55 Gallon Mash Cooker for alcohol

[Donkey]

Mar 2, 2011 22:05:59 GMT -8 miklas said:

Can you repair the area around the stovepipe with more clay slip and perlite mix if you happen to gouge out some at the back or some falls out?

Up to a point, yes. After a bit of use, the clay inside the mix fires and it gets harder for new mud to stick.. Though it generally WILL stick anyway, just not quite as well.

Good to hear about the probable integrity of the ends of the stovepipe where the wood goes in. Err and one more question--it sounds like you want to make the L joint of the stovepipe a 90 degree angle, not use one of those multi-sectioned stovepipe 90 degree elbows which is more like a J? Yeah, I've heard simple is better--"the main path is easy to walk on but people love to be sidetracked."

Down in the bottom of the J you want a good deal of turbulence. Sharp corners help with this.
It's why I still use brick at the bottom end of most of the stoves that I build. The square corners and slight jutting-ness promote turbulence.

[miklas]

Awesome, I'm excited to try the simpler method, I'll try to post pics if I get it done and it works okay. Thanks again for all the help its invaluable.

[hpmer]

If you're going to use stove pipe instead of the preferred brick, I've had better success with a "T" rather than an elbow. Allows for more turbulence and also serves as an ash catcher which prolongs the time you can burn before coals need to be fished out. Also helps with maintaining heat within the core.