
Take a look at Rusty Ole Buckets recent vevor chop up, or my own tea urn mods previous to that
No need for an element as those all have them built in already, but the principle is the same.
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 7:53 am
by The Booze Pipe
I'm not sure what exactly you have in mind, and I'm no expert. I would think you could easily run an 8 gallon pot on a 5500w 220v circuit. Depending on how low the element ended up, you could do about a five gallon run.
I run a 5500w element in a 13 gallon pot, minimum still charge is 8 gallons. I would think a smaller pot, five gallons, might be a bit too small for that large element, but I really couldn't say for sure.
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 8:25 am
by Rusty Ole Bucket
MooseMan wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:05 pm
Take a look at Rusty Ole Buckets recent vevor chop up, or my own tea urn mods previous to that
No need for an element as those all have them built in already, but the principle is the same.
+1 I was working on cleaning and sacrificial runs last weekend on the Vevor and ran it with a 2 gallon water charge, a 1 gallon vinegar/water charge (only had 1/2g on hand), a 5 gallon water charge then finally added in a couple of gallons of heads&tails and ran it again for the sacrificial run. Heat up time was longer the larger the charge, but physics is a thing.
I got the idea from Moose and his tea urns, but any kettle like that should work.
If you already have the element and want to use it, maybe look for one of the squatty 7.75 gallon kegs.
Rusty
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 1:30 pm
by Salt Must Flow
I installed a 5500W element in a 7.5 gal keg, but never ended up using it. It turns out it requires the exact same amount of liquid to cover the element as it does for a 15.5 gal keg. That should have been common sense, but at the time it didn't enter my mind. I don't recall exactly how much liquid it requires to cover the element, but I want to say more than 2 gal, but maybe not more than 3 gal. Something like that.
Now I've seen people say things like, "I installed mine significantly lower in my keg", but I don't recall them showing just how they did it.
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2025 2:25 pm
by The Booze Pipe
Dumb cat, get outta there!
Re: Smallest boiler 5500 element
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2025 10:58 pm
by MooseMan
Oh my god, I did
not see the cat before! Hahaha
Good spot hawk eyes!