StillSmart

Well the aistill is good ... and I am having great fun but it takes quite a while

Just remembered I have a stainless steel swan 26 litre tea urn in one of the sheds ... do people think thats a viable conversion ?

Thinking about using it as a pot still for stripping runs ... then maybe build a better condenser later

It has twin elements with thermostats - I have already bypassed the thermostats for all grain brewing .. I could easily knock up a pwm module with feedback (using PIC chips) for direct control of the elements if needed.

Tap is plastic coated but is a screw in so could be replaced I guess ?

Thanks in advance for any opinions / ideas


Iain

ps This is the boiler : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swan-26-Litre-C ... B000GCFPGG

I believe the T500 is based on a Tea Urn boiler and there are plenty of those about, my boiler is also a converted Burco that works great.

Admittedly mine is a bit over the top, but I enjoyed making it and not a bit of flour paste in sight.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1041#p8131

One of the big advantages of using a tea urn is the ability to be able to get in and clean the boiler, some kegs are restricted by the inlet size and cleaning is limited to squirting a hose through the condenser connection.

What sort of fitting did you use for the lid where the copper comes through please ?

Thinking about having a local engineering firm knock up a replacement lid as I can solder copper but ss well outside my capabilities

Iain

If you are a masochist you could make one similar to mine

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=733&start=15#p6603

Or you could use something similar to the types being discussed at the moment in this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1228#p9866

For both these options here would need a "T500 Nut" which are sold as spares by various suppliers.

If you are getting a new lid made, think about a few options that may be usefull.

Temperature port (1/2" pipe)
Pressure relief port (3/4" pipe)
Sight Glass (Upturned Pyrex Bowl)

You can solder stainless if you use a zinc chloride liquid flux to clean it. I like to grind a fresh surface as well using the Dremel or bench grinder. If you use silver solder then a borax based flux will suffice. You can buy zinc chloride cheaply through eBay. You can make it by dropping zinc metal (from old battery shells perhaps) into hydrochloric (muratic) acid until it stops bubbling hydrogen. This was then known as killed spirits back in the day when it was common practice. It is superb flux for soft soldering stainless with lead free plumbers solder. I think the paste in old style batteries might be zinc chloride as well but wiki it to be sure and check on the chemical changes in a discharged battery.

If you can solder copper you can solder stainless with only a little practice and the right flux.