Ask The Brewmasters

Hi Brewmasters,

I have a question about the angle of the steam piping coming off the boil kettle and whether or not I'm going to have problems with condensate dripping back into the kettle. FYI...kettle has a condensate ring and drain line that the piping connects with at the top of the kettle.

I have space constraints that limit how I can route the piping through the roof. What I have right now is a 40" section of piping that consists of a 15 degree elbow coming directly out of the top of the kettle (see picture below) and then connecting with piping that runs straight through the roof.

Is there going to be an issue with the condensate dripping directly in the kettle with this current setup? I'm used to straight runs out of the kettle, but unfortunately with the space I have, I'm going to have a bend in the pipe run. I could possibly have an 18"-20" straight pipe section coming out of the kettle and then bending over to the cathedral box that connects with the straight pipe run....but I don't know for sure if that angle can work and I'd probably have to go with a 45 degree elbow kit.

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Kyle Treadway
Brewer
Traum Brewing
Upper Sandusky OH
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I think the fact that you have the ring and drain line is the most important thing. 

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Bill Hyland
Head Brewer
Bozeman Brewing Co.
Bozeman, MT
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Original Message:
Sent: 2/17/2023 11:10:00 AM
From: Bill Hyland
Subject: RE: Kettle Stack Angle for Proper Draft and Condensate Removal

I think the fact that you have the ring and drain line is the most important thing. 

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Bill Hyland
Head Brewer
Bozeman Brewing Co.
Bozeman, MT
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Hi Kyle,

It's certainly important that your kettle has a condensate ring and drain, that's going to catch any condensate running back down the stack as long as it clings to the wall all the way down to the ring. My concern would be any disruption in the path of the condensate droplet that causes it to fall free of the stack sidewall and into the kettle missing the ring entirely. It would be difficult to verify that you're catching all the condensate and that nothing is making it back into your kettle. If I was presented with this problem, I would likely lean toward a design similar to the condensate stacks sold by Stout Tanks and Kettles, with a separate condensate trap and drain off to the side of your kettle outlet. This setup combined with the condensate ring in your kettle to catch the small amount of condensate that forms in the elbow should work well.

Condensate Stacks for your Brew Kettle

Good luck with finding a solution!

Cheers,

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Ryan Turner
Brewery Process Engineer
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Chico CA
ryan.turner@sierranevada.com
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I am not an engineer, but I can tell you what worked for us.  I worked for a large national brewer, and we had 2 brewhouses with 2 kettles each.  Our kettles were located on the 2nd floor of a 7 story building.  Each of the floors were much greater than 8 foot high ceilings.  Our kettles had condensate rings just above the kettles, the stack was vertical for three stories until they penetrated the roof on the 4th floor, then went up another 8 to 10 feet before going 'horizontal' at maybe a 10 degree rise angle to the outer wall of the building.  The horizontal distance varied by the position of the kettle, but the longest was probably about 40 feet.  The stack then continued up vertically to at least 8 feet above the roof above the 7th floor.  We had condensate rings at the bottom of the 2nd vertical run, and a 'sump' to catch the condensate running down the horizontal runs.  As I said, the horizontal runs had about a 10 degree slope between the vertical runs.  With your ~60 degree run, I would be concerned that the condensate cascading down the slope would overrun whatever lip of your condensate trap and continue into the kettle as 'reflux'.  The condensate rings also trap whatever dried on foam that may adhere to the inside walls of your stack, stuff you don't want in your kettle. We had to periodically clean the condensate rings and down spouts to the drain to keep the 'crud' from plugging them. 

You may need to consult an engineer to determine if it would be viable to lower the angle of your slanted run between the vertical segments, and the feasibility of adding additional points to run off the condensate.

It may or may not matter, but our kettles were 600 bbl cooled wort brews for the 'small' brewhouse and 1100 bbls for the large brewhouse.

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Joseph Caracausa
Retired
Joshua TX
(817) 933-3545
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