Hi all I'm Sean and I'm new, looking to identify this plastic cap on my new still kettle. It's an old Strongbow original keg with a standard D type spear. I've removed the spear & now I'm worried that when heated the cap will melt and leak vapours from my still. Can any of you guys help me?
Help a guy out
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ethanol at high purity will dissolve plastic.....i wouldn't be worried about it melting as much as it dissolving.....can you replace it with a silicone bung/stopper?
Stealthcruiser
Well-Known Member
Can't help ya', without actually seeing it.
My guess: An over pressure release of some sort, though I've never seen one on a keg before.
That said, the plastic is on the outside, and I definitely wouldn't worry about it @ distillation temps.
If you have a small mirror, and a light, look through the keg opening, to ease your concerns, and verify no plastic in the vapor path........
( Don't big deal it )
My guess: An over pressure release of some sort, though I've never seen one on a keg before.
That said, the plastic is on the outside, and I definitely wouldn't worry about it @ distillation temps.
If you have a small mirror, and a light, look through the keg opening, to ease your concerns, and verify no plastic in the vapor path........
( Don't big deal it )
Stealthcruiser
Well-Known Member
You just have a preference for the 4" ?
The input I've been getting / seeing, is they wished they'd have gone a 6"'er, as you'll gain to real advantage to cleaning with the 4...........Most arms won't fit through it.........
Hehehe ummm I'm not buff. 
Its just what I have here (arm fits to the shoulder), if I had a 6" I'd fit/weld it to the side. 
but I've got other kegs coming, so I may have a little play about? The main issue for me was identifying the odd blue thing. I've never seen it before.
Its just what I have here (arm fits to the shoulder), if I had a 6" I'd fit/weld it to the side. but I've got other kegs coming, so I may have a little play about? The main issue for me was identifying the odd blue thing. I've never seen it before.
when i first started distilling, i was still using a plastic hydrometer test cylinder...even at room temp, using it for test 80+% alcohol, it dissolved after a few runs.....silicone rubber is tough stuff though....i handle other stuff that dissolves plastic, and it doesn't touch silicone....or it touches it, but doesn't melt it....lol
edit: now that i think about it, my still uses a silicone bung to hold the thermometer at the top of my column....so silicone would work....
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now that you mention it....is it just a cap for a metal hook-up of some type? if it's keg that's suppose to hold pressure, i don't see that thing staying on. unless it's just a cap for something else.....take it off, and show another picture with it off....
Clearly not a hole through the kegWIN
My concern would be whether the rivets holding the steel(?) ring in place are vapor-tight.
Can it be a burst disc for over-pressure?
How about removing the whole assembly, and welding it shut?
Or make a useful port out of it. Not sure what to use it for, though...
As for your column port, go for a 6" triclamp, minimum. Makes cleaning and access a lot easier. Aren't you mounting a heating element in the bottom?
How about removing the whole assembly, and welding it shut?
Or make a useful port out of it. Not sure what to use it for, though...
As for your column port, go for a 6" triclamp, minimum. Makes cleaning and access a lot easier. Aren't you mounting a heating element in the bottom?
Side mount using an 90° elbow coming out the side?
If so, you're gonna need to support the imbalanced weight. A column filled with glass marbles is heavy!
I'm pretty sure they make looking glasses in 6" TC. But it's dark inside, you'd need a light too.
good idea, i often wish i had a thermometer in my boil kettle as well as the top of my column.....but from the picture, it looks like that thing wasn't even a hole in the lid?
and i only have a 3" column tri-clamp system? and that was high capacity when i bought it?
i've always used copper scrubby things, i've seen rashing rings used too....But i don't even pack it when i'm making something like whiskey in a pot still config...only when i'm trying to pull 92+% on the first run for vodka or something?
(and it looks like the keg has a 2-3" hook up on the top already? why not just use it?
something like this?
https://brewhaus.com/essential-extractor-pro-series-ii-keg-kit/
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