Boiler size

[Ben]

What size steam boiler would you folks recommend for a 500L Hoga with steam coils?

Thanks,

Ben

[Absinthe Pete]

what size steam coil and how long? How long from the still will the boiler be?

[Jedd Haas]

There are a bunch of threads on this topic. From reading them, I note a range of boiler sizes in terms of gallons of still capacity per boiler HP ranging from 8 gallons/HP to 20 gallons/HP. That would put you in the range of 6.6 HP to 16.5 HP.

Of course, there are other factors to consider as Absinthe Pete mentions; you might also consider whether you're going to add another still or use the steam for other purposes, such as mashing.

[saaz]

Ben,

Here are a couple of links that Armindo had sent me over from Hoga. He kept saying that a normal steam boiler would not work? I was confused by his statement? He said it needed to be like one that would run a hot tub? But he did send me these two links below. I was looking at the 1000L Size. I am purchasing a different still than the Hoga so I never really dug too deep into it. Email him if you have questions he was great to get back to me, but at the same time he pushed that you asked other people in the states how they where using them.

http://www.sussmanboilers.com/mba1.htm

http://www.coleparmer.com/Category/Sussman_small_sup_reg_sup_small_Low_Capacity_Electric_Steam_Generators/5554

Hope that helps!

[Ben]

Thanks for the replys. The steam coils are 1" and go around the still 4 times. The still will be about 30' from the boiler.

Thanks,

Ben

[ViolentBlue]

to heat a similarly sized jacketed boiler you would need 15psi and 500lbs/hr steam

the copper coils will no doubt transfer heat better than a stainless jacket, but there is much less surface area there.

i almost thing you would be better off using a heat transfer medium like propylene glycol and a pump/reservoir system.

[bluestar]

to heat a similarly sized jacketed boiler you would need 15psi and 500lbs/hr steam

the copper coils will no doubt transfer heat better than a stainless jacket, but there is much less surface area there.

i almost thing you would be better off using a heat transfer medium like propylene glycol and a pump/reservoir system.

That sounds right, about 15hp. The Sussman's mentioned in links above are too small for that size still, unless you are willing to wait a very long time to get up to temperature. 60 lbs/hr (couple hp) might be enough to keep the still running at a trickle once at temperature, maybe.