Keg Boiler Design

JettFuel

Hello All
I have read all the threads on the keg boilers and have a few questions. My plan is to use the keg upside down and use the sankey as a drain. I have ordered a 6" ferrule for the tower and a 3" ferrule for a fill port. I have a element guard and DYI control kit coming but I do not know the recommended distance from the bottom for the heating element, any suggestions? I have a 2" sight glass planed for above the element and was thinking of addend another 2" ferrule for a second element if needed. Should I throw in another 2" high on the side for a thermo well? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Is there interest for build pics as I progress the build?

Cheers,
Jettfuel

JettFuel

Any one have opinion on welding the ferrule then cutting throughout the keg or drill the hole then weld? I was thinking it will take a lot of Argon to purge the keg vs just the ferrule.

FullySilenced

I added wheels to it for mobility, with 8000 watts added to it and a drain, works a charm... Left the top of it as was and just work off the 2" connection... adapting to whatever is needed

happy stillin

FS

FloridaCracker

If you are going to put in a second element port, do it now. You may never use it but it will be there if you want it down the road. I have one 5500w element and it works great. With the SD controller you will learn quickly how to dial in your rig. I kinda did my keg the same; flipped over, removed "ring", I have a 3" sight glass on top but put in a 4" flange as I won't run anything bigger than 4". Make sure you get the long flanges. I cut out the holes before the welding. A plasma cutter beats the shit out of a jigsaw everyday of the week.

As far as boiling the element dry, instead of a sight glass above it, I just make sure that I add the WATER first on a spirit run. That way you will be able to see when it is higher than the element.

Having a drain is awesome, but unless you get some kind of low profile equipment, you will have to at least elevate the boiler a little. I have mine on cinder blocks and it puts it at the perfect height for draining. I have about 30% of the polishing done. Not sure when the rest will happen.

punkin

You have a lot of overkill in your design. It's better to have too much than not enough, but still.

A 2" drain is more than you need, a 3/4" socket welded on will do. A 6" still mount is overkill unless you are using a 6" still (which is overkill on a keg) and a 4" will allow you good access to the keg and to get botanicals etc out.

a 2" fill port is plenty and will fit in there better, assuming you will be using a funnel anyway on a small port.

Purging the weld is also unnecessary on a boiler, that's for sanitary connections a little sugaring is not going to hurt.

JettFuel

Thanx for the tips fellas, I have the fitting on the way from SD NA and I always tend to over build things! ;) I guess I should have asked about the ferrules before I bought, I thought the 6" would be nice to clean and such. Cheers, Jettfuel

grim

Talk about polishing a knob...

Never seen a keg sparkle like that.

rossco

You don't say which type of still. I think 4" bubblers work better with a larger charge. Think about an onion boiler or an 18gallon keg if you can source one. I have not bothered with a fill port and rarely attach a sightglass at the base of the column to watch the wash boil. Twin 2" ferrules for the elements work really well, a single 3.6k element for a 70 litre charge and an additional 2.4k for heat up is the business. Rossco

Myles

A lot depends on the size of the element bosses. When I did mine it was for UK specification bosses which are a 2.25 inch thread. This means the curve on the keg becomes an issue so my elements are a bit higher than I would have liked. I upped the keg size to 100 litres to compensate. Cover the elements in water then add the boiler charge. The extra headspace in the 100 litre keg is nice to have also.

If you are having ports welded in then the curve doesnt really matter, you can weld though it to get as low as you like. Mine has 2x 3kW on independent circuits.

Lloyd

Send an element to me @Myles and I'll make an Element Guard for it and send it back to you.
As long as the threads are good I don't much care if the element works or not.
Might be best if its a dud so I can keep it.

...thinking a 3" EG might work.

rossco

the curve on the keg becomes an issue so my elements are a bit higher than I would have liked.

Had this discussion with Punkin. He said it is possible to bend the elements to shape in a vice to get them horizontal. I was OK with my setup.

Thomasedwin

@FloridaCracker said: I have about 30% of the polishing done. Not sure when the rest will happen.

How did you cut the skirt off the keg without rupturing the container and how did you get it so smooth??

Thomasedwin

I have a 15.5 gallon 304 SS keg and I want to cut off the top skirt to have that nice dome top showing, What is the best way to cut it off without rupturing or damaging the container???? A saw blade would make a scratched up mess and a plasma cutter might rupture the container, I like that smooth dome look.

JettFuel

@Thomasedwin said: I have a 15.5 gallon 304 SS keg and I want to cut off the top skirt to have that nice dome top showing, What is the best way to cut it off without rupturing or damaging the container???? A saw blade would make a scratched up mess and a plasma cutter might rupture the container, I like that smooth dome look.

@Thomasedwin, I used a plasma cutter and it was nice and clean on my build.
Happy Tigging!
Jettfuel

FloridaCracker

If you turn the keg upside down you can use the original 2" opening for a drain. Fits nicely with a 2" tri clamp. If you look closely on mine you can see where the cutoff wheel went a little too far when cutting off the ring. Not enough to cause a leak but big enough to piss me off. As far as the finish, a lot of sanding and a lot of buffing. Started with 400 grit wet/dry then moved to 800 then to 1200. Then buffing. Still have to finish mine but the top looks great.

Gotta admit, I have never seen an 8' ferrule on a keg :-O

CothermanDistilling

I did a 6", upside down like @floridacracker , an angle grinder and patience was my method...

beating the dead horse: I can't help but think how cheap one could have a container load of sankey kegs made.... no bottom ring(up side down), no spear(drain), a 6/8" ferrule on the bottom(top), 2 - 2" on the side for dual elements, a 2" on the edge(sightglass), and a 3/4" on the side(thermo)

punkin

@FloridaCracker said: Gotta admit, I have never seen an 8' ferrule on a keg

I made this one as a pressure cooker running 20psi when i was doing a lot of mycology.

Thomasedwin

@FloridaCracker said: If you turn the keg upside down you can use the original 2" opening for a drain. Fits nicely with a 2" tri clamp. If you look closely on mine you can see where the cutoff wheel went a little too far when cutting off the ring. Not enough to cause a leak but big enough to piss me off. As far as the finish, a lot of sanding and a lot of buffing. Started with 400 grit wet/dry then moved to 800 then to 1200. Then buffing. Still have to finish mine but the top looks great.

Gotta admit, I have never seen an 8' ferrule on a keg :-O

I figured with an 8" ferrule it will be easier to fill with a bucket and easier to clean out plus 8" leaves a lot of room to switch things up later if I want to. They want too much money for a 8" to 3" reducer so I'm going to cut a hole and weld a 3" ferrule onto the center of the 8" cap for my column and the only other thing is to put a half inch fitting in the side bottom for a ball valve drain. I want to cut off that top skirt but I'm kind of afraid of messing it up. I think it would look really good polished up with a dome top and 3" column.

dad

That 8" ferrule will accept the tops from StillDragon Milk jug boilers...reducing it to 3-4" tri-clamp. Cut off the studs and use an 8" clamp.

Thomasedwin

I believe SD's 8 inch ferrule size is different from my ferrule size. Mine is 219 MM OD gasket.

Thomasedwin

How much do they want for just the milk can lid with a 3" ferrule?

Thomasedwin

@JettFuel said: Any one have opinion on welding the ferrule then cutting throughout the keg or drill the hole then weld? I was thinking it will take a lot of Argon to purge the keg vs just the ferrule.

What is the deal with welding the ferrule on first and then cutting the hole? Will it make that much difference on the weld to not fill the keg with argon gas???

punkin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_rpC3h8KQ

Kapea

@punkin said: I made this one as a pressure cooker running 20psi when i was doing a lot of mycology.

Hah! A shroom-head. That explains a lot! :))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zySjlVeXI

Anavrin

Just got my keg back from the welder, I've had the long 4" SD ferrule fitted to the top and a 2" ferrule low down, I plan to fit a drain, then give it all a good de-burring and clean, looking forward to many years of use from it

fadge

Will last a l o n g time no issues about that. Think about adding a 2" fill port on the front top also, makes filling a breeze and you don't have to take the still off the 4" everytime to do runs.

Cheers

Fadge

FloridaCracker

Or add a 3" sight glass like I did. Dual purpose; I use mine as a fill opening AND I can watch the wash while boiling. Very useful to prevent pukes which of course might stop brown foam out of the parrot.