2inch or 3 inch

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Bvritr
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2inch or 3 inch

Post by Bvritr »

So Im starting to gather a parts list for my new keg rig. 15g stainless keg, copper pot still riser to a shotgun condenser. The question i have is it worth going 3inch for the complete unit or would 2inch be the same? (at half the price in parts). Im planing on making all the parts modular with tri clamps and want to do the shotgun for the potential of stepping up to some sort of reflex column at a later date. Power will come from propane for now and will set it up for electric for later when i move to a new house.
I know 2inch will be fine, but have a habit of going overboard for most everything i build and if i can justify it ill go 3inch.
Thank you for any input or advice you can send my way.
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Fills Jars Slowly
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by Fills Jars Slowly »

If it is only to be used as a pot still, 2" is the better value. The very biggest difference in a 2" pot still and 3" pot still is the cost of materials. If you don't care about the bling factor a Liebig will work every bit as well as the shotgun and is a cheaper and easier build. A Liebig will knock down vapor on a reflux still just as well as it will on a pot still.
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GrassHopper
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by GrassHopper »

If you can afford the 3" I would go with it. Many of us here want to upgrade to 3" or bigger simply because sitting at the still for hours on end is just not the most fun thing to do.
2" versus 3" will speed up your take off rate a bunch. There is a formula somewhere, can't remember....maybe one of the other guys will chime in. I will be upgrading to 3" as soon
as I can afford it.
pounsfos
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by pounsfos »

essentially 3' means you can run the still alot faster in terms of product output.

but you will need to throw alot more heat at it as well, most people stick with 2' as most houses can't go much over 10amps (well don't know what electric configuration is in 110v land) but max we can run is 240x10=2400w

if your heating via gas, if you don't mind a bigger bill then go 3,
for a 15gal (56L) a 2' will be fine, any bigger than that and you will want 3' for speed.

if you're making it modular with tri clamps (i've done the same), you can always start at 2', then if not happy, move it to 3, but I think 2 will be fine, especially for a pot still.

my 2c anyway
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Fills Jars Slowly
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by Fills Jars Slowly »

Based on the last couple of replies I am thinking I misunderstood the question. If you are looking to turn this particular riser into part of a reflux still, diameter matters. If you only want the riser to be for a pot still the difference between 2" and 3" is negligible in terms of performance. For reflux applications the 3" will have a much faster takeoff rate.
The Baker
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by The Baker »

pounsfos said,'max we can run is 240x10=2400w".
(that is in New Zealand and I think Australia is the same).

That would be using the standard ten amp domestic socket.
But you can have your electrician install a fifteen amp socket or even twenty amps. They are especially common in a shed, for say a welder or whatever. Different earth pin slot so you can plug a ten amp plug into the fifteen or twenty amp socket but not the reverse.
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Bvritr
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by Bvritr »

Fills Jars Slowly wrote:Based on the last couple of replies I am thinking I misunderstood the question. If you are looking to turn this particular riser into part of a reflux still, diameter matters. If you only want the riser to be for a pot still the difference between 2" and 3" is negligible in terms of performance. For reflux applications the 3" will have a much faster takeoff rate.
I guess i shoulda worded it better. Yes i am thinking about later using this as a base for a reflux still possibly. I was just adding up the cost of complete 3in, complete 2in and then a 2in riser to a 3in shotgun. The 2in X 3in doesn't save much $$$ so i guess ill have to do some soul searching on if i want to do a simple pot still and maybe a new one later or pay once cry once and just do the 3in.
Were renting right now so installing a dedicated circuit is out of the question hence why im doing propane, if we end up staying out here on the island we will be buying our own place next year (then i can do it). Or we might end up back home where i have a powered shed with 220v.
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Re: 2inch or 3 inch

Post by RedwoodHillBilly »

Bvritr wrote: I guess i shoulda worded it better. Yes i am thinking about later using this as a base for a reflux still possibly. I was just adding up the cost of complete 3in, complete 2in and then a 2in riser to a 3in shotgun. The 2in X 3in doesn't save much $$$ so i guess ill have to do some soul searching on if i want to do a simple pot still and maybe a new one later or pay once cry once and just do the 3in.
Were renting right now so installing a dedicated circuit is out of the question hence why im doing propane, if we end up staying out here on the island we will be buying our own place next year (then i can do it). Or we might end up back home where i have a powered shed with 220v.
FWIW, I went the 2" route initially, and then switched to 3" for reflux because of the speed. Kinda wished I would have gone 3" to start with, but I now have a pretty good collection of tri-clamp spools, adapters, etc. Also, a 2" x 18" shotgun will knockdown almost anything you can throw at it and is cheaper and lighter than a 3".
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