Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I have cut many a gas bottle in half and had no problems

YOU NEED TO FILL THE GAS TANK TO THE BRIM WITH WATER IN ORDER TO EXCPELL ANY GASES.

DO NOT ATTEMP TO CUT A GAS BOTTLE UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPELLED ALL GAS............................................................


Then you should be good to cut. ;-)

Thanks for the comments on the tank. So far I have drained all of the gas from the tank and removed the fill point. I have filled it with water a few times and let it soak. The tank has been open and sitting outside in the sun for about 3 months. There is no smell left at all in the tank.

Now to decide how to build a boiler, upright or on its side?

Thanks again for everyone's views on using this tank as a boiler it has made me think long and hard and also to do a fair bit of research in regards to stainless.

Cheers :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I was a bit late with my response 8-}

What type of still will you be using and how much head room do you have. :-B

The still will sit quit high if you have it vertical.

Hi 1 2many,
I am currently in the beginning of building a 4 inch copper bubbler that is starting look like it might be pretty tall. I will probably use the still in my shed which has a pretty high roof so height shouldn't be a problem.

Cheers Rowey :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sorry you are make a bubbler 8-} Nice one at that.

It seems by that post you haven't decided on the packed section length yet, so you will have to brake out the tape measure and make some calcs.

If you put the gas tank vertical and had a five plate + packed section you will be climbing a ladder to adjust the rc.

If it where me I would have it horizontally to keep hight down and you can better utilize the heat like keeping the kettle hot.LOL

And would be a lot more stable. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Cheers mate I will have a look at making horizontally for sure, don't want it tipping over. Would the elements be too far apart if they were mounted at each end?

Rowey wrote:Cheers mate I will have a look at making horizontally for sure, don't want it tipping over. Would the elements be too far apart if they were mounted at each end?

Shape of vessel as far as I know won't be a problem, you are still giving the boiler a certain amount of energy to a certain amount of wash . :handgestures-thumbupleft:

No worries I thought maybe if I switch to one element on one side the other side may miss the heat and might only boil on one side. I guess I could look at running the same powered elements through 1 controller and lower the power to both and get a bit more of an even boil. I will do some more research and see what I come up with

Cheers Rowey :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Or run the two elements through seperate ssr. So you can dial them down individualy
If you can run 2 elements that is :D

Cheers Rum I will have to do a bit of reading I know bugger all about electrical!

@Rowey,

Hey Mate, Thats an excellent tank. I reckon horizontal would be the way to go. As 1 2many mentioned by the time you put your bubbler on top its gonna be way to tall to access which can be a pain in the ass. I gotta keep a step ladder next to mine when im using it. Another point is you may get a larger amount of steam coming off if used horizontally rather than vertical as the wash surface area will be twice the area. Plus it'll be a lot more stable.

As for using elements you first need to see what your capability is. All house power points (240V) are limited to 10Amp circuits or 2400 Watts max power.
10A X 240V = 2400W. This is why I run 2 x 2400W elements thru 2 different circuits, 1 runs flat out while the other is thru a power controller. For simplicity I would go with 2 x 2400 W elements. You could go 2 x 3600 W elements, this would get you to boil faster BUT you would then need a sparky to upgrade your wiring to 15 Amps at each power point that your gonna use. An easy way to tell a 15A power point or plug is it has a larger earth. If your gonna to use your mates workshop to run it in you'll be right.
With the boiler in a horizontal position I'd have 2 elements spaced at 1/3rd and 2/3rds the length of the boiler, or...wait, that might be too close in the middle, maybe at 1/4 and 3/4 the length. In either situation you will need 2 x power controllers or one power controller to controller both evenly. Once you get used to your new bubbler you'll figure out what power contoller setting is the sweet spot to run at after boil.

Another note worth mentioning, I recommend using a heavy duty electrical cable when wiring up the elements and controller. Its usually colored orange. At 2400W flat out a normal cable or extension lead can get quite hot. Better to be save than sorry. And always use a licensed sparky to do your electrical work.

:text-+1: to most people above. I reckon horizontal to get the most vapour released and more head space for the foam to sit in. Another very important thing to note is NOT to have any extension leads coiled or partly coiled when passing large currents thru them. Coils act as electrical chokes (resistance) and will get very very hot (melting hot). Leave extension leads in a mess not in a nice neat coil when in use. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

andybear wrote::text-+1: to most people above. I reckon horizontal to get the most vapour released and more head space for the foam to sit in. Another very important thing to note is NOT to have any extension leads coiled or partly coiled when passing large currents thru them. Coils act as electrical chokes (resistance) and will get very very hot (melting hot). Leave extension leads in a mess not in a nice neat coil when in use. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: Very good tip mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I found out the hard way by plugging in a heater and had the extension lead coiled and it literally melted all of the insulation off the entire coil before shorting very dangerous.