 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/31/2012(UTC)
Posts: 10
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"Currently I am running a beer keg pot still with a 2""x29"" copper column. Heat is being provided by a turkey fryer kit I picked up at Wal-Mart. Today I was running a 50/50 blend of water and vinegar to clean out the still before my first sacrificial run.
Before heating up the still I played with the flame, trying to get the lowest flame I could get before it just went out. Once I got the regulator dialed in I adjusted the air to get as clean of a flame as possible and then set the keg on to to start heating. Temperature got to 90-120F pretty slowly and then took off and didn't stop until it hit 212-214F. The temperature I am reading is about 6"" inside the column from the top.
So As you can see I have my regular cranked down as low as I can and my temperature is way to high. Can someone give me some options on how to fix this situation.
Thanks in advance"
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 Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered, Moderator
Joined: 4/14/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,666
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"I run pretty much the same rig you mentioned. With water in your boiler it will act differntly than with mash or a wash. You may need to add some kind of diffuser or something to alter the flame path if you cant turn it down.
Make a wash and then determine if the flame will work, make sure your condenser is supplied with cool/cold water to knock down ALL the vapor and if its running too hot call it a stripping run. I think you can make it work so dont give up yet, you wont ruin your wash if it runs too fast you will just have to figger out how to turn the heat down for a spirit run in the futrue.
A strippiing run is hot and fast and a spirit run is slow and easy."
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Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 2/4/2012(UTC)
Posts: 303
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Move the keg a little ways from the flame?
A diffuser plate? Maybe not...
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered, Moderator
Joined: 4/14/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,666
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"I used a piece of 2x2 steel angle under my boiler in the past which only let about half the flame come in direct usage. Try it, it cant hurt!!!
Further from the flame is prolly the best advice though."
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/31/2012(UTC)
Posts: 10
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Thats exactly what I was thinking(diffuser) I will probably see if I can scrounge up some 1/4" or 1/2" steel plate and rig something up. The cooling water system I came up with is working out great. As soon as I hit 212F I had water dripping out at a constant and healthy rate for a good 2-3 hours. I have my sacrificial sugar mash currently fermenting with some EC-1118, and going on about 4 days now.
I might work on just the plate steel idea and if the results are not great I will throw something on there to get the keg higher. Thanks again for the help.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/16/2012(UTC)
Posts: 22
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http://www.amazon.com/Ba...p;keywords=bayou+classic Once you find the sweet spot it will run for about 1/2 hour before you have to turn up the dial, probably 1/32nd of a turn if that to maintain the flow. I generally don't buy cheap liquor....and this suffices quite nicely.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/31/2012(UTC)
Posts: 10
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So I am tired of fighting this POS, and I am gonna buy a different burner. I ran a gallon of box wine with water and still had the same temp issue. So I really like the burner that Boxholland posted but does anyone else have any suggestions on other burners? I just don't want to be in the same situation again.
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/16/2012(UTC)
Posts: 22
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Trust me this works perfectly if you go propane.The flame adjustment is pretty touchy so it's easy to hold running temp perfectly.
Once set it was running like a clock that would bump up the drip every now and then. Once things slowed a SLIGHT adjustment on the flame kept things running nicely.
It is stout enough for a keg too. I'm not dissapointed whatsoever.
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered, Moderator
Joined: 4/14/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,666
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" Originally Posted by: Hambone0341  So I am tired of fighting this POS, and I am gonna buy a different burner. I ran a gallon of box wine with water and still had the same temp issue. So I really like the burner that Boxholland posted but does anyone else have any suggestions on other burners? I just don't want to be in the same situation again. You had the same temp issues because a wine water mixture is pretty much what you ran before, get your new burner form somewhere you can return it if its not what you want --HomeDepot or Lowes come to mind.."
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 12/31/2012(UTC)
Posts: 10
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I got the new burner, and yes heeler was right the wine was acting all crazy with the temps and I had a hard tie dialing it in even with the new burner. But I ran it all and got as much squeezed out as I could. This morning I racked in what I've had fermenting the last couple days and just pulled the first 250mL of hearts. I am looking at 80%abv and I am waiting for the next 250ml to see how far it will drop. Thanks everyone for your help and word of advice look around for a preferred burner before you buy one. Failing is life's best lessons learned.
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