Just starting

[horseystevetoo]

Just starting the build on my still, l accidentally put this up in the wrong spot earlier today. Its taken me a while to get back to my still build, l have a 50 litre s/s keg to work with. l have machined a flange 160 OD with a 100 bore out of 316 s/s and l intend on purge welding to the base of the keg. This will be my hand hole for cleaning and l have flange cap made up which accepts a 2400w hot water service element. l made beer years ago and had issues with not being able to clean properly into nooks and crannies so l hope to get away with not welding anything else to the keg. To make it easier to clean and fill l was thinking of clamping a band around the middle of the keg with pivot points either side so l can spin it over to open the bottom up by removing 4 wing nuts. l have a thermostat from a hot water service that reads 60 - 80C with OTC 88C, can l use this or do l need a different temp range or controller. Looking forward to getting the still going over the next couple of weeks.

[bluc]

Welcome mate :handgestures-thumbupleft: for a controller most use a scr/ssr have a look at punchy's controller in the electrical section. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[scythe]

What do you plan to use to seal the flange?

Why not just weld on a 6"ferrule on top for your still mount?

[Doubleuj]

What sort of still are you planning on making? (We can move the thread to the proper area once we know :handgestures-thumbupleft: )
As for the pivot idea, sounds like a novel idea but are you going to detach your still everytime you want to spin and clean it? :think:

[rumdidlydum]

Sounds easier to fit a drain tap...
Unless you want to end up like blucs hand :?

[bluc]

Or foot :teasing-tease: :laughing-rolling:

[rumdidlydum]

Sory bluc :)) I knew it was one of your apendeage's :teasing-tease:

[Zak Griffin]

Cleaning out a still boiler is certainly a novel idea :laughing-rolling:

Look forward to seeing more.

[PeterC]

You don't use a thermostat as you are not controlling the boiler by temperature. You use a power controller that adjusts the voltage. Check out the electrical section. Energy in is proportional to the vapour produced. That is what you are trying to regulate. Hygiene is not so critical on a boiler because it is either empty and dry when stored and when in use too hot for bugs to be a problem.

[horseystevetoo]

Thanks for the info, l have bought a copper reflux column on ebay with a tri clamp coupling so l should be able to simply detach the column to rotate the keg. l will most likely use the same keg for brewing beer so l want to be able to get it really clean. As l can spin this over l figure l can just connect a hose or a pipe to the top flange on the keg and spin it over to drain it as l dont want to weld a fitting on which may hold the bugs if l use this for beer. l will look into the voltage controller, l have a 3600W element so l discovered today. l was talking to the chap l bought the still off on ebay, he makes them in Australia and has sold 1300 of them and he said dont use a thermostat just turn your element on and off as needed. My welder is plugged into a 50 amp outlet so l should have a good supply. l have a rubber gasket under the Vanstone flange, not sure if this plain rubber gasket will taint the flavour, should l use Milk Rubber or silicon? l can split a piece of silicon hose and slip it over the pipe end of the vanstone flange and this should seal if the ends of the hose are butted tightly together.

[scythe]

Kegs are a pain to ferment in.
I would only use gaskets that are known to be safe, such as pure silicone.
Keep in mind that you will have it in contact with boiling solvent for hours at a time.

Get a power controller rather that manually switching the element on and off.

[horseystevetoo]

l looked up the voltage controller on ebay looks to be only rated to 10 amp so l may have to install a contactor for the 3600 w element. l will go with the silicon gaskets if l can find the material, l can machine my flanges to accept O rings if need be. l have a few barrels and many fittings to experiment with if l dont get it right first time.

[Undertaker]

You will need some sort of lock for the pivot. Once you stick a column on top it will be very tippy. Be very embarrassing if it goes arse over apex mid run.

Cheers Phil

[scythe]

Make your own power controller and get it signed off by a sparky.

Put a groove in the flanges to accept a standard ferrule seal, I've found that they are cheaper than sourcing silicone o-rings in the sizes we need, not to mention easier to find.

Your sparky could also split your element into two and run one through the controller.
Generally 3600w elements are actually two 1800w elements in series (and 2400w and 2x 1200w)
If they change the wiring so they are in parrallel you can switch one off if needed.
And a standard 10A "controller" off ebay can do it.

[horseystevetoo]

Good thinking on the pivot lock, must do that. l shall order the controller now and l know a tame sparky to get some advice on the wiring.

[horseystevetoo]

l have ordered a PSR 25 from Wiltronics for about $75 the salesman says, l now find them available from RS at $70 plus GST delivered. In the data sheet it specifies a 250K 1 W pot to operate it. l have spent hours on here reading posts regarding this PSR25 controller but seem to get different answers regarding which pot to use. l am running a 3600W element and l have a heat sink and a CPU fan ready for the PSR25 when it arrives. My thoughts are a 2W pot will outlast the 1W pot so l should seek out a 2W pot but what resistance pot do l buy?
http://au.rs-online.com/web/p/thyristor ... s/0841924/
The still l bought

IMG_0607.PNG

[Zak Griffin]

I removed the link to the eBay seller mate, have a suss at the rules re; advertising.

It's a horribly designed still but you should be able to use the copper to knock up a decent pot still.

Make sure you check the solder for lead.

[horseystevetoo]

Point taken.

[Professor Green]

My thoughts are a 2W pot will outlast the 1W pot so l should seek out a 2W pot but what resistance pot do l buy?

Hi mate, there's no reason to select one with a higher rating; those data sheets as specified with the appropriate tolerances taken into consideration and picking higher wattage rating won't necessarily guarantee it will last longer. By all means grab a 2W one if you can't find a 1W one but it will probably cost you a little more. The wattage won't change the value you need so it will be 250k either way.

In the interest of safety I would also urge you to get this wired by a sparky or, at the very least, have the wiring checked by a sparky before you plug it in and turn it on.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

[horseystevetoo]

l picked up the PSR 25 and what the guy at Wiltronics told me was a 3w pot which looked a bit flimsy to me and at only $3 set alarm bells ringing. l hooked it all up and sent pics to my tame sparky before powering it up and within a couple of minutes it stopped working so l tested the pot and it no longer worked, l have a couple of 2W pots coming that l found on ebay after a long search and they are $15 each as expected. l looked for 1W pots but these seem hard to find. l took the pot l bought from Wiltronics into Jaycar as a sample and the bloke said it was only 1/4 W so no wonder it fizzled out. lf anyone is interested the PSR25 was about $89 at Wiltronics which l believe is owned by Jaycar. l have looked for copper scourers to put inside my reflux still but these seem hard to find, can l just put some copper pipe in the lathe and make up some swarf? If l make up a tower to go under my still packed with copper or s/s can l just have this tower in for reflux and the remove it to run as a pot still?