Potsill Insulation (Keg and Column)

[Frank]

Ok
so I got my spare 44gal drum and the angle grinder and....


As a comparison on 40 litre TPW strip runs, I found
Without insulating drum it took 60 minutes from start to foreshots; with drum on (as per picture) it took 35 minutes to foreshots.
Without insulating drum the strip was about 4.9l per hour with all three ring burners on (maximum); with drum it was about 5.2l per hour with only the large and small rings on and, at a guess, it ran at around 6.5l per hour with all three burners going (didn't do this for too long as I figured it might be stripping too quickly for a suitable lowwines collection...but NFI really :oops: ).

Anyway as a free solution to my need here its all good IMO :handgestures-thumbupleft:... NO chance of the drum catching fire PLUS it reduces the chance for ingress of flammable material into flame area (eg dust, assorted shed floor crap, small furry aminals, maybe even alcohol vapours) and, of course, it results in considerable LPG usage savings over time.

[Kimbo]

well done Frank,
it goes to show how effective a bit of Inso can be ;-)

[Sam.]

Very impressive stats on the heat up time difference! Have to be happy with that

[crow]

I knew you were on a winner with your drum idea but almost doubling the efficiency :handgestures-thumbupleft: thats great and sounds a lot easier than tying on insul wool each time , be looking in to this myself :D

[R-sole]

Good stuff Frank. Please post a picture that someone other than a teenager can see the details of.

Cheers

[Frank]

Good stuff Frank. Please post a picture that someone other than a teenager can see the details of.

Cheers

:laughing-rolling: fair enough, old timer :teasing-neener:



Yep, S&L, sure am.....
I did a spirit run today..heat up time on 40l lowwines was just under 40 minutes (again) with ambient temp and lowwine temp pretty chilly BTW
...and I ran on ONE ring on the burner to keep flow on/around 4l/hour. :dance:

[SBB]

Thank god it wasnt any bigger :o , my dodgey soldering might have shown up.
PS good looking shroud Frank

[R-sole]

No air slots round the other side Frank?

That's all i keep thinking that the airflow is gunna be a problem. I know it was when i made my car rim burner and i had to lift the keg off the rim with spacers before i could get the burner to stay lit.

[Frank]

No mate, no airflow considerations except as you can see in the picture. Note: I did leave about 5mm between the keg top and the barrel top so the rising heat didnt get too concentrated/much through the keg handles, but I'll probably try it without that gap next ;-) .

FYI, I do have the keg sitting on a base of some welded box metal (forming three sides) so it sits firmly about 10cm high... which gives it a clearance over the cast iron of the ring burner by (?) 2cm. This allows the flame 'sweet spot' to hit the keg base when on max throttle, it concentrates the heat on the keg base somewhat by not letting it 'out' below the keg on those sides AND lets me get the burner in and out very easily (for safety/ignition/etc)..... whilst (maybe) providing the required air as you say.

I figured this setup is (sort of) like the one McStill showed in this thread, but.....?

[adama]

I use the same shroud idea but I split my drum lengthways in half so I would have to lift over the top.
This helps me get at the drain valve at the end of a run . . . I don't have to wait for it to cool down before draining it.

Regards

[Linno]

hey Frank

is that ya favorite old shine watchin chair in the back..???. nice work with the insulator too mate, the improved time to get to temp will help all round.

Cheers
Linno

[Frank]

@Linno: :laughing-rolling: yep Linno it is my strip run shed chair...and I can pretend I'm at the beach :laughing-rolling: gotta love getting two strip runs from my 4.5Kg ( :shock: ) cylinder.....NB for a spirit run, I make sure the chair is MUCH more comfy ;-)
@Adama: mate you must like cutting tin drums more than I do, I reckon.... and personally, I'm ok leaving the thing to cool down until the next day etc; besides the dogs just LOVE the shed heater in winter :-D .....yours is a good idea though, for sure :handgestures-thumbupleft: ... how do you keep it together for a run (the drum, that is)?

[BackyardBrewer]

Would there be any benefits insulating my reflux column and boiler? I have some of those foil reflective windscreen thingies that I was going to chuck but should I be taping these to my column and boiler instead?

[Sam.]

Would there be any benefits insulating my reflux column and boiler? I have some of those foil reflective windscreen thingies that I was going to chuck but should I be taping these to my column and boiler instead?

Yes :handgestures-thumbupleft:

It will give you some more efficiency from your boiler and also a more consistent product from your reflux column.

[Lowndsey]

Great another fuckin job for me to do :laughing-rolling: ...everytime I think my still is finished I find something else I just have to do to it. :angry-banghead: :laughing-rolling:

[Andy]

would it be worth insulating an electric boiler as well?

[Sam.]

would it be worth insulating an electric boiler as well?

Many have, again it will give you better efficiency and a quicker boil time :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Kimbo]

would it be worth insulating an electric boiler as well?

I did, it made a big difference ;-)

[Linno]

yeah it definitey helps. i got a case of the lazies last time i ran the still and never insulated the boiler like normal... took extra 40 minutes on the 100ltr boiler to get a start.. i am even gunna insulate my little 30ltr boiler now

[BackyardBrewer]

Ok that's it, I'm taping the old windscreen reflector thingies onto the 30L electric boiler and reflux column for Friday's run - looks butt ugly but the experts have spoke and I has listened.