OK I found a plumbing place that said they'll build me the stuff I need (reducers and so on) on the cheap. So they said they can build me a 2" to 28mm reducer with all fittings and stuff for under R100, so that's a bargain.
Regarding the ferrule - I found copper ferrules already. Soldering a 2" copper column to that should be pretty simple (actually looking forward to that).
So the next question: Gas vs electric. Obviously electric would be best, and I'd love to go that route, but it means more cutting on the keg, installing elements, etc. I'm currently brewing beer and whatnot in an urn with a 2,500W element and it takes while to get going, but it's also not too bad. However, I'd love to go a bit larger, perhaps up to 4kW on the element. That'll still allow me to run if off a regular home plug, which is great, and it'll speed up the heating phase.
I can go with gas with the keg as-is, but I'll have to buy a gas burner for that, either mounted to a table-style stand, or I'll have to build one. I'll also need a gas regulator and pipe, and the lot of that will cost around R700 on it's own (yes, I checked). So it's not like it's free either. I currently run my small still on a 2-plate gas stove, but it's not going to hold the weight of a 50l still when full. Not at all. That thing will break. So electric makes more sense here now as well.
However, that means I'll have to get temperature control. With the gas I can turn it down and run the still nice and slow during the spirit run, but electric is harder. That has me thinking - PID or voltage controller? I see some controllers being sold with thermocouplers and stuff that can handle up to 40A apparently, but I have NO IDEA how these thing work, at all. So I'd like some guidance. My hands aren't round so if I can just get someone to point me in the right direction I can build something, but I don't even know what to buy...
EDIT: Can I just buy something like this:
https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/5022...t_AC_220V.html
Bookmarks