Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I am starting a new project setting up a 200L pot still
Anyone’s recommendations on a element and controller setup that won’t break the bank and possibly be ex brisbane ?

The best Electrical Option is to contact a licenced electrician in your local area mate.

Now to take the stats with a grain of salt:

To take 200 litres of wash/water to boiling temperature with 7200 Watts (2 by 3600 elements) at 95% efficiency will take you 163 mins.

https://www.easycalculation.com/physics ... ulator.php

But bear in mind that 3600 elements require 15 amp independently wired circuits.

If you were to utilise 10 amp circuits (2400 watt elements) it would take you roughly 244 mins to boil.

In regards to power controllers you can build one and then get it checked by a local sparky prior to using, or you can search online. Speak to Andrew/Stig as % star Distilling may be stocking these in future and may be able to hook you up, if thats the case I wont be linking competitors products on this forum.

To get a more refined answer please provide more details.

Good luck.

Matt

A nearly three hr heat up will drive you nuts. As very few houses are equipped with two separate 15amp plugs you're more than likely going to need to call a sparkie? If you do then why just get 15amp circuits you could for not much extra get two 25amp circuits.
2 x 5500w elements will give a much more reasonable heat up time.

Hmmmm ... this is a harsh reality , the reason I am considering switching to electric is I’m currently tapping my foot for 3 hrs to get to boil with gas with a massive 4 ring burner ..... open to suggestions legends :pray:

try a smaller boiler, 200L is a bit more than hobby size...

There is something way off with this OP.

Cheers,

Matt.

Doubleuj wrote:try a smaller boiler, 200L is a bit more than hobby size...

:text-+1:

I find my 100 litre boiler is more adequate for my needs.

The vessel came up at the right price and ticks allot of boxes, size unfortunately wasn’t one of them. I was thinking about reducing its size as a last option .....

Pic for reference

Probably should have done a bit more research first!

The comment "patch rust hole" on the body of the boiler is cause for concern.

Only 1/2 fill it?
Easiest option

If the elements are low down there is no reason a boiler can't be run with a much lower volume of wash. Don't bother reducing the size of a boiler, just put less in.

Beaten by RC

Rust is a concern.

So is your reference pic the boiler you are wishing to convert to electric?

As previously mentioned you could mount your elements as low as possible. If the diameter of the bottom isn't wide enough just build a box section to hold your elements.

What available power circuits do you have?

Stress less peeps, the upper section (from flanged rim above) is insulated or double skinned ,I’m guessing in its previous life the vessel was positioned through a gridmesh floor penetration. Sitting carbon steel on stainless over long period hot / cold temps dissimilar metals cause oxidisation long story short small on outer skin to flange underneath on out side. Inside is a clean as a whistle :whistle:

I suppose half filling is an option just means twice the effort tipping filling cleaning and cooking ... hence my query of an electrical boost.

Btw I have 3 phase and access to many leads industrial electrical connections ...

I'd be staying with gas, a three ring burner will be a reasonable heat up time. They can be run with a hp reg for faster heating and if you run into bottle freezing up you can split the feed over two bottles.

It could do with a heat shroud too if running on gas.

Would using gas create problems being too big for domestic and need approvals.

I would prolly go 4 by 2inch ferrules TIG welded to the boiler ,which come with the FSD element and guards ,then 2 by 3600wt elements and 2 by 2400 wt elements ,but only wire half of one of the 2400wt elements(by removeing the bridging plates) so it runs at 1200wt.That will give several power level options and ifn that's not fine enough then go a controller on one of the 3600wt elements.And another 2inch ferrule for a drain . Cheers hillzabilly ;-)

Hi Rajika,

That is a nice looking boiler.

Lots of good advice so far, especially Hillzabilly's suggestion of wiring 1 element at 1200W. Electric elements would be the most efficient heating option.

What I will suggest is what I would install if I was called in to do the job. This is if you have a permenant distilling area. Install a 3ph 10mm supply from your main DB to a sub board close to your designated area. From this sub board you can install dedicated 2 x 15A circuits and 2 x 10A circuits (assuming 4 elements) This would be your most economical set-up in the long run. I would also recommend heavy duty plugs (Clipsal 56 series) not the cheap bunnings stuff, they are about $15 more.

Of course you can lessen the amount of elements / cabling /expense but then you increase your heat up time. You need to work out what you prioritise, cost VS time.

* Advice is only suggested and length of runs and inspection of premise would need to be conducted prior to final confirmation.

adam89 wrote:Hi Rajika,

That is a nice looking boiler.

Lots of good advice so far, especially Hillzabilly's suggestion of wiring 1 element at 1200W. Electric elements would be the most efficient heating option.

What I will suggest is what I would install if I was called in to do the job. This is if you have a permenant distilling area. Install a 3ph 10mm supply from your main DB to a sub board close to your designated area. From this sub board you can install dedicated 2 x 15A circuits and 2 x 10A circuits (assuming 4 elements) This would be your most economical set-up in the long run. I would also recommend heavy duty plugs (Clipsal 56 series) not the cheap bunnings stuff, they are about $15 more.

Of course you can lessen the amount of elements / cabling /expense but then you increase your heat up time. You need to work out what you prioritise, cost VS time.

* Advice is only suggested and length of runs and inspection of premise would need to be conducted prior to final confirmation.

Could you not do the same with a couple of 32a outlets? Had a 32a RCBO, cabling and outlet installed for $400 from memory, though I only have 1 outlet and my meter box is less than 5m from where I needed the outlet. I run a 5500w element off it.