Boiler steam extraction

[Fil]

Also be warned that when exposed to heat perspex can become very very brittle.

Some daft Numpty thought it would be a good idea to make a perspex false bottom for a mash tun,

Well not only did it deform a bit with the mass/heat combo, resulting in an uneven undulating FB ;( It only took one slight knock against the tun outside for it to shatter into a jigsaw..

[sbond10]

Also be warned that when exposed to heat perspex can become very very brittle.

Some daft Numpty thought it would be a good idea to make a perspex false bottom for a mash tun,

Well not only did it deform a bit with the mass/heat combo, resulting in an uneven undulating FB ;( It only took one slight knock against the tun outside for it to shatter into a jigsaw..

Whoops not good

[JamesF]

For batches that size I reckon you can probably get away with a much smaller diameter pipe if you need to, though the convenience of a flexible 100mm tube may be tempting.

Thinking about it, one limiting factor on pipe size may perhaps be the power of the element. A given size element can presumably only deliver a fixed amount of energy to the wort at any given time, so can only convert so much of the water to steam. My old "plastic bin" 25l boiler has a single 2.4kW element and for that I use some 40mm waste pipe to direct the steam out of the beer shack. It works fine.

James

[sbond10]

Yea I've got some pvc pipe it's just making a lid or hood is gonna prove interesting/exspensive

[JamesF]

Someone posted images here of a lid made from a chunk of wood which might be a viable alternative.

James

[sbond10]

Someone posted images here of a lid made from a chunk of wood which might be a viable alternative.

James

Yea I'm wondering if normal plywood 2 sheets glued together and all pvc pipes would work

[JamesF]

I think normal plywood would delaminate fairly quickly. If you could find a decent offcut of a single piece of timber that would probably be better. Or maybe an offcut of kitchen worktop might do the job, face down with all the edges sealed. I have a vague recollection that the material used for the facing is supposed to be good to somewhere around 140C.

James

[Fil]

you can solder a 2" SS Triclamp ferule to a SS pot lid very easily, a 38.5mm element Qmax can then punch out a hole leaving the solder seal intact.

the trick is not to heat the thin lid with the gas torch, it will warp and buckle, However if you apply the heat to the SS ferrule fittings top flange face alone, it will heat up ( slowly. it will get there..) and when the whole bit is hot it will heat the thin lid that its in contact with.. just abraid both surfaces and treat with an acid flux, and when ready just apply solder. If you opt to use a hi silver content solder you will need a mapp gas gun..

heres one i put onto a 100l pot lid for another reason..

[sbond10]

you can solder a 2" SS Triclamp ferule to a SS pot lid very easily, a 38.5mm element Qmax can then punch out a hole leaving the solder seal intact.

the trick is not to heat the thin lid with the gas torch, it will warp and buckle, However if you apply the heat to the SS ferrule fittings top flange face alone, it will heat up ( slowly. it will get there..) and when the whole bit is hot it will heat the thin lid that its in contact with.. just abraid both surfaces and treat with an acid flux, and when ready just apply solder. If you opt to use a hi silver content solder you will need a mapp gas gun..

heres one i put onto a 100l pot lid for another reason..

Would this work with just a standard 316 flat steel sheet Fil ?

If I went with standard ply it would be varnished to the hilt

[Fil]

I dont see why not, as long as you dont heat the flat plate directly it will not buckle and warp, but all you need to do is allow the flame to lick the plate for a split second to end up with something warped. it takes a good few minutes applying heat to the top flange for the whole fitting to heat up, i simply cut a slightly short length of solder and formed it inside the ferrule as a partial ring, so all i needed do was monitor its state as i heated up, if i havent mentioned it took ages.. its best if you can clamp the 2 bits together, i didnt and just gently rested a brick on the flange to push down once the solder had melted.

a quick dirty diy flange can be formed from a 54mm copper tube with pliers , mark a line 1cm down from a square cut end, and with the pliers grab the tube down to the marked line and bend the wall out a bit, go round n round repeating grabbing at the marked line bending out a little more each time

soldering a ferrule into copper tube is a bit more problematic due to the different rates of expansion the metals exhibit with heat..

a card 'dougnut' or seal template then wound with the best part of a roll of ptfe tape looping in n out of the centre round n round will form a great foodsafe and easy to conform to seal tight gasket..

[sbond10]

Cheers Fil some food for thought there

[sbond10]

After visiting a local micro they use marine ply varnished and a single 110mm soil pipe.

Some questions I have

Cheap source of marine ply

What varnish to use I have a propane burner is marine yacht varnish gonna cope with these temps

How to connect a 90 degree elbow onto a lid

Pretreatment for first use of the lid

[Fil]

Ha if only you lived nearer i have a bit left over

inc a couple of roughly 2 foot square bits, ones yours for the postage if you have problems but the postage will probably be more than buying local..

iirc it was about £40 an 8x4 sheet ring up local timber merchants for a quote to cut to order builders merchants will probably demand a 1 sheet minimum sale.

[sbond10]

Id of snapped your hands of for that Fil may go see how much it is to ship it up the country tho could you pm us the specs for it.

I've relised the price of 110mm soil pipe fitting s is hugely exspensive so may resort to 32mm pipe just how to connect it without welding etc

[GAZ9053]

With something like this

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waste-Pipe-Fitt ... 1212853452